Page 60 of Enchanted to Meet You

“Bestfriend,” Mark said. “Don’t forget.Bestfriend since middle school. Get ready, bro. If you tell one of these witches something, she’s going to tell the other one, and vice versa.”

“Well, it’s true,” Dina said, as Derrick extended his hand toward her. “Isn’t that what best friends are for?”

Derrick looked bemused. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Oh, er, sorry, I—” He noticed the uneasy glance she gave his blackened hand, then said, apologetically, “Incense powder. Jessica and I were just—”

“Oh, Goody Fletcher’s book!” Dina laughed. “You found it. Congrats.”

He grinned. “Thanks.”

I carefully watched Dina’s face to see if it registered anything—shock, pleasure, pain—when Derrick’s fingers touched hers.

But it didn’t. Dina looked like her normal self—granted, in full makeup even at such an early hour, ready for a day at the office in her skirt suit, high heels, and pearls—as she dropped his hand. “It’s very nice to officially meet you. Derrick, right?”

“Yes,” Derrick said. He still seemed bemused... for which I couldn’t really blame him. Dina and Mark were a lot even at a normal hour. At seven in the morning, especially when you threw in the cannoli and the news of the king tide, they were extra.

“So how bad is the flooding this time?” I asked.

“Bad.” Dina shook her head. “I heard from Sal this morning. He had to call an in-home learning day for the high school. The cafeteria flooded. The entire first floor, really.”

“But it didn’t even rain last night.” I couldn’t believe this. “And the full moon isn’t until Thursday.”

“I know.” Dina was eyeing Derrick as he sipped the coffee she’d brought him. “Is this part of the rift thing Jessica said you’re here to help us with?”

“It could be,” Derrick replied, carefully.

“I knew it.” Dina shook her head. “Iknewsomething weird was going on.”

“Something weird isalwaysgoing on around this town.” Markwas also eyeing Derrick, only he was doing so suspiciously, making it pretty clear that he included him in the list of the many weird things going on around town. “Jess says you saw the wolf? Because I saw it, too, weeks ago, but nobody believed me. Everyone said it was only a dog.”

Derrick shook his head. “That was no dog.”

“Right? I know what I saw.” Now that Mark could see Derrick was on his side about the wolf, he began to warm up to him. “Hey, is that your ride out there in the driveway, bro? Dina’s brother told us about that hailstorm over at the high school yesterday. Sal’s a skeptic, so he doesn’t think it was paranormal, but I can tell you it didn’t hail over on my side of town. First the wolf, then the hail, now this crazy tide. What the hell is coming next?”

Derrick sent me a silent look, halfway between a plea for help and a rebuke—whether for letting Mark and Dina into my house in the first place, or telling them who Derrick was and what he was doing here, I didn’t know. All I knew was, a second later, Mark had his arm wrapped around him, and was steering him toward the front door.

“This is scary shit,” Mark was saying. “Your car looks like hell. Listen, I know a guy—”

“It’s a rental.”

“Oh, man, I hope you took out the supplemental. I can’t believe—”

The rest of what Mark was saying was lost as he herded Derrick out the door to go look at his dented rental car.

As soon as they were gone, I grabbed Dina by the arm. “Did you feel it?” I asked.

She shook her head, looking confused. “Feel what?”

“Hisfingers, when you shook his hand.”

“No. What are you talking about?”

“Like an electric charge from his skin—every time he touchesme, I feel it. It’s like being hit by a shock. But in a good way. Are you telling me you didn’t feel it?”

“No, I didn’t feel a thing. His fingers just felt—normal. Wait—what do you meanevery time?” Her eyes widened as her voice dropped even lower. “Like during sex, too?”

I nodded, unable to keep a smile off my face as I thought of the previous evening’s activities. “It’s so amazing, Dee. I don’t know if it’s a spell or a technique he learned somewhere or just a natural gift. But let me tell you, whatever it is, it’shot. I have never, in my life—”

Both Dina’s hands flew out to grip my wrists. “Wait. Jess.” Her face looked graver than I’d ever seen it.