Page 29

It took Stella no more than two heartbeats to notice the change in my face.

She leaned closer, her voice slipping beneath the laughter and clinking of silverware. “What’s wrong?”

I didn’t answer.

Not right away.

My eyes were still locked on the figure outside. Alex stood just far enough away to appear uncertain. Or maybe he knew exactly what he was doing, lingering in the edge-space where things went unnoticed until they didn’t.

Stella followed my gaze. Her eyes sharpened, her posture stilling. And then, in a rare moment of blessed restraint, she said nothing.

She didn’t have to.

“I didn’t think…” My voice caught, too soft even for myself.

But Keegan heard it.

He was seated across the table, mid-laugh at something Twobble had just said about Skonk’s glitter-infused laundry spell gone wrong.

I felt his attention shift before I even looked at him.

His body stilled, his grin faltered. He followed my gaze, and I watched the understanding flicker through him like a slow ember catching flame.

Alex.

I rose slowly, careful not to tip my cider or knock the edge of the bench. My knees felt unsteady, as if the past had tugged the floor an inch further away. Around me, the table was still full of joy.

Ember recounted her favorite kind of toast-hex. Bella tossed a leaf in Ardetia’s hair. Lady Limora raised a toast to eternal cheekbones, but the table might as well have dimmed.

Keegan stood as well.

“I’ll go with you,” he said, quiet but firm.

I shook my head once. “No. I can handle it.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Maeve—”

“I need to do this myself.” I met his eyes and tried to offer a steadiness I didn’t feel. “Thank you, though.”

His jaw flexed. Not out of anger, but something else. Hesitation. Concern. Something I didn’t want to think about.

Behind him, Stella had reached for her tea but never brought it to her lips. She watched me like a hawk in heels, and when I caught her eye again, she gave a single, solemn nod.

Go.

I stepped away from the table, weaving through the crowd of midlife witches and magical misfits who were completely unaware that my heart had just thrown itself sideways in my chest. A candle flickered as I passed, brushing the hem of my coat with a lick of warmth that grounded me, barely.

The air was cooler than I remembered.

He hadn’t moved.

Alex stood looking like a smug lighthouse in the middle of three midlife witches near the flower cart.

He stood with one hand in his coat pocket, the other brushing absently over the strap of a bag slung across his shoulder. He looked older. Not in a bad way. Just in the way time etched into people.

As much glee as I’d felt when I’d had some accidental magic and sent Alex the one-finger salute via text or turned him into a barking dog that one delicious, vindicating afternoon, I couldn’t quite shake off the feeling that he didn’t come here for another sparring match or just to entertain his latest fling.

The witches’ arms were all crossed, and their gazes were skeptical. But that didn’t stop Alex from laying it on thick.

Was one lady tonight not enough?

I cleared my throat as I approached. “Are you lost or just pretending to be charming again?”

One of the witches snorted into her scarf. The others took that as their cue to drift away, whether out of boredom or pity, I wasn’t sure.

Alex turned to face me, brushing his hand through his too-styled hair. “You used to like my charm.”

“I used to like chewing gum, too. I’ve grown.”

He gave a crooked smile. “Still sharp.”

In typical Alex fashion, he changed the subject.

“So, hi,” I said.

It came out softer than I intended.

His eyes flicked up. Familiar. Pale blue, like the part of the sky that always looked like memory.

“Maeve.”

My name in his voice still carried weight, though it no longer hurt. Not the way it used to.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, not unkindly. Just… carefully.

He hesitated. “It’s a long story.”

I lifted a brow. “I’m not sure I’m in the mood for a long story.”

His mouth twitched. “I figured that much.”

A silence stretched between us, the kind built from too many things left unsaid for too many years.

The cafe behind me buzzed with laughter, glass, and life.

This street, however, was quiet. Just the two of us, and the low hum of a streetlamp, and the slight creak of Luna’s sign rocking gently in the breeze.

When I looked at him, I didn’t feel anger. I might tomorrow, but right now, I felt pity. He lost a damn good family.

“You look different,” he said, eyes sweeping over me. “Not just the hair.”

“I am different.” I didn’t mean it to sound like a line drawn in the dirt, but maybe it was.

He nodded slowly. “I can see that.”

I waited.

But he didn’t speak.

And maybe that was what irritated me most—his silence, like he was owed the space to exist here, in this town, in this moment, after everything he’d done.

Not to mention, he’d always hated this place.

“You’re not going to explain?” I asked sharply as the images of all the women he'd dabbled with slipped into my brain.

He shifted his weight. “I didn’t think it would matter anymore.”

“It doesn’t,” I snapped, even though that was only mostly true. “But you don’t get to lurk outside a café like some lost soul from my past and then act like showing up here unannounced is normal.”

His mouth opened, then closed. One hand rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly.

I crossed my arms. “So you came to what? Wish me luck?”

He exhaled. “I came because I was curious. And maybe because I thought it was time.”

“Time for what, Alex? For you to pop back into my life like a seasonal allergy?”

That landed. His jaw ticked.

I took a step back, arms still crossed, heart pounding against the cage of ribs I hadn’t realized was made of grief and fury and a few shards of hope I thought I’d burned clean.

“You cheated on me,” I said, voice low and steady. “And then you lied about it. Over and over. And when the truth cracked through, you made it about me. My fault. For being distracted. For growing. Do you remember that? Because I do.”

He looked away.

“Maeve, I—”

“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t apologize unless it’s for real. Don’t say you regret it unless you mean it. And don’t pretend this—” I gestured between us, the air thick with unspoken things “—was ever going to be salvaged.”

