Hex and Candy

by Ashlyn Kane

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Sneak Peek

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  About the Author | By Ashlyn Kane

  Coming in September 2018

  Don’t Miss Dreamspun Beyond!

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright

  Hex and Candy

  By Ashlyn Kane

  Strange Bedfellows

  True love’s kiss can break the curse. But then what?

  Cole Alpin runs a small-town candy store. He visits his grandmother twice a week. And sometimes he breaks curses.

  Leo Ericson’s curse is obvious right away, spiderwebbing across his very nice body. Though something about it worries Cole, he agrees to help, with little idea of what he’s getting into.

  Leo is a serial monogamist, but his vampire ex has taken dating off the table with his nasty spell, and Leo needs Cole’s companionship as much as his help. When the hex proves to be only the beginning of his problems, Leo seeks refuge at Cole’s place. Too bad magic prevents him from finding refuge in Cole’s arms.

  Cole’s never had a boyfriend, so how can he recognize true love? And there’s still the matter of the one responsible for their troubles in the first place….

  With a shake of his head, Leo pulled the blanket around his shoulders. “At first I just figured I’d given myself the heebie-jeebies.”

  Heebie-jeebies? Cole bit his tongue.

  “I could swear I felt someone watching me. That was Monday. Tuesday night there was a suspicious car in the parking lot when I got home.”

  Okay, that definitely sounded like heebie-jeebies. Maybe he’d just gotten a little too close to the paranormal world and it had freaked him out. Cole inclined his head toward Niamh.

  She ruffled her feathers but made for the kitchen without complaint. Cole heard the scrape of talons on the counter as she picked up the cloth bag of sweets he kept for emergencies—though this particular emergency he had not foreseen.

  To Leo, Cole prompted, “Go on.”

  For the usual cast of cheerleaders: Amanda, Amy, Brandon, Kate, and Laura. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  Chapter One

  “COLE, I need three pounds of lemon drops!”

  Cole Alpin paused with his finger just above the surface of his tablet and considered the frequency at which one might vibrate if one consumed three pounds of lemon drops. Then he tapped in his sugar order, set the tablet on the shelf, and poked his head around the corner into the storefront. “Three pounds?”

  Amy flipped her planner closed and gave him a frazzled smile. “It’s for a baby shower. Mom-to-be wants a candy bar with everything lemon.”

  How many people were attending this shindig if she needed three pounds of one kind of candy? “When do you need it?” He gestured toward the lemon drop bin, which held only a few sad handfuls. “Back-to-school cleaned me out, but I can do up a batch tonight if she’s set on those.”

  “I was kidding. Let’s do the usual assorted mix with a lemon theme.”

  Thank God. Cole had an urgent date with his couch and this week’s Dancing with the Stars. “Done.” He made a note on the pad beside the register. Then he frowned. “Are you okay?” She was a little green under her perfect makeup.

  “I just had a lunch meeting with someone suffering from acute morning sickness. Morning sickness that didn’t stay in the morning.”

  Amy was a sympathetic vomiter. “Why…?” Cole started and then decided it didn’t matter. He opened the jar of special mints next to the register and used the tongs to pull one out. “Never mind. Here.”

  But then his curiosity got the better of him again and he blurted out, “Okay, no, seriously. Why would she ask for a lunch meeting?”

  Amy popped the mint in her mouth and shrugged. “Hope springs eternal?” She shook her head. Her color was already returning to normal, and she stood a little straighter. “I swear to God these candies are magic.”

  “Secret recipe,” Cole said, projecting the very image of innocence.

  “Well, your secret recipe has saved my day. I have a two o’clock at the golf course about a fundraiser dinner.” She stood on tiptoe, and he leaned over the counter so she could kiss his cheek. “Can I pick up on Friday?”

  The bell above the door jingled, and Cole looked up automatically and forgot how to breathe with his mouth closed.

