lips, took a few deep breaths, and emerged to find him playing with a box. It was an ornate thing from his collection.
“Have you managed to open it?” he asked, holding it in his palm.
I shook my head. “Haven’t really had a chance to try. I assume it’s some kind of puzzle box.”
“Rumors say there’s a treasure inside.”
“What rumors?”
He rolled his shoulders. “Family legend.”
“If you think it might be true, then why sell it?”
“What else would I do? Smash it? Seems a waste of something so beautiful.” He placed it back on the shelf. I made a mental note to examine it further. “Shall we?” He extended an arm in the direction of the door. My car was sitting at the curb as we emerged.
“You brought Betsy?”
“I thought after dinner you could drop me off at the gas station on your way home.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Truly the least, given he wouldn’t let me pay for dinner. I tried, but Darryl was quite firm when the waiter appeared at the end of our meal and said, “Will it be separate checks?”
“No.” Darryl then proceeded to handle it and wouldn’t listen to my protests.
I gave in. Mostly because I wasn’t about to ruin the evening fighting over who paid. I was having too much fun. Darryl proved funny to chat with. Flirty without being a pig about it. Smart, but not too smart, more of a living-experience kind of guy. Being with him, I felt beautiful and engaging. We hit it off in a way that had me giddy and nervous.
So nervous, especially as we neared the gas station where I was going to drop him off. My knuckles were white as I gripped the wheel, plagued with anxiety. Would he kiss me? Would he not?
“So thanks for everything,” I said, unable to look at him.
“Thank you for an excellent evening.”
“We just talked.”
“Just?”
The way he phrased the word had me glancing at him.
He cupped my chin and drew me close enough that his lips feathered over mine.
Brief. So very fleeting.
Then he was getting out of the car and waving at me.
I grinned like an idiot all the way home.
As if to mock my happiness, Karma bitch-slapped me. The next day, after a night of vivid dreaming and waking in a puddle of sweat, I arrived to find my shop windows smashed and my store name vandalized to read, “On My Way to Hell.”
11
Officer Murphy was as big as I recalled, but not from fat. More like a man who used to be an athlete and got older and maybe a bit softer but was still powerful under it all.
Along with his badge, he also wore a wedding ring, meaning off-limits. Don’t look. Then again, why would I even bother with Darryl and me having moved to the next step?
Darryl had kissed me.
The memory kept me from completely losing my shit about what had happened to my shop. A good thing, because Officer Murphy was pissing me off. He wrote a report about the damage but didn’t hold out much hope we’d find the culprit. “Probably just a crime of opportunity.”
“Mine was the only shop hit.”
“And they didn’t do anything to the inside, indicating they were probably interrupted.”
“Does this kind of thing happen often?” I asked, arms hugging my upper body as I surveilled the damage.
“No. But you know how teens can get when they’re bored.”
“What makes you think it was kids?” I eyed the paint job and its use of Hell. Could it be someone with lingering superstitions about my family and our so-called witchy heritage?
“Kids. Adults. Either way, we’re not likely to find a culprit.”
“I would hope you’d at least try so this doesn’t happen again,” I snapped. Investigating crime was part of his job.
“If you can’t handle it, then maybe you’re in the wrong place.” Murphy tucked away his notepad.
I frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Seems to me, there’s been nothing but trouble since you came back.”
“What are you talking about? I’m the reason this town isn’t freaking out about a fake monster.”
“The truth would have emerged without you eventually. Been a lot of fires and broken windows since your return.”
“None of those were my fault.”
“Yet you knew everyone affected. Hell, one of the fires—and now vandalism cases—belongs to you.”
I pinched my lips. “Victim blaming? Is that how you manage to avoid doing your job?”
“Just saying my job would have been a lot easier if you’d stayed away like your grandmother wanted,” Murphy warned.
“Wait? What?”
“Nothing.” The big man turned from me,