A Breath of Magic (10 page)

A burst of laugher erupted from Paige. “What are you talking about? You can be a little bitchy sometimes, but can’t we all? It’s like a woman’s prerogative,” she teased. “You just received beautiful flowers from a very good-looking man! Aren’t you all melty inside?”

“I’m serious, Paige! Look at this.” I held the card out so she could read the message herself. “I broke up with him on Saturday. Sunday, I spent the day with another man. I thought—hoped—the flowers were from him.” I sighed. “I really want them to be from B—”

Paige grabbed my wrist and shook her head wildly back and forth. With her other, she held a finger over her lips.

My assumption, based on her odd body language, was that a customer lurked in the recesses of the store and that I should keep my voice down. Nodding, I lowered my tone. “It’s just that I proposed to Kyle, ended the engagement, fell for someone else…and now Kyle’s sending me flowers. He has never given me flowers! So why now…when it’s—?”

In an abrupt movement, Paige angled herself over the counter and slapped her hand over my mouth. It kinda stung. “Be quiet,” she whispered. I tried to talk, tried to ask what the hell she was doing, but she pushed her hand tighter. “Seriously, Chloe. Shut. Up.”

I’m not normally so dense. I swear. I blame my lack of understanding on the craziness my life had become. Even so, I finally began putting two and two together, but before I reached four, Kyle stepped out from behind one of the counters in the middle of the shop.

Paige shook her head again and dropped her hand. “He wanted to surprise you,” she said in a soft tone. “I didn’t
know…” She took one last look at me, and then moved toward the back of the store. “I’ll…uh…find something to do so you two can talk.”

Unfortunately, my foot was now wedged firmly in my mouth, leaving me utterly speechless. Not to mention embarrassed and ashamed. I gripped the counter, my gaze on Kyle, who’d yet to speak. He stared right back, in shock and sadness and confusion.

Feeling like a heel and willing to bet the word itself was stamped on my forehead, I mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here. You didn’t need to hear…”

“Hey, no big deal.” His was an easy, nonchalant tone. As if he couldn’t care less. “I took a shot and it backfired. Not your problem.”

I closed my eyes for a millisecond and inhaled. “It
is
my problem, because I care about you. That hasn’t changed.” And yes, I could still see myself with him. Even knowing it—we—were wrong. “I’m sorry you heard my disappointment. You don’t deserve that. The flowers are beautiful and I appreciate them so much.”

“Stop, Chloe. This was my call. I should’ve known better than to hang around.” He shrugged, again playing it cool and carefree. I wasn’t fooled, though. The Kyle I knew, the one I’d dated for these last many months, had never, not once, attempted to romance me. This action alone spoke volumes.

“Listen. Let’s go grab a cup of coffee and talk. Maybe find a way to resolve whatever you’re feeling…what I’m feeling…so we can find our way to friendship. How does that sound?” I put the offer out, hoping he’d agree. Wanting to do something to settle the weirdness between us. “What do you say?”

Pulling his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket, he slipped them on, hiding his eyes. And therefore, his emotions. “I should go. Sorry for interrupting your day.”

“Please don’t leave! Not yet. If we could just talk, I’m sure—”

“Talk about what, Chloe? I put myself out on a limb. I wanted to show you that I’m serious.” He shoved his hands into his pants pockets, the movement quick and jittery. Covered eyes or not, I’d have sworn he was glaring at me. Who could blame him? “I thought showing you that might make a difference. It’s cool, though.”

My throat tightened, so I swallowed. “I know you don’t believe me right now, but our being together is a mistake. This is better for both of us. I swear. You’ll see that, eventually.” Or at least I hoped he would.

He came forward in five large steps, stopping abruptly in front of the counter. He tilted his sunglasses up with his knuckles, his amber eyes transfixing me. “This is better for you. Not me. Got it? Don’t confuse the two.” His voice wasn’t so much angry as annoyed.

“I don’t understand. This isn’t like you,” I murmured, confused.

Letting go of the sunglasses he said, “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”

Well, gee. That was kind of apparent. “I understand what you’re going through. I felt this way before. You know that.”

He chuckled without humor. “No, Chloe. You do not understand. For some reason, I can’t give you up. It’s like I have no choice but to try to win you back. Can you explain that? Do you understand that? Because I sure as hell don’t.”

My mouth opened and then closed. Oh, dear God. I understood. Completely. It was the magic cake coming back to bite me in the ass. Just as Elizabeth predicted. It had to be that. What else? “Um…no. I don’t know what that means,” I lied. Something, it seemed, I’d been doing a lot of lately.

