Page 9 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy (Haunted Hearts: Season of the Witch #5)

MY SHIFT AT Brew-Ha is a busy one. The morning rush typically lets up before the lunch crowd, but today it has felt like everyone in town needs coffee every ten minutes. I’m so preoccupied that hours go by and I don’t even think about…

“Kai?” I murmur. The man walks in through the front door, and daylight streams a silhouette around him.

Time slows down as I take in his gorgeous figure.

This morning I watched him conjure a corduroy jacket, a red-button down over a white tank, and jeans.

Now he’s holding three large books in his left hand, and he looks so different than when I left him at the library. “Your hair…”

He grins and taps the back of his head. His dark hair is now cut short, framing his face in the most masculine, handsome way. “Oh yes. I noticed so many men have short hair in this era, so I cut it.”

He must have trimmed it with his claws or magic. “Do you like it?” he asks.

I’m suddenly at a loss for words. He was sexy with long, wet locks, but this dramatic trim is somehow more attractive. I don’t know how I’ll handle this six feet of temptation sleeping in my room.

“Wow, Kai. Don’t you look dapper with your new haircut!” Lisbeth approaches us with an empty tray. “Don’t you think it looks good, Seb?”

I nod, still dumbstruck.

“Thank you. Is it okay for me to sit and read in here?”

“Of course,” she replies. She leans in and whispers, “If you did that yourself, no one at the library saw you, correct?”

He shakes his head. “I used magic in the restroom on the way out.”

“Good man,” she says. “But don’t distract my best barista here too much.

” She winks and wanders to the back to get more orders.

Kai, meanwhile, takes a seat in a far corner.

When he begins to read, my heart settles with contentment.

He’s taken our suggestion seriously and is researching all the history he’s missed.

A selfish part of me believes this to mean he’ll stay with us at Boysen House indefinitely.

Cool it, Seb, you’ve known him for twenty-four hours. He’s an all-powerful mage, and he’s trying to get his memories back. When the customer line forms again, I return to focusing on my day job as the unassuming Jade Lion hangs out in our coffee shop.

An hour of nonstop late lunch orders has me hustling to catch up.

I’m making all kinds of brew and putting together sandwiches as Ashley and I trade off on the register.

Lisbeth is making a bankroll run, so it’s on us to tend to the customers.

I’m so preoccupied with cleaning a cup that I don’t notice the person placing a wad of twenty-dollar bills in the tip bucket.

My glee is short-lived when I look up to see the person who just contributed all the money. I frown and say, “Kevin.”

“Seb, baby. Working hard, I see.” He’s smiling with the kind of ease that only a rich, handsome, young man can carry.

As always, Kevin is cocky, but admittedly, his spiky blond hair makes him appear handsome.

We had some good times when I ran my fingers through those golden locks in bed, but those are long gone.

“Mhm,” I reply with a frown. He has the audacity to come to my place of work. I try to glance around to find someone to tend to, but alas, there are no other customers. I place the clean cup in the drying rack, wishing Ashley were here to distract me with anything.

“That massive tip is for you, my sweet thing.” He follows me when I go to the register, and I grit my teeth. Where was this affection all the times he stood me up for our dates?

“Welcome to Brew-Ha, sir. How can I help you?” I make sure he can see my gritted teeth. He is not welcome here, but I can’t let my shitty love life get in the way of the café.

“Oh, don’t be so formal, I just want to chat. That’s what people do when they’re in love.” He leans forward and grins. “And I still love you, Seb.”

I bristle. “I doubt you ever did.” A small part of me is thrilled to hear him say what I always wanted. Then I recall the night I told him off over the phone, how good it felt to cut him off. That was right before I met the Jade Lion.

“Don’t be like that, Seb. Remember all the gifts I got you?”

I flex my fingers on the counter. “I didn’t want gifts. I wanted someone to be there for me, to respond to my texts, to go on trips like they promised,” I say in a low tone. I shake my head. “Wait, what am I doing? I owe you nothing.”

Kevin huffs. “But what about all the money I just gave you?”

I quickly take the tip bucket and shove it underneath the desk. “Thank you for the tips, but if you’re not ordering anything…”

“Oh, don’t be like that, my sweet,” he says with another fake smile.

“Is there a problem here?” We both turn to the booming voice standing next to us. Kai is here, and he doesn’t look pleased.

Kevin bristles. “What’s it to you?”

“Kevin was just leaving,” I say firmly.

