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Sheriff Cohen Pierce had been a thorn in her side since he had moved to Half Moon Key at the insistence of Mrs. Francis. To this day, Alana didn’t understand why Mrs. Francis wanted to hire a shifter sheriff that wasn’t from Half Moon Key, and Alana really didn’t think that the elder would ever explain her odd choice.

Not that it mattered much. Not anymore. Now, Cohen was as much a part of Half Moon Key as she was, and though she had been fighting with him from the start, she wouldn’t dream of having him living anywhere else.

She wanted him to be close to her. Always.

She ran a hand against the marble countertop. The cold stone grounded her in the moment and away from her melancholic thoughts about Cohen.

“What’s this about a candle?” Jade asked Lila in a very loud whisper.

The candle. That fucking candle. Who would have thought it would have such a big impact on her life? Her mother and Nana must have known.

“Alana?” Jade asked. “Are you still with us?”

Lila waved Jade off. “It’s not for me to tell the candle story. If Alana wants to share with you, it’s entirely up to her.”

Jade gave her a pleading look, but Nora spoke. “Man alive, Jade. Leave her alone. You can tell she is super uncomfortable with all of this attention. How about you stop prying?”

“Because it’s what I do, apparently,” Jade shot back. “I want to know. Besides, I’m a pro at getting a shy best friend to open up.”

She pointed toward Nora, who just shrugged and said, “It’s true. You might as well tell her what she wants to know. She won’t stop until you tell her.”

“Fine,” Alana sighed. She leaned against the counter for strength. She didn’t want the others to see she was shaking from head to toe just thinking about it all.

“When I was a little girl,” she began, “my mother and grandmother bewitched a candle. It was a strange kind of love spell, but basically, if the red candle was ever to light itself, it was supposed to be a warning that I found my match.”

“Found your match,” Jade repeated with a serious frown. “As in …”

“Sounds likefind your mate, doesn’t it?” Lila asked, interrupting her best friend.

“It really does sound like that,” Nora agreed. “Do witches have mates? Have you found your mate?”

Judging by the sparkle in the eyes of all three other women, they were all hoping that Alanahadfound her mate, and if Lila’s hopping from one foot to the other was any indication, they all thought that her mate might just be ...

Nope. Alana wouldn’t let herself think that just yet. It wouldn’t serve her to imagine herself with Cohen any more than she was already doing, standing in his kitchen with her friends as if this were a dinner party and she was helping Cohen host.

It could happen. All you need to do is keep on sleeping with Cohen and stop fighting with him. Or, you know, fight naked.

Alana didn’t know if her mind would lead her down the right track, and she was still a little too wary of leaping in fully. She shook her head. “No, I haven’t met my match.” Hadn’t she? “Not that I know of, anyway,” she added. Her words earned her a severe stare down from Lila. “What? It’s true,” she swore. “Besides, I don’t knowwhymy mother did that spell. She didn’t even believe in love magic, and every time a client came here looking for a love spell or anything even remotely close to that, she would ban them from the store for at least six months while they cleared their heads and hearts.”

“Whoa, that’s intense,” Lila said.

The witch shrugged. “Love magic is super serious. It is not to be messed with.”

“Got it,” Lila nodded. “Do not mess with love magic. But then why would your mother do that for you? Wasn’t she breaking her own rule?”

“I have no clue,” Alana admitted. “But it sure sounds like that, yeah.”

“It seems to me that a mother would do anything to protect her child. Could this be a way to protect you somehow?” Nora suggested. “Or do I read too many mysteries?”

“Jury is still out on that,” Jade teased, hooking her arm with Nora’s.

“Did you ever find the spell that your mom cast? Have you tried looking for it in one of her books?” Nora asked. “Maybe that could help to explain why she would choose to cast that kind of magic for you.”

“It might have just been some parlor trick to make me feel better, though. That’s what I believed right up until that candle lit itself.” Alana shook her head. “I didn’t think anything of it until today.”

Lila cut her a look that spoke volumes, and once again, Alana leaned against the counter with a reluctant sigh. Her legs were shaking way too much to stand on her own.

“The whole truth, Alana,” Lila sang. “We can’t help you unless we have all of the details.”