“That’s what I thought.” He twisted around and strode toward the exit. Right before pushing open the door, he
paused but didn’t turn his head. “I don’t get what’s going on, but don’t call yourself a bitch. You’ve always been good to me. Better than I probably deserved. I’m…sorry it’s taken me so long to recognize that.”

He left before I could reply. I nearly ran after him, but was quite sure that he’d agree I was a bitch if he knew I’d bespelled him with a magical cake. As it was, I needed to find a way to fix this. Like yesterday. Because somehow I didn’t think his sudden fervor to make our relationship work was going to go away on its own.

“Are you and Kyle really through?” Paige asked minutes after his abrupt departure. Idly she picked up one of the spritzer bottles from the counter display and sort of juggled it from one hand to the other. “What happened? And who’s the new guy?”

“Yes, we’re really through. As to what happened…well, that’s a long story.” I shrugged. “Easier to say that we’re not right for each other.”

“It’s better to decide that now. Besides, if some other guy has already changed your feelings for Kyle, then he can do better than you.” If she hadn’t said the words gently, without even a hint of censure, I might have gotten upset.

“I know.” Having that knowledge didn’t mean jack when someone I cared about was going through pain caused by me, by magic. “Anyway, I’m going to get back to work. Finish the…oh, hell, whatever I was doing when you called me.”

“You didn’t answer my other question.” She replaced the bottle. “Who’s the new guy?”

“Oh!” My tension eased slightly. “His name is Ben Malone. I took one look at him and felt as if my life had been jumpstarted. And now…well, there’s no going back.”

“I get that. I totally do. It’s a defining moment, an instant where you know that your life will never be the same. Even if things don’t work out—”

“Exactly. But things with Ben
are
going to work out.” I pushed the statement out with total confidence, needing to hear myself say the words, even if the situation was more along the lines of blind hope.

“Cool. I’m happy for you.” She busied herself with putting new stock out. “Remember, I leave even earlier today than normal. For that class project I told you about.”

“Yep. Got it.”

Retreating to my office, I laid my head down on my desk. How in the hell was I going to get out of this mess with Kyle? Magic was supposed to make life simpler, not more convoluted. “Fuck,” I whispered. Maybe Elizabeth would have some ideas on how to fix things. And if not her, then Alice or Verda. Thank God they had more experience with magical mishaps than I did. If I was really lucky, they might even have some advice on what was going on with Ben. What to do, how to make him love me, stuff like that.

Or not. The truth was that a tiny, miniscule part of me wished I’d never met Ben, had never seen that damn drawing or the three others. Because as much as I wanted to be with him
now
, the whole kit and caboodle surrounding that want was just too damn hard. I barely knew him, yet felt as if I’d known him forever. Which was crazy. And yes, without the knowledge I currently held, staying with Kyle would for the most part have been enough for me.

But I
had
met Ben. I
had
seen those drawings.

“Fuck,” I murmured again, as a light knock sounded on the door to the back room, followed by the door creaking open.

“What’s up, Paige?” My voice came out muffled, because my forehead remained pressed against the desk. “Need help with something?”

A rumble of deep laughter met my ears. “If that’s an example of your psychic powers, I’m not impressed.”

Ben! Just that quickly, the wish to have never met him vanished. Lifting my head, I tried not to smile too hard as he approached. Today he wore a dark gray suit, white shirt and a black tie. He appeared formidable, larger than life and totally hot.

“I’ve never claimed to be psychic.” While I far preferred the jeans and cowboy boots look, this wasn’t so bad. “Calling you Paige was more of an assumption.”

“I met her out front. When I gave her my name, she said I could come on back.” He leaned one delicious hip against the side of my desk. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“No! Of course not! I’m…uh…happy to see you. Surprised, though.”

“I was in the area for a meeting. Thought I’d stop in and thank you again for Sunday.” His gaze zeroed in on me, and the corners of his mouth twitched. “Do you realize you have a paperclip stuck to your forehead? It’s quite fetching. Almost sexy.”

My hand shot to my forehead. “Great. Just great.” I sighed and peeled it off.

Bright sparks of humor glittered in his eyes. “Now you have the imprint of a paperclip on your forehead. Catching a nap while Paige works the front?”

“Not napping. Thinking about you. About our date.” The admission slipped out before I could squelch it. “Wondering again if you had fun or not. I didn’t know the park held bad memories for you,” I said softly. “I’m…uh…sorry. I should have checked it out with you before going there.”

