Curses & Cupcakes (A Stella Storm Cozy Witch Mystery Book 1)

by Amy Casey

  And funnily enough, he always chose that window seat, too, even if it did leave him squinting in the sun.

  “I mean I’m not being nasty,” Annabelle said, as she wiped down the surfaces, gawping over into the distance at the couple quite obviously. “But… well, his nose.”

  “Annabelle, keep your voice down, please.”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “I know you’re bloody saying. That’s the problem. You’re ‘saying’ a bit loud for my liking. Just… just get on with your work.”

  “Or what?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Or you can sling your hook.”

  “And risk me telling the world all about witchy Stella?” she said, a mean smile on her face. “I don’t think so.”

  I sighed. I knew Annabelle was playing around. But at the same time, there was a grain of truth to what she was saying. She had one over me when it came to her newly acquired knowledge of what I was. And it was irritating when she used her knowledge to lightly blackmail me.

  But honestly, part of me wondered why I’d not told Annabelle the truth a long time ago. She was a friend. She could be trusted. Even if she did threaten me from time to time, I knew it was only in jest.

  Well. I hoped it was.

  I looked over at “Big Nose Bill” and “Chatty Charlie.” Honestly, there couldn’t be a less likely couple. Bill was in his mid-forties, and almost certainly wore a wig. Which wasn’t a problem. Hey, it was a nice wig. But he was the kind of guy who’d adamantly pretend he wasn’t a wig-wearer to the hilt.

  Chatty Charlie was half his age, and she certainly earned her name. She was blonde, attractive, but hadn’t been known to jump into any relationships, something her parents feared when she was younger. She was always nice, always polite, always tipped well (the most important thing).

  But she couldn’t be seeing Big Nose Bill.

  She couldn’t be.

  Could she?

  “Can’t you, like…”

  I looked at Annabelle. Or rather, I glared at her. “Can’t I what?”

  Annabelle looked at the floor sheepishly. “You know…”

  “Annabelle, we’ve had this discussion.”

  “I know. It’s just—”

  “No chance. I’m not some kind of fruit machine, you know.”

  “What kind of an analogy is that?”

  “You know. You don’t just get to put the money in and… and wait for the spells to come pouring out.”

  “Yeah, this analogy definitely isn’t working for me.”

  “You’re probably right. Rubbish analogy. But anyway. It’s not happening. Not in a million…”

  I stopped speaking then for the same reason that Annabelle stopped speaking.

  For the same reason that pretty much everyone in Witchy Delights stopped speaking.

  I looked over at Big Nose Bill and Chatty Charlie, and I saw something remarkable unfold.

  Charlie leaned over and pecked Bill on the lips.

  She got up, then. And she looked around, as if she was happy that everyone had witnessed what’d just happened.

  It was Bill that was the sight to behold, though. His eyes were wide. He sat there, totally still, staring into space as if he couldn’t believe his luck.

  “Wow,” Annabelle said.

  “Wow indeed.”

  “I guess… I guess that means you aren’t going to have to figure out what they’re thinking after all.”

  “No,” I said. “I guess I’m not.”

  I watched as Bill sat there a little longer, still wide-eyed, still besotted and caught up in the moment. And I found myself smiling. Because sure, he was a bit eccentric. And sure, that nose was… problematic. But everybody deserved a little happiness.

  I just had to make damned sure Charlie wasn’t messing him around in any way.

  I smirked. That could be something my abilities could really aid me with, should they need to.

  “Aren’t you still tempted?” Annabelle asked.

  I looked around at her. “Tempted by what?”

  “You know. Figuring out what he’s thinking. Something like that.”

  I sighed. And I looked out of the window, out at the beautiful town, out into the sunlight. “Of course I am. That’s… that’s something you just don’t shake. But you know what? I’m going to hold off. Just this once, anyway.”

  I smiled at Annabelle, and she smiled back at me. I figured whatever had just happened between us, she understood. She got what I was saying.

  There was another secret I was hiding, though. Truth be told, ever since my standoff with Janice two weeks ago, I hadn’t been able to use my magic anywhere near as effectively. I didn’t know whether I’d just burned myself out. I didn’t know whether I needed to give my powers time to recharge. Or perhaps I’d been suspended by whatever magic-y gatekeepers were up there, detecting my overuse of hard magic.

  Whatever the case, I’d wait. I’d bide my time.

  And when I needed to use my abilities to help people again… I’d find a way.

  I finished my shift and hung up my apron. Mary got here a little early for the late shift, and let me head back ahead of time. And on my way home, I found myself not really thinking of anything, not letting my mind wander. Instead, I just looked around this beautiful town. I looked at the little antique shops, the tiny micro pubs. I looked at the library, and the women in there who always gossiped about anyone and everyone. I looked at Ben the Builder, who always looked back and smiled.

  And then I found myself looking over at the church, over at the churchyard. Over at the graves of the fallen. And although I knew this town had been through hell, it was that sunlight that convinced me that it would fight back. It was those idiosyncratic characters and that small town mentality that reassured me it would find its way again. No matter what it went through. No matter what went down. Goosridge was here to stay. Nothing was breaking it.

  And I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that was the case.

  I took a deep breath and sighed as I walked up to my flat door, readied myself for a nice lazy afternoon in curled up with Rocky and Beatrice. Hell, I might finally get the chance to finish watching The Witch.

  I opened the door. “Hey, team. I’m home!”

  Rocky came rushing towards me. “Food? Walk?”

  I laughed as I stepped inside. “You’re in luck, little man. Both food and walk coming your way.”

  “Woo hoo!”

  I laughed as I closed the front door, returned to my haven, my sanctuary. Because as long as I had my pets, all was good. As long as I had my safe place, all was good.

  I took a look outside the window at the sleepy town of Goosridge once more, and I smiled.

  I didn’t see the rabbit with the collar and the lead skip past my house then off down an alleyway, never to be seen again…

  Want More from Amy Casey?

  Murder & Macarons, the second book in the Stella Storm witch mystery series, is now available to purchase here: http://smarturl.it/MagicMacaronsAmy

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  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any reference to real locations is only for atmospheric effect, and in no way truly represents those locations.

  Copyright © 2018 by Amy Casey

  Cover design by Damonza

  All rights reserved.

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