by Sarah Makela
“Jessa?” Usually she came right out when the bells on the door chimed. Biting my lower lip, I considered going into the back. Someone could steal things without her keeping an eye on the store.
“Coming,” Jessa called. The black-haired and blue-eyed beauty swept into the front of the store like a hurricane of flowing skirts. She always looked like she’d just come from a Renaissance faire.
I loved the way she dressed, but I knew that style would never be my thing. My parents would think I’d flipped my lid, and my older brother.... Shudder. Nolan would laugh at me, probably joking with his best friend—and my crush since forever—Ethan Parker.
“Where have you been? I was getting concerned.” Stepping around the counter, I wrapped my arms around her and she embraced me in a hug smelling of lavender and honey.
“Just in the back. I had to wrap up a call and I guess I didn’t hear you come in.” Jessa smiled, but something was up. She appeared a bit too eager to pretend everything was fine.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” I placed my hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting.
The door chimed, and we turned in unison toward the shop’s new arrival.
I blinked in surprise.
The man towered in the doorway, over six feet of pure muscle. If his shirt were a little tighter, I probably would’ve been able to see six-pack abs through it. What was he doing here?
He strode in as if he owned the place. There could be no doubt: ladies would drop their panties at his command. If I didn’t have a boyfriend.... Stop it, Mia!
“I’m looking for the owner,” the man said, his deep voice as smooth and sinful as his looks. Yet beneath his delicious exterior, something about him put me on edge. The hint of arrogance in his eyes and the sharp flare of power as he walked in the room were instant triggers. This guy wasn’t a mere mortal. He was something else, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. Aside from Jessa, I’d never met anyone else with this level of power.
Maybe I needed to get out more.
Jessa cleared her throat, as captivated by him as I was by the sound of it. “I’m the owner.” Her voice hit all the sultry tones and she swayed her shoulders. “Can I help you?” I wished I could pull her aside and tell her my feelings, but that would look way too awkward.
“We spoke over the phone. I’m interested in the potion.” He leaned his hip against the counter, standing only a couple feet away. Too close for comfort.
Since Jessa had business to take care of, I sidestepped toward the wall of ingredients, but Jessa grabbed my wrist, keeping me beside her. I cast her a dirty look, but she didn’t pay me any attention, focusing her gaze instead on Mr. Way-Too-Sexy.
“Right, I don’t have any of that in right now, but this woman makes some of the best healing salves I’ve seen.” Jessa nudged me forward, nearly throwing me into Mr. Sexy’s arms.
Glancing up his body to his eyes from so close strained my neck. My five-foot-six frame probably looked tiny beside him. An overwhelming sense of lust and intimidation washed over me.
“Hi.” I fought against a shiver.
Mr. Sexy’s lips twitched. “The potion? Or...salve? Can you help me, or not?”
I looked behind me, noticing how Jessa was ‘busy’ tidying a few shelves that were perfectly fine. A small smirk tugged at her lips.
“Sure, I can help. What exactly do you need?” Healing potions? This was great, just great. He didn’t even know what he needed, nor did he know the differences between potions, salves or poultices. Not that many people outside of the metaphysical community did, but that wasn’t my fault. Besides, there were plenty of ways to do them. It didn’t help to say healing potion. I knew some concoctions that cured the flu, helped with burns, even helped with migraines.
The man cocked an eyebrow at me as if I was stupid. “A...healing salve. Are you serious? I’ve told you what I need.”
Jessa placed her hand on my shoulder. “What she means is, what does it need to do?” She pursed her lips, running her gaze over the man. “On the phone, you said that someone you know had some kind of...poisoning?”
While I enjoyed making potions and other healing remedies, I couldn’t help but wonder why this guy wasn’t taking his friend to a hospital or doctor instead.
Mr. Sexy scratched the back of his neck, causing his shirt to lift. My gaze skimmed his navel and part of the defined six-pack I’d known was hiding there. Somehow, knowing how hot he was under his shirt calmed my nerves a little. Surely, he was fine.
Maybe it’d just been a long time since I’d met a nice looking guy who wasn’t a jerk, and didn’t just storm off to join the military when I needed him. But...I was so not going to think about Ethan right now.
“Right. Not food poisoning. Lead poisoning.” Something flickered in his eyes. What was he hiding? “My friend was injured when the metal got into his system, so if there’s something you could put in to help with that, too.”
Jessa nodded, a frown tugging at her lips. “We can help. Have you taken him to the hospital?”
Mr. Sexy narrowed his eyes first at her, then he slid his gaze to me. “He’s more into the holistic, alternative approach to medicine. He’s assured me that if this doesn’t work, he’ll go to the doctor.” With another caress of his gaze over my body, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Think you can handle it, princess?”
My jaw dropped. For a moment, I couldn’t believe he was both checking me out and kind of insulting me. “Yeah, I know a recipe. I’ll just get the ingredients and head home. When do you need it by?” That was stupid question. He’d just told me his friend was injured. There wasn’t time for me to mess around. “Sorry, I can drop it back by a little later.”
“Why can’t you do it here and now?” Irritation hardened the set of his jaw.
Jessa jumped in before I could say anything. “While we have the ingredients to make the salve, she would need her supplies.” She waved her hand around the store. “I don’t have everything here. Usually—”
“That’s fine. I’ll be back before the store closes. That’s a couple hours from now, correct?” At Jessa’s nod, Mr. Sexy turned on his heel and was gone before she could say anything, the bells chiming in his wake.
I ran a hand through my hair, staring at the door. Shock radiated through my chest. A man I didn’t know, with an injured friend who he wasn’t forcing to go to the hospital, wanted a potion from me. Too much about this situation was weird. And one person had set this all up.