“The park doesn’t hold bad memories for me. Good ones, actually. It was just…difficult to be there.” He cleared his throat. “But I had fun, and I’m glad you chose that particular destination.” Drumming his fingers against the desk, mere inches from the folded up drawing of us together, he said, “Glad I was there with you.”

“Yeah? Really? Even with whatever was bothering you?”

“Of course. You’re fun to be around, Chloe,” he said, neatly avoiding my reference to his moody behavior. “I have a question for you. I hope you’ll say yes.”

“Yes,” I said immediately, not caring at all what the question was. I was quite content just staring at his face.

He gave me his sexy-as-sin smile and I melted. It was, at once, that simple and that complex, that thrilling and that scary. “You don’t even know what I’m going to ask. Maybe I want to take you skydiving this weekend. Feel like jumping out of a plane?”

Ha! I resisted sticking my tongue out. “You made your point. What’s the real question?”

“There’s a charity event happening next Friday night. My firm is hosting it, and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me. As my date.”

I tilted my head to the side, pretending to give his offer serious consideration. “Hm. A week from this Friday? I’ll have to check to see if I have plans.” A date—a real, honest-to-goodness, go-out-and-have-fun date with my someday groom that was totally his idea! Okay,
maybe
totally his idea. But still…a date! I sent a silent prayer of thanks to Miranda. “Let me see.” I grabbed my datebook and flipped to the appropriate page.

He leaned forward. “Seems you’re free.”

“So it does. So, yeah, I should be able to make it work. What kind of event is this?”

“Like I said, it’s a charity thing. It might be boring through dinner,” he warned. “But afterward, it should be fun. Casino theme, including roulette, craps, poker and blackjack. You like to gamble?”

Remember that happy little bubble from the other day? It was back. In force. “Love it. What time? And where is the event being held?”

“Oh no, Red. I let you drive on our first date. I’ll do the driving for this one, so you’ll have to cough up your address.”

Grabbing the Post-it pad near my computer, I scrawled my address and phone number down. I slapped the note on his
suit jacket. “There, all coughed up. But I still need to know a time, and is the dress formal?”

A wicked gleam gathered in his baby blues. “I can’t hear you, Chloe. You’ll have to speak up…or come closer.”

Delicious shivers of anticipation danced over me. “Oh, I will?”

He cupped his ear with one hand. “What?” Patting the desktop, the gleam brightened. “Can’t hear you.”

Stifling a laugh, more than happy to oblige, I pushed a sheaf of papers to the side, including the oh-so-incriminating drawing, and slid onto the desk, mere inches from where he leaned. “Okay, so…what time, and is the dress formal?” I asked again in a lower and, hopefully, sultrier voice.

“Dinner is at eight.” He touched my lips, the feel of his finger surprisingly gentle and erotic at the same time. In a slow, sure, sensual glide, he began tracing my mouth’s outline.

“So…” I gulped. “You’ll pick me up around seven-thirty?”

“Let’s say seven.” Oh so slowly, he swept his thumb over my bottom lip. My mouth trembled, opening slightly. He continued brushing the lower line of my lip, his thumb dipping down and then up around the contours of my mouth, until it reached the opposite corner. “And yes, the dress is formal.”

“Sounds…wonderful,” I breathed.

“I’ve been thinking about you,” he admitted.

Just kiss me already, I thought. “Good stuff, I hope.”

“Good…? Yes, you could say that.”

Kiss me, Ben. Lean over, pull me to you and kiss me.

His entire body surged forward. He wove all ten fingers into my hair, dragging my head toward him. Fathomless, bluer-than-blue eyes met mine, searing in their intensity as he came closer…closer…closer, until his lips found mine in a hard, ravaging kiss. My mouth parted easily when his tongue thrust inside, eliciting one shudder after another of heavy want from me.

I moaned and moved my hands to his chest, wishing we were somewhere else, somewhere exquisitely private, so I could rip his shirt off. So I could run my fingers over his skin, feel his muscles as they tensed against me, rub my hands over his bare back. Need and desire were making me wet, making me ready for him. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, tasting coffee and something else, something sweet.

His hands swept to the base of my neck, his thumbs pressing lightly at the nape, his fingers curving around and brushing lightly over my collarbone. A swirl of sensations, of longing, rushed up from between my legs, spreading through my limbs and turning my skin to fire. I wanted him now, right where we were.

