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Jack didn’t
feel the angry bubble inside him at the words. He’d known exactly
how Clay felt. It was refreshing that Clay openly admitted
it.

“
At this
moment I'm inclined to agree with Jack and Clay,” Ayden said. “I
don't think Cora fully knows this Quinn man.”

“
It doesn't
matter if you don't like him. You're taking yourself out of the
equation by acting like such an idiot,” Ember noted, looking at
Jack sternly.

Jack was
starting to feel like an idiot. Yet, it was hardly surprising that
idiots usually did idiotic things when they were in love. He
groaned again. Cora bloody irritated him at times, but why couldn't
she see what was right in front of her? He'd been fighting with
this same argument in his head for days now, but he knew the moment
he voiced his concerns, it would make everything seem
real.

He knew that
it was time for some reality, or maybe they would disagree with
him, give him that slither of hope? “You know what I don't
understand,” he began, “Answer me this, Tabitha or Ember, Cora was
told to go ahead with this whole dating thing, yes?”

He received
nods from the table. “So, she finds out who the people are, her
matches, which includes me. Why is she still dating
them?”

“
I do not
understand,” Tabitha said, shaking her head.

“
Well, after
one date with each of them, why has Cora not turned around and
picked me? Why is she still waiting to choose? She could've told
Alastair that she'd made her choice, and he couldn't argue with her
if she'd been on a date with all the prospective men. Alastair had
never stated how many dates she had to go on... the condition was
to date the men, pick one and then be engaged and...” He swallowed
trying to force the word out. “Be pregnant within six months. Again
I ask, why am I still waiting for her to pick me?”

His thoughts
were greeted with silence. Christ, he was right, which meant no one
could argue with his logic. This made him feel ill. He'd secretly
hoped that someone would argue his point and say it was complete
bull, but no one stepped forward.

“
Are you
saying that Cora does not know who to pick?” Tabitha asked
him.

Jack could see
that Tabitha was shocked that she hadn’t thought of this
either.

“
That is
exactly what I'm saying.” Jack felt a lead weight drop onto his
heart. He'd known this all along, but now his mouth had stated the
obvious, it felt like he’d been smacked in the chest with a
sledgehammer.

“
She loves
you,” Ayden informed him.

“
I know she
does, but she doesn't know who to pick. Given a choice, she can't
see anyone at the top.”

“
Then bloody
fight for her. Do you love her enough to fight for her?” Eli
argued.

“
Eli, I love
her so much it hurts. It sounds like some corny shit, but it’s
true. I think about her and my heart just starts flapping around in
my chest. She does stuff to me... I can't explain,” he sighed. “I
know one thing though, it would crush me if I lost her.”

“
Then fight.”
Tabitha smacked her hands on the table making him jump. “Fight
because if you do not then someone else will, and they will win
her.”

“
Jack, go to
her,” Eli urged.

Jack stood,
took a deep breath and ran out of the shop.

He ran down
the street cursing himself, what he'd said at the table had been
stupid. Wasn't he supposed to be playing it cool? Be the supportive
boyfriend? He needed to fight for her, not with her. He had to
prove to her that he was a worthy partner.

Jack growled.
He'd just assumed he was in with the chance because they were
already together. He didn’t expect her to struggle coming to a
decision. He ran past the cluster of houses and stopped in his
tracks as his breath left his lungs.

Sat on the
floor in her dress, the one he'd given her, was Cora. She had her
head down and was fumbling with her hands. Sat next to her with his
arm around her shoulders was Quinn. Jack felt his heart stop as he
watched the woman he loved being comforted by another man. He
clenched his fists and stepped forward.

“
Jack,” Eli
whispered.

He looked at
Eli, felt his heart hitch as the realisation dawned that he may
have already lost her.

“
Come on, you
can’t win her by fighting.”

Eli put his
arm around his shoulders and pulled him back towards the
shop.

He was losing
her. At one time he was the first person she came to, now she was
seeking comfort from another man. Not just any man, it was Quinn.
How had Quinn known to be there? Had Cora contacted him?

“
Eli, what the
hell do I do now?” Jack asked, and put his head in his
hands.

27

TIMING IS
EVERYTHING

Cora lay in
the large, cold bed, thinking. It was cold because she was on her
own, and she hated it. She stared at the ceiling, and then looking
at the empty side of the bed where Jack should be, she sighed and
smacked her fist on the empty pillow.

Why couldn't
he trust her? What did he know about Quinn that made him bristle so
much? Jack knew nothing as far as she was concerned. She had the
letter to prove that Quinn had been through hell and back. He’d
told her with eyes that portrayed years of grief and
sorrow.

Storming into
the kitchen, she realised she hadn’t put her dressing gown on. She
didn’t bother to go back and get it. Cora assumed Eli wouldn’t be
here if Jack wasn’t. She assumed right. She saw Tabitha eating
breakfast at the counter, alone. Tabitha ignored her as she walked
into the kitchen. Great, so she was receiving the silent
treatment.

Heading to the
fridge, Cora snatched the remaining bottle of orange juice and
picked a glass, slamming it on the counter with a little too much
force.

“
Mind you do
not break that glass, young lady.”

“
So you're on
his side too?” Cora snapped as she poured the orange
juice.

“
I am not on
any side, but you do not slam things in this house.”

“
Fine,” Cora
mumbled as she swallowed some of the juice. She may be stubborn,
but Tabitha scared her when she was mad.

“
What happened
last night, Cora?” Tabitha questioned.

“
Ask Jack, he
was the one with a stick up his ass.”

“
No. I know
what happened between the two of you at the table, that does not
take a genius to work out, but, he came back into the shop looking
defeated. I have never seen him so devastated. He could not
speak.”