Jessa widened her eyes. “Don’t look at me. I had no idea it would turn out as it had. Besides, you never really do anything with your magic. I figured you would be happy to explore more of your power. That’s what you want, or else you never would’ve sought me out.” She tapped her chin, mischief sparkling in her eyes. “I’ll share the profits with you, fifty-fifty.”
Sighing, I shook my head. “I want your help with my power, but you threw me under the bus. You didn’t even ask me if I wanted to do this or not! You decided for me.” This day could end whenever it felt like it. My bullshit limit was rapidly approaching.
If things weren’t bad enough, I had a date with Greg tonight, on top of needing to make a healing salve. It would take time to get right. If this guy’s friend really was in bad shape, then I needed the proper blend of herbs and supplies. If I rushed this, I could end up doing more harm than good.
“What? Oh, come on, honey. Don’t be that way. You know I have the best of intentions.” Jessa sounded hurt, and I couldn’t stay mad at my best friend. That would just make the whole situation worse.
“Fine. Your intentions were good, regardless of how it came across. Now help me get the ingredients. Ugh! I’ll have to put this together quick. I’m so glad my date isn’t until late. If Greg had scheduled to pick me up when he gets off work, I’d be majorly screwed.” I opened a jar of lavender, sniffing the relaxing scent, and felt a hundred times better.
Jessa placed a few jars in a tan tote bag with her store’s logo on it.
“I can’t believe you’re still seeing him. Doesn’t your brother hate his guts?” She glanced at me, a look of disapproval in her eyes.
“Geez...you as well? Can’t a girl have relationship bliss without even her best friend disapproving? Why does everyone have to second-guess me and my decisions?”
“Honey, it’s not you we’re second-guessing.” She wrapped her arms around me, stroking my back gently. I rested my head on her shoulder. “It’s your choice in men.”
I jerked away, not happy with the direction this was going. “That’s not fair! Everyone has their moments of.... Fine. I’m not thrilled with dating Greg, but I won’t break his heart before Christmas. Besides, I don’t want to be alone for the holidays. Sue me if I’d rather be in a lame relationship with a pushy guy, than with no one at all!” I tugged a jar of wolf’s bane off the shelf and dropped it in the tote bag. “If you all have such a problem with me dating him, then why can’t I do the deed after the New Year? It could be a resolution.”
Jessa opened her mouth to give me a piece of her mind, but my cell phone chimed a melodic dubstep tune. “I’ll ring this up.”
Nodding, I mouthed a thank you. “Hey, Greg.”
“Sis, if you ever call me that again, we’re going to throw down, and you know I’d never hit a girl.” Nolan’s tone was playful, but his voice resonated with a clear underlying anger at the mention of my boyfriend.
“Sorry, Nolan.” Hearing my brother’s name, Jessa glanced in my direction, and I walked a little farther away from the counter. “What do you want?”
“Huh, why do you ask like that?” Mischief saturated his words, and I wished I hadn’t answered the phone. Nolan was a great brother. However, behavior-wise, most people usually thought I was the older sibling instead of visa versa. Wonder why.
“Now isn’t—”
“Ethan is arriving home tomorrow. I have to work late, so you don’t mind picking him up from the airport, do you?”
I sucked in a breath, surprised he was even asking me this. Should I turn him down? Make him find someone else to handle this?
“Great. I’ll text you the flight info. Thanks, sis.”
“Nolan!” His words punched me in the gut. “Nolan?” Looking at the cell phone, I gritted my teeth, seeing he’d taken the coward’s way by hanging up once he had what he wanted. When was I ever going to learn?
“Honey? What’s wrong?” Concern softened Jessa’s voice.
I shrugged, not wanting to get into this.
“No, you can talk to me. What did your brother do this time?”
I headed to the register, closing the space between us. “It’s just that I have so much going on, but Nolan has delegated to me the responsibility of picking Ethan up from the airport tomorrow. If I were him, I would have at least tried to get off work, especially since he’s known about Ethan coming back home for the holidays.” Letting out a sigh, I grabbed the tote bag’s handle, but Jessa held onto it.
“Call him back. Tell him you can’t.” She smiled at me. “Besides, Ethan is his best friend, so he should grow some balls and deal with it himself.”
“I’ll do that.” Jessa’s smile turned into a glare, and I threw up my hands. “I’ll do that right now then.” Digging into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and rang Nolan. The chime of a text came through in my ear. Ethan’s flight details. But I only managed to get through to Nolan’s voicemail. “He’s not answering. Grrr....”
Jessa shrugged. “If that’s the case, you’ll have to let it go. It’s Nolan’s problem. While you love your brother, you can’t let yourself get caught up in his faults. Learn to say no.”
Easy for her to say now, when she’d basically done the exact same thing to me by telling me to come visit her shop and then nearly forcing me into Mr. Way-Too-Sexy’s arms.
“Great advice. I’ll have to remember that next time something gets shoved down my throat.” Pushing the tote’s strap onto my shoulder, I squeezed my hands into fists. “Sorry. I know you meant well. You’re my friend and mentor. You want me to use my magic. Nolan, on the other hand, is just being lazy.”
While she looked a little hurt, she grimaced. Shame slumped forward her shoulders. “Chin up. It’s going to be okay. Especially if you were to dump—”
“Jessa!” Weren’t people supposed to chill once I got out of college instead of being so...pushy? Argh! They didn’t have any right to push their agendas into my decision making.
Copyright © 2013 Sarah Mäkelä. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2014 Sarah Mäkelä
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without expressed written permission from the author.
Editor: Cheryl Johnson
Cover Artist: The Killion Group
ISBN-10: 0991046927
ISBN-13: 978-0-9910469-2-8