  Amy followed his gaze over her shoulder, then turned back toward him, smirking. “Friday, Cole. I’ll call and remind you.”

  She collected her planner from the countertop and sashayed out, turning as she did to give the newcomer a once-over from another angle. Wow, she mouthed at Cole.

  The door closed behind her.

  Cole swallowed hard.

  “Uh, hi.” The guy who’d entered was probably six two, with shoulders like Atlas and a physique that suggested he’d never even looked at a piece of candy. “Are you Cole?”

  And he was asking for Cole by name. Was Cole dreaming? Had he slipped into an alternate dimension? “Yeah, yes, hi. I’m Cole.” Belatedly he stuck out his hand to shake.

  “Leon,” said the absolutely radiant human being. Cole would have sworn the sunlight coming in the shop window glinted off his blinding smile. His warm hand practically dwarfed Cole’s, and Cole wasn’t exactly dainty. “Um, Leo. I’m—a friend of mine told me you might be able to help me?”

  Cole owed this friend a fruit basket. “I will do my best to be your sugar daddy.” His eyes went wide and his face went hot and he could feel himself going blotchy all over. “I mean! Uh. I sell candy, obviously. And I will sell some. To you.”

  A hint of strain crept into Leo’s smile. “Actually I didn’t come here to buy candy.”

  Cole blinked. He didn’t sell anything other than candy. “Okay?”

  Leo let out a miserable sound. “I’ve got this—problem.” He scrunched up his face. “Like a… man problem.”

  What did that mean? Was he looking for a hit man or a pimp? “I’m sorry to hear that?” Cole offered, having no earthly idea what else to say. He could offer himself up as a sacrifice, maybe, but that seemed a little forward.

  He didn’t think a guy who looked like Leo really needed that kind of help from him anyway.

  “Or not exactly a man problem,” Leo continued. His ears had started to turn red. “More of a, um, performance issue?”

  Oh wow, no wonder he looked uncomfortable. “That sucks, man, but you really need to see a doctor about that. I just make candy.” Sure, some of them had… extramundane properties, but they’d only treat a symptom, not a cause. Erectile dysfunction was no joke, especially at Leo’s age. He should have that looked at.

  Leo groaned and slumped onto one of the stools at the fifties-style counter, nearly dislodging a glass jar of jawbreakers with his forearm. He put his head in his hands and muttered something indecipherable at his elbows.

  This guy was not having a great day. Cole grabbed the jar of bubble pops and used the tongs to pull one out. “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

  Leo lifted his head. He was even more beautiful close up, and he smelled good, like citrus and lavender.<
br />
  Cole swallowed hard again. “Lollipop?”

  Leo took it with a sigh and pulled off the wrapper.

  Cole realized his mistake when Leo shoved the thing in his mouth and then stuffed it inside his cheek. He needed to think about… burning sugar or something. And not the flash of pink tongue curling around the end of the bubble pop stick.

  Yeah, good luck with that. With great concentration, Cole replaced the lid on the jar.

  There was a sucking noise—Cole almost died—and then a surprised-sounding hum of satisfaction, which was worse.

  Then Leo muttered, “Victoria better be right about this, I swear to God. I feel like an idiot.”

  Hey, look at that—they already had something in common! They should get married. Cole could totally work with Leo’s issue, whatever it was. But before he could open his mouth and put his foot in it, Leo lifted his head and looked him in the eye.

  “I don’t need a doctor. I need a holistic cursebreaker.”

  FOR a few seconds all Cole could do was stare at him. Not that it was a hardship. Holistic cursebreaker, he’d said. Well, now that Cole knew to turn his power on and look with more than just his eyes—now that Leo’s damnably handsome face wasn’t distracting him—he could sense the threads of some kind of spell: the vibrant green threads of it bound his lips and throat and hands, and maybe more that Cole couldn’t see with the counter in the way.

  “Boy did you piss someone off,” he said before he could help himself. “What’s the damage?” He could take a guess, but it would be easier if Leo told him.