Cora shrugged
her shoulders acting like she didn't care. If truth be known, she
did care. A lot. Her heart squeezed tightly when she thought about
Jack hurting, how she may have hurt him. But Jack had started the
argument. He'd talked to her like she was below him. Damn it, she
was the High Priestess, she deserved respect. “I'm going to set up
shop.”

“
I will be
down in a moment,” Tabitha whispered as she continued to eat her
cereal.

Cora stomped
down the stairs to the shop. How was she meant to deal with Jack
when she saw him? He would no doubt come into the shop. A day
hadn’t passed without him doing so. She growled and slammed the
flat door behind her.

*

Ciaran had
avoided her as soon as he'd walked in the shop. Perhaps the
permanent scowl on her face had put him off. Did Ciaran know what
had happened? She didn’t know how he could. He wasn’t in contact
with any members of her coven as far as she was aware.

Ciaran worked
around her in silence, as Tabitha sat behind the counter on the
laptop. Cora stretched her shoulders, the tension in her body
making them tight. The chime above the door sounded, and for one
moment she thought Jack may have come. Cora turned and watched
Quinn enter the shop.

“
Mornin'
folks,” he said, smiling.

Cora caught
the snarl on Tabitha's face before it smoothed over. Ciaran didn't
even acknowledge Quinn. Why were people so against him? Quinn
hadn’t done anything wrong.

“
Morning,
Quinn,” Cora said with a smile.

“
How are yer
feeling this mornin', Cora? Are yer feet okay after last
night?”

Tabitha sat
bolt upright, narrowing her leaf green eyes in their direction.
Cora hadn’t told her she’d met up with Quinn. Quinn had told her
he’d been walking around the village for fresh air and had seen her
running down the main street. Now Tabitha knew she'd been with
Quinn last night. Tabitha knew why Jack had been unable to speak.
Cora hadn’t seen Jack. She wasn’t sure if things would have been
different if she had seen him.

“
My feet are
fine, thank you.”

The door
opened, and a man with long black hair and striking ruby red eyes
waltzed in to the shop. “Excuse me, I'm looking for
Cora?”

“
Yes, that's
me,” Cora said, and stepped around Quinn.

“
Hello, I'm
Ethan.”

“
Oh.” This was
her final date candidate.

Cora sensed
everyone in the shop looking at Ethan. He wasn't what she'd
expected. He was older than her, she would place him in his late
thirties. Ethan was a short man with a ballooning belly. He wasn’t
her type. She hated to judge on looks, but it wasn’t like you
walked into a pub, saw a guy and said ‘wow, he has a great
personality.’ Everyone judges looks.

“
Yes, sorry
I've not been in touch. I've had some family
complications.”

“
I'm sorry to
hear that,” Cora replied politely. “What coven are you
from?

“
I’m from the
Newcastle coven. We weren’t at the meeting.”

“
You don’t
sound like you are from Newcastle.”

He laughed.
“No, I moved there when I was younger. I’m originally from
Huddersfield.”

“
Right.” Cora
didn’t know what else to say.

“
I thought it
best that I come to tell you in person that I will be taking myself
out of the charge placed upon you.”

“
Hi, A don't
think we've met, ma names Quinn.” Quinn shook Ethan’s hand
jovially.

“
No, we
haven't. Nice to meet you. Are you one of the prospective
fiancés?”

Quinn put his
arm around her shoulders, taking her by surprise. She was about to
move or say something just as the bell chimed and Jack walked in.
She swallowed her heart when she saw his face register Quinn’s arm
around her shoulders.

“
Oh, I see,”
Jack stated.

She opened her
mouth to tell Jack that it wasn't what it seemed to be, but he was
already walking back out onto the street.

“
Well, I see
you have your hands full already, Cora, I will bid you a good
day.”

“
Bye,” she
whispered as she watched Ethan walk out of the door and head in the
direction of the cluster of houses.

She looked at
Tabitha and received the coldest glare she'd ever encountered. Cora
caught Ciaran looking in her direction and was surprised to see an
expression of hurt cross his face. Brilliant! Was she going to
upset everyone today? What had she done to Ciaran? She couldn’t
keep track.

“
Ah, well,
that's one man out of the race,” Quinn smiled.

She heard
Ciaran tut and Tabitha sigh. Her day was just going from bad to
worse.

“
Cora, we need
to prepare for the Easter customers. Quinn, she has work to
do.”

“
Right, A will
see yer later.”

Cora smiled at
Quinn and grudgingly walked over to Tabitha.

“
Cora, I will
say this once, and once only. You need to sort this mess out before
you lose everyone. I mean this, if you're not careful, you will
break up this coven.”

Tabitha left
the shop, leaving her alone with her shock. Was it really that
bad?

28

IS IT WORTH
LOSING?

She'd not seen
Jack since Thursday, and she missed him terribly. Her head hurt
from the lack of sleep and food. Her face was hounded by yet more
lines, probably from the stress. The bags under her eyes were
becoming more prominent as each day passed. Her clothes were
starting to hang off her skinny frame. Life wasn’t being too good
to her right now.

She swept the
shop, trying to muster up any sort of energy, but even that failed.
Tabitha had left early because she was out delivering with Ember,
which meant Cora was in the shop by herself. Well, that was until
Ciaran joined her. But they didn’t speak, so she was always left
with her own thoughts.

The door
opened and not for the first time, the chime grated on her nerves.
She'd lost all patience with everything. Lack of sleep would do
that to her. Everything irritated her. The sound of someone
breathing even annoyed her, but she couldn’t stop them doing it.
She turned and was shocked to see Clay walking into the
shop.