Free Everspell by Samantha Combs Page A

in water, then I went around the corner to the front of the store.
    “Hi.” It was Declan. He smiled warmly at me and came forward as though to hug me. I held back for a split second. It unnerved me that he had shown up unannounced. He had done that once or twice, and I had casually mentioned I wasn’t that fond of it. He didn’t seem to be taking the hint. I considered saying something, but he looked so happy to see me, I chose not to. Instead, I stepped into his hug and returned it. As his arms wrapped around me, and I remembered what it was like to be held by a handsome man, I was glad he stopped by. “Declan. What a nice surprise. I’m glad you’re here.”
    “Are you?” he asked. “For a moment there, I thought I may have overstepped.” He looked concerned and I felt immediately contrite. I thought I had covered well, but apparently not quickly enough. He had seen my hesitation.
    “Oh, no Declan. I’m just preoccupied. We have a lot of orders for today.” I deliberately tried to change the subject. “Now, tell me; what brings you this way?”
    “Well, you do, Lily.” Declan actually blushed. “I had such a great time last week, I hoped I could get you to agree to another date. How about it? Free tonight?”
    I wanted to say yes immediately. But, I knew our coven sisters were going to begin arriving today and throughout the next few days. Actually, I wasn’t sure when I would next be available. I hoped Declan wouldn’t think I’d been deliberately avoiding him.
    “Declan, I’m sorry, I’m not. I have family arriving tonight and this week, for a family reunion of sorts. Can I get a rain check?”
    Declan’s face fell as I began to speak, but as I mentioned the rain check I thought I saw a spark of hope flash across it.
    “Of course, Lily. We can get together after your family leaves. So, a family reunion, huh?” I nodded. “Those can be fun. Have you seen them in a while?”
    “Not for a little while. Most are dear, sweet friends that are like family. I’m really very excited to see them.”
    “Well, you have a wonderful time with them, Lily. I should let you get back to work. It’s always so nice to see you. I’ll look forward to getting together with you soon. Perhaps, I’ll stop by and say hello?”
    “Oh, I would like that, Declan, very much. Let me walk you out.”
    I walked Declan to the door and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He grasped my hand warmly with both of his.
    “You take care, Lily Daniels. I’ve got my eye on you.” Then he winked, which seemed completely out of character for what I knew about him, dropped my hand, and walked out the door.
    I stood there for a few minutes, staring after the closed door, until the phone rang. The jangle of the ring jolted me and I lunged for the phone on the third ring. It was Elizabeth.
    “Hey. Are we that busy?”
    “No, I, um, I’d just been saying goodbye to Declan. He stopped by.”
    “Really? Were you expecting him?”
    “Not at all. He just came by to ask me out again.”
    “When are you going?”
    “Well, I’m not. Not anytime soon anyway. With all the coven sisters arriving soon, I told him I had family coming into town and we were having a family reunion. With the shop and their visit and this new business with Tabitha, where will I find time for socializing? Besides, he acted a bit odd today.”
    “Odd? Odd how?”
    “I don’t know. It’s the same thing again, just something I can’t put my finger on. Sometimes, I feel like I’m in a type of trance when I’m near him. Just before you called, I was staring out the door like a zombie. Ugh. Enough about this, what’s going on there? How are the girls?”
    “Tabitha is fine, but Serena is a bundle of nerves. She’s actually making me nuts. I called Logan and he’s going to leave work early and take her for a drive or something. And I hope Prudence is one of the first coven sisters to arrive. She always had such a calming effect on Serena.”
    I agreed with her.