“I only wanted to chat with my boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” I say quickly. “And I have nothing to chat with you about.”

“It seems you are not welcome here,” Kai says. He looks between us, and I notice his muscled-up chest rise and fall. The scowl on his face tells me he’s seconds away from unleashing his claws on Kevin, and a small thrill goes up my spine. This hot dude is defending my honor?

“Like I said, I’m just catching up with my baby, Seb. A lover’s quarrel.” He brushes his hand in the air. “Move along, spring roll.”

My pulse picks up at the sound of a fucking racial slur. The gall of this pathetic man! “My name is not spring roll,” Kai says with a quiet intensity. “But I can certainly escort you out if need be.”

Before Kevin can make another racist remark, several people waltz through the door.

A young couple loudly discusses what drinks they want while their three toddlers holler and run around.

At the same time, Ashley chooses this moment to return from the kitchen and get on the register.

“This family always comes in at this time, so look alive, Seb.” Ashley barely looks at Kevin before turning to the new customers.

“Welcome to Brew-Ha. Can I take your order?”

Kevin seems befuddled by the loud children running around, nearly knocking into him, as well as the tall Chinese hunk ready to throw hands. Thank the stars for rowdy customers; our weird conversation has been interrupted. “I’m gonna go.”

“That is for the best,” Kai says, but I’m not sure if Kevin heard, since he’s dashing out of there. He was willing to harass me, but not in front of several strangers? He’s somehow both arrogant and a coward.

I shoot Kai a grateful smile and then get to work making lattes for the young couple speaking to Ashley.

Hours later, Lisbeth insists on letting me go home since I promised I’d do an evening shift tomorrow.

She claims it’ll be good for Kai and me to practice solo magic, an endeavor which, so far, hasn’t been possible.

Since she and Ashley are staying, no one can drive me, so I’m choosing to forego the bus and take the forty-five-minute walk home.

The weather is nice, I’m a young dude, and it’s not like the sun is down yet.

Most importantly, Kai is with me. We walk along the streets of Cosmo, and I try to ignore how romantic it feels.

It’s as if the two of us are in our own little bubble, just like when I walked him to the library.

I track his gaze when he watches two squirrels scurry past a yard.

He also studies the autumn leaves floating down, and I wonder if these sights are all new to him.

Hong Kong has urban portions as well as hilly, forested terrain, but it wasn’t like that over a century ago.

I find I want to know everything about the man strolling next to me.

I clear my throat, and he looks at me. I stare at the sidewalk and say, “Look, about earlier with Kevin, he’s a douche.”

“I do not know what a douche is, but he did not seem welcome in your presence.”

I snicker. “It’s a slang term for a terrible person. And he is.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“No!” I answer quickly. When I catch his gaze again, his face appears neutral and inquisitive. Cauldrons, of course he’s not jealous. Kai and I are just friends. “He…was.”

“I do not need to know the details.”

“Oh, okay.”

“But you became tense when he was around. He was not someone you wanted to fraternize with, that much I could tell.”

“That’s because he’s not welcome in my life, not anymore.

Kevin is…” I scratch my eyebrow and try to find the words.

We cross a busy parkway intersection, then make it to another quiet sidewalk.

“Kevin is selfish. He gives love when it’s convenient, then leaves when it’s not.

I read a book in the library about narcissism, and he is that to a T. ”

I chuckle and look down. Beside me, Kai studies me, waiting for me to continue. I clap my hands and say, “I told him we’re done and over with, but now he’s followed me to my work. Typical.”

“I will not let him hurt you.”

My cheeks warm at his chivalrous declaration. “He won’t, not physically. He’s all talk, but, um, thank you, Kai.” I stare into his brown eyes. “For looking out for me.”

“You have welcomed me into your home, into your coven. You are assisting me in getting my memories back. The least I can do is protect you from, as you say, douche people.”

I laugh and shove my hands in my pockets. In the less-than-forty-eight hours I’ve known Kai, he’s made me feel so much better than my ex-boyfriend did. Would it be that awful if Kai and I ended up in a relationship?

I gulp and focus on changing the subject. “So, what dinner are you conjuring up for us tonight?”

Kai grins. “Are you not satisfied with dim sum?”

“Variety is the spice of life, my friend.” We both laugh as we chat about what restaurants I need to show him here in the twenty-first century. My walk home is usually so long and arduous, it can be annoying. Today, with Kai at my side, I find it’s ending too quickly.