Page 53 of Kissing Potions and Elves

I follow the sound of Isobel’s reply and find her in the kitchen. She’s sitting on a wooden stool, her back to me and her head in her hands.

Concerned, I walk over to her. “Isobel, what’s wrong?”

“I nearly ruined the entire festival.”

“It was a simple mistake.”

She looks up, eyes red-rimmed. “How can you, of all people, say that? Especially after what I did to you, Lyrion. Stars above, I bewitched you with a kissing potion.”

Bewitchedisn’t quite the right term, but that’s neither here nor there. Now’s not the time to correct her.

“I just wish I wasn’t so clumsy.” She presses her head into her palms again with a low groan. “I seem to always be causing trouble.”

I place two fingers under her chin, tipping her face up to mine. “You’re being much too hard on yourself.”

A tear slips down her cheek, but I brush it away with my thumb. “What happened today was an accident... the same with the kissing potion. You have a kind heart, Isobel, and truth be told the potion’s effects aren’t all that terrible.”

She sniffles, wiping another tear away. “You truly don’t think so?”

I nod.

A small, hopeful smile blooms across her lovely face, making my pulse quicken. My gaze drops to her lips, my thoughts drifting back to our kiss in the cellar.

Vaelar’s heart, I want so badly to taste her lips once more.

I move toward her, but stop abruptly as a sudden memory resurfaces. “The cellar,” I murmur, and then rush down the stairs.

“Lyrion?” Isobel calls out, following after me. “What are you doing?”

The table is still dusted in a thick layer of flour. I reach for the jar near where she’d been sitting. Wiping away the layer of white powder, guilt washes through me as I read the label.

It’s the joyflower.

The mistake wasn’t Isobel’s. It was mine.

“I got distracted when I kissed you.” I hold up the jar. “I handed you the wrong one.”

Cautious hope flits across her face. “You mean… it wasn’t my fault?”

I nod, and she flings her arms around me. “Oh, Lyrion, thank the stars!”

Warmth curls through me as she hugs me close. When she pulls back, our gazes lock, and a charged silence stretches between us, heavy and expectant.

Unable to resist, I press my lips to hers in a tender kiss.

Despite every attempt to keep her at arm’s length, I’m undeniably drawn to Isobel. Holding her like this feels far too natural, far too right, and that realization shakes me to my core.

Stars help me, I’m in trouble.

CHAPTER 26

ISOBEL

It’s been a few weeks since I accidentally served Lyrion the kissing potion, and three days since the village festival baking contest. I thought the effects would be beginning to fade by now, but judging by how many times Lyrion and I have kissed since that day in the café cellar, it seems as though the spell is only growing stronger.

I’m not complaining. If anything, I hope it might mean he has feelings for me that extend beyond the potion.

I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, but I can’t seem to fall asleep. I keep thinking of the broody object of my affections. Every time I close my eyes, I see Lyrion’s violet gaze, feel the ghost of his touch against my skin.