Page 83 of Spellbound After Midnight

“Tessa? Damn it!” The man’s grip loosened, and he caught me as I fell forward, lowering me to the floor as his hands cradled my face. “Breathe, Tessa. Come on, just breathe.”

Air finally filled my lungs, and I choked out his name. “Derrick? How?”

He ignored my question, hands skimming over my body in search of injuries. “Did I hurt you anywhere else? Answer me.”

“I’m trying,” I croaked. “Stop. I’m fine.”

His search ceased, but he kept pressure on my shoulders when I tried to sit up. “No. Stay still until you catch your breath. I need a minute too. I could have killed you.”

“Don’t be dramatic, you knocked the wind out of me.”

“What are you doing here?” Derrick’s voice shook with barely contained anger, though something told me he was angrier at himself. As his fingers ghosted over my jaw, my eyes closed. I missed those hands. He cushioned my head with his thigh.

“I got a tip.”

“So did I.”

A sneaky feeling coiled in my stomach. “Did Estelle give it to you?”

“Yeah, a witness left a statement.”

I groaned. That matchmaking she-devil. She deserved to be fired, and she was definitely no longer invited on our girls’ trip.

“She told me the same thing.Man, she’s devious. She set us up. I’d be shocked if this was even a real tip.”

“It wasn’t—I already searched. That smell is tea leaves. Perfectly legal tea.”

Had anything she said been true? Maybe it was all a lie, and Derrick wasn’t suffering in my absence. I was such a fool. A lovesick, pitiful fool.

Then, I focused on his face.

He was miserable. There was a bleakness in his expression that I’d never seen before. The need for sleep was ingrained around his eyes. He might have even lost a few pounds, and he’d had a workaholic won’t-stop-for-food attitude before we met. Seeing him like this should have made me feel better, but it only hurt worse. A million times worse.

Unable to resist, I pressed my palm against his cheek. Derrick released a slow breath, as if he’d been holding it all this time and could finally let it go.

“You look tired,” I said.

His hand covered mine. “The…caseis killing me.”

“I know. Me too.”

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“It’s supposed to be hard.” A tear slid down my cheek, which he caught with his thumb.

“Not like this. Tessa, some of the things I said to you—”

“I’m going to sell the shop,” I cut in, unable to withstand any mention of our previous fight. Rehashing it wouldn’t do any good.

“What? No.”

I sat up and cleared the emotion from my throat. “Don’t get excited. I’m still trying to beat you, but just in case, I thought you should know.”

“I never wanted that. I only wanted…” He didn’t finish. “What will you do?”

“Travel. I can’t stay here, it’s too difficult.” I held his gaze. “I should go somewhere where they don’t know about my unfortunate spells. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a few of them right this time?”

“Don’t go.”