  Leo seemed to wilt with relief. “You don’t think I’m nuts?”

  “Please.” Cole’s family were adepts going back generations. “I’ve known you for like thirty seconds. But witchcraft, yeah, that’s real, and so’s the curse you’re under.”

  “And you can undo it?”

  That was trickier. “Sometimes. But not during regular business hours. I don’t charge for that stuff. Gets too complicated on my taxes.”

  “I can come back?” Leo offered. “What time do you close? I could meet you here.” Apparently he was desperate.

  Special candies aside, Cole didn’t keep metaphysical tools in the store. “Better idea.” He tore a page from his memo book and scrawled his address on the back. “Meet me here. Six o’clock. Bring a pizza or something, this could take a while, and it’s hungry work.”

  Leo took the paper. “So you’ll help?”

  As if Cole was going to let this hottie go around cursed for the rest of his life. Besides, he could always use the good karma. “I’ll help.”

  When Leo left, it was quarter to four. That gave Cole fifteen minutes to do some research before Danielle came in for the closing shift. He grabbed his phone and hit speed dial.

  “Cole! Slow day today?”

  “Well, not anymore.” He plopped himself on the barstool behind the counter and spun so he had a clear view of the door in case a customer came in. He was about due for an influx of kids needing their after-school sugar rush. “Have you had anyone interesting in the shop lately?”

  “Oh, so it’s a business call.” There was a soft thump as, presumably, Kate sat in the overstuffed rolling armchair behind the desk in her yarn-cum-magic shop across town. Phoenix Fibre carried all kinds of magical paraphernalia, but only if you knew how to look for it. If anyone were shopping around for curse items locally, she’d know. “Why do you ask?”

  Cole took a slow breath and attempted to clear all inflection from his voice. “A guy came in today,” he began.

  He didn’t fool her for a hot second. “Uh-huh. On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you want to fuck him?”

  “Fourteen,” Cole answered promptly. He didn’t have time to equivocate, and Kate was his cousin and knew him better than anyone. He wouldn’t fool her anyway. “But that’s not the point. He’s got a curse. A nasty one, from the look of it. Any idea who could have done it?”

  “Haven’t had anybody new in,” Kate said. “Not the witchy type, anyway, just your generic crafty sorts. What kind of mojo are we talking?”

  Cole was prone to catastrophizing and didn’t want to speculate. “I don’t know yet. Keep me posted?”

  “I will if you will.”

  A handful of kids trickled in, the bell above the door jingling merrily. “Promise,” Cole said and hung up the phone.

  Chapter Two

  LEO parked under a huge oak tree on a quiet residential street lined with small but well-kept Victorian bungalows, each in a different color. Number 4 was pink with pristine white gingerbread trim. For a second Leo just stared at it and wondered how he’d gotten here. Three months ago he didn’t know witches existed. Now he was bringing one pizza.

  He hoped Cole liked pineapple.

  He hoped Cole wasn’t secretly a serial killer who was going to push him into an oven and bake him.

  Aside from being pink, Cole’s house looked like all the others on the street. It didn’t seem particularly witchy. Except—was that a fairy circle in the lawn? Was that a real thing? And were those bones hanging from that wind chime under the willow?

  This was a bad idea. Leo could live with the curse.

  Before he could turn around, though, the front door opened and Cole smiled at him. “Good, you’re here. I’m starving.”

  He didn’t look like he was about to throw Leo in the oven, but he was making serious heart eyes at the pizza box. Between that and his T-shirt—it sported two bananas and the slogan you’re so appealing—Leo was disarmed. “No cursebreaking on an empty stomach?”

  “No anything on an empty stomach. I get hangry. No one needs to deal with that.” Cole stood to one side and gestured Leo into the house. “Come on in.”

  Well, into the lion’s den. Maybe.

