Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(99)

“I … I couldn’t do that.”

“But why?” Olive pushed.

From anyone else, Rose would’ve thought the person emotionally stunted, or cruel and uncaring. Knowing Olive was neither of those things meant her sister had an underlying motive for the line of questioning. She sat patiently, waiting for Rose to figure it out on her own.

And she did.

She couldn’t work with the woman who hexed away Damian’s happily ever after because Rose wanted to be his happily ever after.

Despite not looking for love, love had found her in the unlikeliest of places … in a broody, grumpy, ill-tempered half-demon former-Hunter-turned-veterinarian.

Sometimes karma—the snide bitch—had a wicked sense of humor. It made certain that Operation Equine Freedom had ended with a trip to the police station, and that Representative Ramón sentenced Rose to community service hours at the sanctuary where she’d witnessed the heart beneath Damian’s tough exterior as he treated the animals in his care.

She’d never had a chance not to fall in love with him.

“I love him.” The realization stole her ability to stand, and she dropped onto the floor in a puddle of emotions. “I’m in love with him, a man who irritates me so much I don’t know whether to rip off his mouth with a tweezers or rip off all his clothes with my teeth.”

Harper nodded, as if knowing her predicament. “Personally, I’d choose nakedness, but that’s me.”

“Do you know what makes this worse? None of it matters. We could be soul mates, and it wouldn’t change a thing because of that freaking hex.”

Bax leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. “That is a bummer, but look on the bright side. He hasn’t lost his soul, which means while it sucks for you—having already done the falling in love part—he’s in the clear. No feelings? Soul intact. Everybody wins.”

Being glad Damian’s soul remained intact didn’t make Bax’s words hurt any less. In fact, a serrated dagger to the heart would’ve hurt less than this pain. Although he chose not to use it, Damian did still have his heart, which meant her feelings weren’t reciprocated.

Bax, about to take his first bite of ice cream, found himself with empty hands as Olive stole his pint. “Hey! You already have one of your own!”

“You don’t deserve this.” She drilled him with a hard glare.

He immediately backed off, hands in the air. “All yours. Jeez. Just putting a positive spin on the situation.”

“Next time, don’t. Don’t spin. Don’t weave. Just … don’t.”

Dropping onto her back, Rose stared at the ceiling. She appreciated everyone’s attempts to boost her spirits, but the truth was that there was no way to spin this that didn’t suck broomsticks for someone, and that someone was her.

It was as plain as the vodka ice cream now churning like a rock in her stomach.

While she’d fallen head over heels in love with Damian Adams, she’d done the falling alone. Love really is a lonely road.



* * *



One in the morning had come and gone, and Damian had no plans on hitting the pause button on his massive to-do list anytime soon. Idle time meant time to think.

And dwell.

And question.

And … damn it. That ache in the center of his chest flared back to life. It had appeared a few days ago and came and went with no rhyme, reason, or explanation, and each time it returned, it stole more and more of his ability to take a deep breath.

He fought through it, tossing the last feed bag onto the growing stack in the outer barn’s storeroom, already having mentally moved on to the next task.

He locked up and turned toward the main building. An engine rumbled in the distance, and headlights, a good fifty yards away, bounced down the gravel lane at a fast clip. Instincts put him on alert for an emergency case, but when the car pulled to a stop, he recognized Julius’s shiny Audi and headed straight into the clinic.

“I know you saw me, Damian,” Julius hollered. His car door slammed shut, and his footsteps followed.

“Whatever brought you here can take you right back out. I’m busy.” He opened his med fridge and inventoried the antibiotics.

“Busy in the middle of the night?”

“I’m busy day and night. Even if I’m sitting and twiddling my damn thumbs, I’m busy. Especially when it comes to anything you say or do. Don’t let the barn door hit your ass on the way out.”

Julius sighed and did the opposite, walking around the small treatment room, his hands touching everything left out on the counters. “Oh, there will be ass-hitting, but it’ll be me kicking yours once you take your head out of it. Wouldn’t want to give you a concussion to go along with your stupidity ailment.”

Damian slammed the fridge shut and whirled on his brother. “Don’t you have someone else to annoy?”

The bastard smirked. “At the present moment? No. Don’t you feel lucky?”

“Go find one because I have shit to do and—”

“More mistakes to make? Because honestly, I don’t know if you could possibly make one bigger than you did earlier tonight.”

Damian pushed past his brother, ignoring another soul-sucking flare of pain. “I’m not talking about Rose, least of all with you.”