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“
But it’s
done?”

“
Yeah. I hope
this plan of Clay’s works. Because if it doesn’t, after that little
fight, I know I’ve lost her. I can’t lose her, Eli. I
can’t.”

“
It will
work.” Eli placed his arm around Jack’s shoulder and directed him
back to the cottage to begin phase two.

35

LETTING
GO

Cora still
felt the anger surging inside her, the fist of it sending her
stomach flying up to her throat. The encounter with Jack yesterday
had left her speechless, a first for Cora. She couldn’t believe
what had happened. She couldn’t believe the way Jack had spoken,
how he’d acted. It made her question whether she really knew him at
all.

The tension in
the shop had been somewhat uncomfortable after the encounter, and
Quinn had tried to make small talk, but she’d been too preoccupied
with the argument. What had gotten into Jack? She shook her head as
she dusted the shop. What right did Jack have to come in the shop
and start shouting at her? She hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d
been the one to leave her, to push her away.

The most
annoying thing was Tabitha’s reaction to their little fight. Cora
had expected the verbal whiplash, had expected some choice words,
but instead, Tabitha hadn’t said anything. It unnerved her, this
silence. She would’ve preferred a telling off.

Yet another
first.

After their
little fight, Tabitha had moved around the shop cleaning up the
mess silently. Cora had wanted some reassurance about what had
happened, something to help her understand what was happening to
Jack. In other words, she wanted Tabitha to tell her if she was
right in what she was doing, and how she was acting. She needed
Tabitha to tell her everything would be okay. She wasn’t feeling
the gratifying victory after doing something right. Instead, Cora
felt sick and empty.

Cora also felt
terrible that the shop was a mess. She’d offered to help, but the
scowl on Tabitha’s face made it clear that her help was not needed.
Again, she didn’t like being pushed away by Tabitha. Tabitha was,
putting it simply, as close to a mother Cora had. She didn’t like
the distance between them. Jack had forced that distance by acting
the way he was, she thought with an angry scowl.

Why couldn’t
he leave Quinn alone? Quinn hadn’t done anything to Jack. Quinn
hadn’t done anything at all. Jack was just jealous. She could tell
herself this because jealousy was something she could deal with,
but she couldn’t shake the image in her head of Jack’s face. The
feelings portrayed there had been something more. Something she
couldn’t figure out.

Understanding
how Jack felt had been second nature to her. Now, she couldn’t
decipher his feelings and this small fact didn’t sit right in her
gut.

Thinking of it
had her heart thudding hard making it difficult to breathe. She’d
been warned about first loves and how brutal they could be once you
broke up. Her first love was harder because they had endured so
much more together than commoners. She felt the sting of tears as
they threatened to spill over. She would not let them. She knew he
wouldn’t be sat at home crying over her.

Plus she had
Quinn.

Cora could
admit to herself that she felt the first stirrings of something for
Quinn. She also blamed Jack for this. He was pushing her away, and
Quinn was here for her. He supported her decisions. He looked after
her. Not one member of her coven was supporting her right now. She
had no one to turn to. For her, it came down to two simple
points:

Quinn wanted
to be a part of her coven.

Jack
didn’t.

Cora smoothed
down the ruffles in her dress as she studied herself in the full
length mirror. A mirror Ayden had bought her as a welcome home
present. The sweetheart neckline of the dress looked okay. She was
still unsure about it, but she’d bought it so she had to wear it
now. The champagne sequin bodice sparked as she moved. The soft
material cascaded to the floor, rippling at her feet. Her hair was
pulled up high into a messy bun, wisps gently tickled her skin.
She’d wanted to ask Ember for help but realised when her hand
reached for her phone that Ember hardly spoke to her. She’d also
made an effort with her makeup making her eyes pop and her lips
shimmer.

Tabitha had
given her a passing glance as Cora had made her way to the bathroom
to check on her make up one last time. Tabitha had made herself
rather welcome in her home with Ayden over the past day or so. Cora
assumed it was Tabitha attempting to keep an eye on her. Cora
hadn’t wanted Tabitha here for her first real date with Quinn, but
Ayden had threatened actual bodily harm so she didn’t have any
other option.

The sullenness
in the group was really starting to affect Cora. The only people
who spoke to her were Ciaran and Quinn. She wouldn’t tell her
coven, because she was stubborn, but she missed them all. It was a
kind of ache not being able to speak with the ones you love. You
almost forgot yourself and nearly spoke until you remember that
your comment would be greeted by nothing, and then the emptiness
would wash over you, making you feel cold and miserable.

Tabitha
entered the living room. “Quinn is waiting for you.”

Cora saw the
sneer that accompanied the sound of his name but she didn’t comment
on it. It would be a waste of her time.

Cora took a
deep breath and walked down the stairs. Heading to the living room,
she expected to find Quinn there but saw Ayden who was casually sat
in the chair reading the newspaper. She looked around just to make
sure she hadn’t missed him.

“
Where’s
Quinn?” she asked, her teeth nearly grating together in
frustration.

“
Outside.”

“
Why is he
outside?”

“
I didn’t want
him in here.”

“
Ayden you had
no right! It’s my house too.”

“
You weren’t
here when he arrived. I made the on the spot decision to make him
wait outside. I’ve already cleaned up today and took the rubbish
out, I’m not going to invite it back in.”

There was no
point in arguing with him. It got her nowhere. She stormed to the
door and found Quinn standing on the drive kicking loose gravel
with his shoes.

“
You will ruin
your nice shoes.”

Quinn turned
and she had to admit that her heart did a quick thump of
appreciation seeing a good looking man standing on her drive
waiting to take her out on a date.