  The house looked normal on the inside too. Nice hardwood floors, framed photographs on the walls. Sure, there was a broom leaning against the wall by the front door, but that was probably just coincidence, right? Cole tidying up before entertaining a client?

  Dealing with the paranormal was a lot easier when Leo just had to eat a lot of red meat and leafy greens.

  Cole took the pizza and led the way deeper into the house, the lights coming on as he walked, illuminating his path. Leo screwed his courage to the sticking place and followed, casting around for any kind of opening conversational gambit. So, how long have you been a witch seemed like it might be insensitive.

  Fortunately Cole took the problem out of his hands. “So, how long have you been playing on our side of the fence?”

  Maybe it wasn’t so insensitive. Or maybe Cole was just blunter than a rubber mallet. “I met Roman at the beginning of June. So… three months ago, give or take.”

  “Roman,” Cole repeated, raising very judgmental eyebrows. But he sounded somehow satisfied, as though Leo had confirmed something for him, potentially about how guys named Roman weren’t to be trusted, judging by his next words. “Of course he’s a Roman. No self-respecting obscure would have a name like Paul or Richard. Roman.” He shook his head. “It’s like they want people to know.” He sighed. “Roman. All right. And Roman was…?”

  “Vampire.”

  “A vampire.” Cole flipped open the pizza box. “Pineapple!” he exclaimed. “Brave choice.”

  Leo fought the urge to fidget. “I thought, you know, the candy store….”

  “Good guess!” he said cheerfully, pulling a pair of plates from the cupboard. “Nature’s candy, right? Excellent on pizza. Perfect complement to the salt.” He paused. “You’re not one of those heathens who eats pizza with a fork, are you?”

  “Not unless I’m eating it while wearing a suit.” Leo liked casual eating, but he liked his suits more.

  Cole passed him a plate. “Sensible. You want a beer?”

  And not have to be dead sober when he explained his predicament? “Please.”

  They sat at the kitchen table, Leo with his beer and Cole with a glass of milk. “Hate to let you drink alone, but I’ve
had a rule against mixing magic with alcohol ever since Mom accidentally turned a garter into a scorpion at Cousin Julie’s wedding.”

  Leo paused with a mouthful of pizza, then slowly resumed chewing. “Is that something you have to worry about?” he asked after he’d swallowed. He couldn’t imagine that. Never being able to cut loose and just relax, always needing to be on guard.

  “Nah. Mine’s not an active power. The worst thing I’d probably do is disenchant somebody’s makeup glamor. But it pays to be cautious.”

  Leo took a healthy swig of liquid courage. He hoped it wasn’t rude to ask, but Cole seemed fairly open. “So how does it work, exactly? You say you don’t have an active power, but your mom’s is. Are there people who can do both? Like more than one thing?”

  Cole waggled his head, tearing a paper towel from the dispenser in the middle of the table. “It sort of depends. You know how there are some people who are just good at everything? Good-looking, captain of the football team, 4.0 GPA, and somehow you still don’t hate their guts?”

  Leo had frozen guiltily with his slice of pizza halfway to his lips and his mouth open. Cole might as well have been reading from his high school yearbook.

  Cole groaned. “Okay, presumably you’re familiar with one of those individuals. Magic is kind of like that. Some people are kind of good at a lot of things. Some people can only do one thing really well. Sometimes they can only do one thing and are still kind of crap at it.”

  “So which category do you fall into?” Leo tried to guess. “I mean, there’s the cursebreaking thing and… whatever you did with the lights, right?”

  “What I did with the lights?” Cole repeated. Milk lined his upper lip in a ridiculous mustache, which he mostly wiped away with paper towel. Then he grinned. “You mean the motion sensors?”

  Oh. Leo maybe should have thought of that. His ears burned. “So much for that 4.0 meaning anything.”

  “Eh, don’t feel bad. Brave new world and all that. No, I have a couple other abilities, but nothing major. When I was a kid, my family thought I was a muggle.”