“We…Paige,” I murmured against his mouth as a dose of cold reality, of common sense, clicked in. “Not…here.” With great difficulty I pressed on Ben’s chest, pushing myself back, my lips swollen, my body vibrating with need. I buried my head in his shoulder, focused on breathing slowly and tried to cool the inferno of my senses.

“What are you doing to me, Red?” he asked, his breathing ragged. “I don’t ravage women in the backs of stores. Or at an amusement park, for that matter. I feel like a horny sixteen-year-old.”

“We have chemistry. It’s…magical.” I spoke the truth, if not all of it. “And we’re both consenting adults. Relax and go with the flow.” And while you’re at it, I thought, fall head over heels in love with me. Please.

He grasped my hips with both hands, tugging me so that my bottom slid a few more inches along the desk. “Where the hell were you when I was sixteen?”

“I don’t know. But when I was sixteen, I was stealing cigarettes from my aunt and barely passing algebra. You wouldn’t have liked me then.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Why not?”

No magic, that’s why not. But I couldn’t say that, so I
went with the other truth. “I was a total cliché: the girl in the shadows reading poetry and daydreaming about the future. Other than a few friends and my sister, I was fairly invisible.”

Speaking with absolute assurance, he said, “I would have seen you.”

Tears pricked my eyes, because that one little statement softened the calloused heart of the sixteen-year-old girl who still lived inside of me. She’d been sad, that girl. But then, several months later, Kyle had come along and made me happy. The happiest I’d been in years. Shoving the memories out of my mind, I shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. But you see me now. That’s what counts.”

We stayed that way for a few minutes. “I should go,” he murmured, his lips on my hair. “I have to get to the office for another meeting.”

Regret simmered in his voice, and I smiled. “I want you to come to dinner before next Friday. So we can have some privacy.” Looking up, I lightly touched his lips. “So we can be alone.”

Hunger and desire roared to life in his eyes. “How about this Friday?”

“Sounds perfect.” I stood from the desk and tugged the Post-it that was still amazingly stuck to his suit jacket. “Don’t lose this.” I folded the paper into a little square and tucked it in his hand.

“I won’t. Mind if I wait a few minutes before leaving? I’m…ah”—he lowered his chin—“not fit to be seen in public.”

My eyes drifted downward. “Wh—? Oh! Yes, of course.”

“You’re all red again, Red. And today you can’t blame it on the sun,” Ben teased. “I think I’m going to like being your rebound guy.”

My heart fell in two all over again, but before I could come up with a response appropriately flirtatious yet noncommittal,
a loud knock pulled my attention. “Come on in, Paige,” I called, knowing she probably needed to leave.

She stepped into the room with a saucy-ass grin. “Sorry to interrupt, but I gotta get out of here or I’ll be late for class. And I’m parked a couple of blocks away.”

“I can give you a ride to your car if you want,” Ben offered. “I’m right out front.”

“Cool! That would rock.” Dashing to the cupboard, she grabbed her backpack. “I’ll just wait…um…out there for you.” She slipped out of the room as quickly as she’d appeared.

“That’s really nice of you, offering her a ride. Thank you.”

“It’s my fault she’s running late. But…do you have a book or something I can use for…er…camouflage?” It was his turn to blush. My smile returned.

“Just take your jacket off and carry it in front of you. It’s probably pretty warm out.”

“Smart as well as beautiful.” Doffing his jacket, he folded it over one arm. “Come here.”

I stepped forward, and he leaned in, giving me one more kiss, albeit a short and fast one. “I’ll see you on Friday,” I said when we separated. “Say, around seven?”

He agreed and took off. As for me, I collapsed in my chair and closed my eyes, listening for the bell on the door. Paige would’ve told me if any customers were in the shop, so I felt safe giving myself a few minutes to calm down, to find my balance. I touched my lips, reveling in the sensual hum Ben’s kisses had brought to life inside of me. Why my physical reaction to him still stunned me, I didn’t know. I wondered if I’d ever get used to such a strong, visceral response.

I hoped not. How awesome would it be to marry a man who could do that to you for the rest of your lives together? A man who could make you hotter than hot with just a kiss? That little thought piqued my desire again, so I inhaled a
breath deep into my lungs and then pushed it out. “This is

not the way to calm down,” I whispered.

“Chloe? I waited out front—”

I jumped from the chair so fast that I banged my knee on the desk. It hurt like hell. Very likely, I’d have a bruise there within the hour. Turning toward my unexpected guest, I worked hard to keep my voice even. “I really wish you’d have knocked on the door, Mari. You scared the crap out of me.”