The light grey
suit Quinn wore looked to be very expensive. He’d coupled the suit
jacket with a darker grey waistcoat which covered a crisp white
shirt. He’d added some colour with a bright buttercup yellow
tie.

“
You look
beautiful,” he murmured close to her face.

He tentatively
approached her and brushed his lips against her cheek. She found
with her heels she was the same height as him. “Thank you, you look
rather dashing yourself.”

“
Cora! You’re
letting the cold air in!” Ayden shouted at her from within the
room.

She slammed
the door behind her.

“
Won’t you be
cold without a coat?” Quinn asked. She detected the anger in the
tone of his voice.

“
Nope, come
on, let’s go.” She took his arm as he led her to his
car.

36

DATE
NIGHT

Quinn
confidently led the way through the constant rush of people. He
obviously knew where he was going, but he hadn’t mentioned what
restaurant they were eating in. Actually, he hadn’t mentioned much
about this date. At such short notice, she’d expected Quinn to buy
fish and chips and for them to be sat on the shop floor. It would
have to be the shop, and Tabitha wouldn’t have liked it. There was
no way Ayden would let the two of them eat in the house. Not
without a fight anyway. Eating fish and chips reminded her too much
of the night she spent at Jack’s doing the same thing. Shaking her
head, she pushed aside all thoughts of Jack.

She felt the
butterflies attack once more. She did feel nervous about this, but
in a good way. Quinn wasn’t Jack, and now that Jack had made his
feelings perfectly clear, she had to stop thinking about
him.

There was a
slight chill in the early evening air as the sun slipped behind the
towered apartment buildings. She walked quickly beside him, the
fast ‘killing her feet’ pace did help warm her a little. She hadn’t
expected to be fighting the crowds in the middle of Manchester, but
she loved the feeling of being surrounded by people. She missed
London at times like this.

Quinn’s hand
remained in his trouser pockets. She felt a little disappointed
that he hadn’t attempted to hold her hand. Until that moment, she
hadn’t realised how much she wanted that contact. She rubbed her
arms for something to do.

Quinn slowed
his pace and turned into an entrance. The building sat on a busy
corner of the street. High turrets dominated the sky line as red
bricks gleamed under the streetlight’s glow. Coupled with the large
church like windows, this place looked very posh and
expensive.

Cora walked
into the restaurant and was swallowed up in a cocoon of heat and
soft music. Quinn was holding the door open for her. She made her
way through and was greeted by the smart looking male host. Quinn
stepped forward, whispered something as the man smiled and asked
them to follow him.

As they
followed, her heels clicked on a floor where stars twinkled within
the black. There were two levels to this restaurant. The bar was
positioned in the far corner where vibrant shades of purple glowed
around it, making glasses gleam on a shelf that was positioned in
front of a large mirror. The bar was surrounded by white, plush
sofas which offered a welcoming place to drink and chat. The
seating area was cordoned off with long, white material. Much like
the material used in the shop which cascaded from the ceiling in
the window display.

They began
making their way up black, reflective stairs that swirled elegantly
up to the top floor. A beautiful, crystal chandelier hung low,
bursts of light hit it which sent out showers of different colours
across the stone walls.

Several
delicious smells assaulted her as they stepped onto the second
level. The long white curtains were also used to section off a
large seating area at the back of the room. She found many couples
eating and talking over the soft music that was piped through the
entire restaurant.

They walked
through the curtain and were shown to their table. It was a high
backed white booth that was separated by a soft purple curtain
which fell in ruffles behind them. Quinn moved aside so she could
sit in the booth first. Smiling, she fidgeted in her seat as Quinn
got comfortable next to her. The warmth of his body close to her
sent goose bumps flying over her skin.

“
Would you
care for a drink, miss?” the host asked.

“
I believe the
champagne is excellent here,” Quinn said, looking at the
man.

“
You are
right, sir. Would you care to sample some?”

“
No, just
bring the bottle to the table.”

“
Oh my god,
Quinn, this will cost too much.”

Quinn poured
cold water into a glass and offered her it whilst he shook his
head. “No, it’s not. You’re long overdue this. A beautiful place
for a beautiful lady.”

She felt the
blush rush into her cheeks and watched his smile stretch
wider.

Finding she
needed to do something to divert the attention away from the blush
in her cheeks, she looked over the menu and sipped the cold water.
Most of the appetizers were fish based dishes and she wasn’t a
lover of fish. Sometimes she found that the fish was too fishy.
Jack had once laughed at her over such a comment.

A waiter
appeared with a large bottle of champagne still glistening with ice
cold water. He placed the bucket full of ice next to the
centrepiece of pink roses and then stepped back and rather
extravagantly popped the cork. Her glass was the first to be
filled.

“
So,” Quinn
whispered, raising his glass for a toast. “Here’s to a lovely
date.”

She lifted her
glass, touching his before tasting the champagne which sent bubbles
flying up her nose. Quinn took her hand and kissed her
knuckles.

*

She forced her
mouth to chew the last of the caramel cheesecake that was splashed
with a passion fruit and mango sauce. See, this was the reason she
didn’t like to save dessert for last. You were always too full to
appreciate it. Dessert should always be served first.

Her stomach
was fit to burst, and her head was lighter than usual, the
champagne was definitely having an effect on her. The chatter from
the restaurant was relaxing, and she found that she was actually
feeling rather sleepy.

During the
course of their meal Quinn had moved closer to her so she could
hear what he was saying. His fingers occasionally brushed her hair
to one side as he spoke to her. She liked the feel of his fingers
brushing her hair. His eyes always trailed the curve of her lips as
she spoke. Her head was definitely spinning.