He swallowed hard. “I didn’t expect you to forgive me.”

“Good,” I said. “Because I’m not sure I have.”

I was trembling now, but not from fear. From release and the way truth cut cleaner than magic when you finally said it aloud.

For a long time, I had wondered what I’d say if I saw him again. I’d imagined all kinds of poetic justice. A speech. A slap. A spell.

Turns out, the truth was more than enough.

He let out a breath. “You’ve changed.”

“I had to.”

There was a beat. “You’re doing well. I can tell.”

I didn’t return the smile. “You don’t get to take pride in that.”

His eyes flickered. He nodded. “You’re right.”

“I know.”

I took another breath. My fingers had unclenched. My heart had stopped trying to escape my chest. Somewhere inside, something had loosened. A knot I didn’t realize I’d been dragging around for months. Maybe years.

“So what now?” I asked. “You saw what you needed to see? You ready to head back to whatever life you built for yourself after ours imploded?”

That one hit. I saw it.

I had turned halfway back toward the café when the question bubbled up from somewhere deep and unfinished in me, but I didn’t want to bother.

“There’s one more thing.” His voice choked a little.

I paused, glanced over my shoulder.

“What?”

“You wouldn’t answer my texts, and I wanted to ensure…”

I spotted a woman lingering by the hotel, and my teeth ground together in frustration.

“Ensure what?” My hands flew to my hips.

“Celeste’s boyfriend wants to ask for her hand in marriage this summer. Darren asked me for permission.”

It felt like my eyes might bulge out of their sockets. “You?”

He didn’t answer at first. Just stood there under the streetlamp, his expression unreadable in that way it always had been, with his calculated charm and a side of evasion. But then he sighed.

“I thought I should bring it up in person and…”

“Let me guess. Your latest girlfriend wanted to come stare at the witchy stores, and even though you’d never bring your family here, you brought your latest play toy here to pretend you’re not a selfish dingbat.”

Oh, that felt good.

Alex shrugged. “People change.”

“If you say so.”

Alex lifted his brows. “What do you think about Darren? I saw him at the holidays. Seems like a good kid.”

Did you make that assumption before or after you were on all fours barking like the dog you are?

No. Scratch that. I didn’t mean to insult the canine world.

“Hearing you say that doesn’t exactly lift my spirits about the guy.” I stared at my ex, wondering how I ever liked the man.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I crinkled my nose. “It’s not like you’re the greatest judge of character.”

“Well, I told him it was fine, but to let me talk to you.”

My teeth ground together, and my stomach sank.

“Well, thank you. Consider the conversation complete.” I turned fully to face him again, arms crossed.

His phone buzzed, and I saw the woman lurking in the distance on her phone.

How sweet. She was texting him.

“You should get back to your lady in waiting.”

He winced.

I could see the moment he decided not to argue it, which was almost worse. Because it meant he knew I was right.

“Please don’t come back to this town, and if you do, don’t try to find me to ease your conscience.” And this time, when I turned and walked away, I didn’t need to look over my shoulder.

My mind was swimming. Engaged this summer? Was that something even on Celeste’s radar? The moment I stepped back to the table, the warmth hit me like a balm, with laughter, clanking plates, and the low hum of conversation.

But I could not shake Alex’s words.

Keegan was standing beside our table, slightly turned as if he’d been keeping one eye across the street. His expression softened when he saw me, though concern still tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“You okay?” he asked, voice low enough not to carry over the table’s chatter.

I gave a small smile and shook my head gently. “Define okay.”

He tilted his head, waiting.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “Apparently, Alex doesn’t mind catering to his flavor of the week’s obsession with witches. Funny enough, we could never get him to take us here.”

Keegan blinked. “I never liked the guy.”

“Which is why I like you even more.” I chuckled and let out a sigh. “Not exactly what I wanted to have so close to Moonbeam’s Eve. Not to mention, he brought up Celeste’s boyfriend. He likes the guy, which immediately makes me question the guy.”

Keegan sat back down beside me, brows slightly raised. “And you? I know you’ve wondered about Celeste’s boyfriend.”

I hesitated, tracing a fingertip along the edge of my cider glass.

“Honestly… I’ve wondered if he’s too good to be true.

There’s something about him I haven’t quite figured out.

He’s kind, considerate, and helpful, according to my daughter.

He’s supposedly the whole package. Celeste is smitten. And that should be enough. But…”

“But?” he prompted gently.

I met his gaze, that steady, grounded gaze that saw more than I usually liked.

“But it’s like there’s something he’s not saying.

Or something he’s hiding. Maybe I’m just being overprotective.

Or maybe I’m not used to seeing her this happy from a boy and keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

” I paused. “And Alex came to tell me that Darren had asked him for Celeste’s hand in marriage.

Apparently, he wants to pop the question this summer. ”

“The kid didn’t think of asking you?”

“Guess not.”

Keegan’s mouth quirked. “Does Alex even know what this place is ?”

I laughed, short and dry. “No. He thinks Stonewick is a deplorable little tourist town with quirky witch shops and overpriced tea. He has no idea. No clue about the Academy, about the Wards, about me.”

Keegan’s smile faded, but his eyes never left mine. “We could make things memorable.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Maybe if it had been on a different day.”

Keegan laughed and shook his head. “You’re amazing, Maeve Bellemore. I know a lot of people who would have managed to throw a spell or two his way.”

I shook my head and laughed, realizing I had missed my opportunity, but something else pulled at me.

“I think it’s time I head back,” I told the group.

Stella gave me a quick hug. “I won’t let them get too rowdy tonight.”

“Good luck with that.”