10|Breakfast Run

Cadence was surprised to find a note from her mom when she walked into the kitchen the next morning. 'Cade, I'm sorry for rushing off like this; there was an emergency with the coven. Have fun at school. See you later! Love, Mom!'

She didn't need to be a witch to know that something was seriously wrong with the coven as she read the note. Two emergency meetings in twenty-four hours didn't look good, and she wondered how much of it had to do with last night's incident.

Cadence had just sat down, ready to stuff her face with Froot Loops, when the doorbell rang.

"Can't I have some cereal in peace around here?" she grumbled as she went to get the door, her heart going berserk when she found Luca on her front porch. The mere sight of him made her all shaky and weak-kneed, and she had to lean on the door frame for support. 

"Hello," he said.

"Hi." Her greeting was surprisingly coherent and polite enough. But there was nothing coherent or polite about the sound of her heart pounding in her chest.

"I came to drop this off," Luca handed her the basket, and Cadence took it without saying a word. They stood there, neither feeling compelled to talk and fill the strangely comfortable silence between them.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked when she remembered her manners, though she wasn't sure if she wanted him inside her house. Luca was odd. Different. And so cold. 

Cadence shivered, recalling the feel of his icy fingers when she handed him the basket the previous evening. Something about him scared and drew her in all at once. 

"Sure, I can come in for a bit." He gave her a lazy smile as he followed her inside.

"I was about to have breakfast. Nothing fancy. Froot Loops. Do you want some?" Cadence offered, knowing very well she was rambling, but she couldn't stop herself. It wasn't every day a handsome stranger—no—her gorgeous new neighbour dropped by for breakfast.

"No, thanks. I just ate." Luca patted his flat stomach to prove to her he was full. Cadence smiled, finding the gesture funny, cute, and sexy all at once. 

She offered him a seat, but he shook his head, choosing instead to drift over to the window above the sink and stare outside at the clothes on the clothesline billowing in the gentle breeze.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cadence studied him when she thought he wasn't looking. He didn't look like anyone she'd met before, and she didn't know if that was a good thing. He was so much taller in the daylight, his complexion paler too, but he was still as mesmerising as he was the previous evening.

"Did you like it?" His question as he turned from the window caught her off guard. His pale blue eyes zoning in on her left a furious blush on her cheeks and the tips of her ears. 

"Did you?" Luca asked again in a voice that reminded her of chocolate. Smooth. Dark. And so tempting. She could listen to it forever.

Not for the first time since she invited him in, Cadence prayed he couldn't hear her thoughts. For some reason, though, she found the perpetual smile on his lips taunting, like he knew her deepest desires and could see her secret yearnings. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered, her words tumbling out fast and snippy, betraying her flustered state.

Luca approached the table. Cadence's hand tightened around the spoon as she absently drew circles inside her bowl. She glanced at her breakfast and frowned when she saw her cereal was now a soggy mess, and the milk was no longer the pure white she loved so much. It looked pinkish-brown now, and she didn't want to eat anymore. She didn't even want to be alone with Luca anymore. He asked her things she didn't have answers to, rousing feelings she couldn't even begin to understand. In short, he was making her uncomfortable, but the thought of him leaving her alone filled her with a dread she'd never felt before.

"The view. When you checked me out, I know you were." 

It dawned on Cadence then that he was referring to the previous afternoon when she watched him from her window. He sounded so sure of himself, but there was no hint of cockiness on his face. In fact, he looked mildly amused.

She was saved from answering his question when the front door jerked open unexpectedly, sweeping a cold gust of air into the room. Her mom strolled in and gazed at Luca with a fearful look, and something Cadence had never seen in her eyes before. Something she could only describe as hate.

"Mom? You're back! I thought you were meeting with the coven. Your note—" Cadence yelped from her seat, but her mom silenced her with a small smile.

She held out her hand as she approached Luca. "Sonja Youngblood; I don't believe we've met."

Luca bowed slightly and kissed her hand. "Luca Delacroix. I just moved across the creek. You must be Cadence's sister?"

Sonja shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm her mom. Thanks for the compliment, though."

"Beauty runs in the family, I see." Luca smiled back, mimicking Sonja's every gesture.

Cadence took everything in, wondering what game they were both playing. The hatred in her mom's eyes told her this wasn't their first meeting. But everything else about their exchange suggested they were really seeing each other for the first time.

"Did you forget something?" Cadence asked, breaking the strange vibe she was getting from them.

"Yes. My purse. I have to pay for your dance costume. Will you get it for me, please?" Sonja was still staring at Luca when she replied.

Cadence didn't want to leave them alone, but when she suddenly turned to her, the tight lines around her mouth giving away her displeasure, she nodded meekly and retreated from the room.