A Stroke Of Magic (26 page)

“How? What did you do?”

Miranda laughed. “Why does it matter how it happened? I wanted you two girls to grow up together, to know each other, to be the family you were meant to be. And you did—you are. Even so, it took you forever to meet up. It was rather upsetting for me.”

“So sorry.” I narrowed my eyes and frowned. “Am I allowed to tell her about
this?”

“Of course you are! And eventually I’ll visit her and help with what she has coming toward her.”

Okay, that phrasing worried me. In a huge freaking way. “Is it bad? What’s ‘coming toward her’?”

“She should be fine. Especially now! You’ve done so well.” Miranda shimmered, as if she were about to haze out. But, no way in hell.

“Don’t leave! I can tell you’re about to, so just don’t. We are going to talk.”

“But you don’t need me now…not for the question you’re going to ask. Alice, listen to me carefully: Just as I was right about this, I’m right about your soul mate. You have the answer already. Look harder for it. It’s all connected.”

Standing, I put my hands on my hips, furious. “I get that you can’t tell me everything, but I’m sure there is
some
thing you can say. Something to lead me in the right direction. So, think of it. Now. Because otherwise I’m tossing this whole soul mate crap out the window and doing what I want.” Wow. That was way, way more than I’d meant to say.

A smile of satisfaction curled Miranda’s lips. “Let me see. I’ve already told you the magic is changing…and this will continue to happen each time the gift is passed on.”

“Miranda!” I snapped.

“Ohhh.” She played coy. “You want me to tell you about your soul mate. About why you feel what you do for Ethan when he doesn’t match your drawing—is that it?”

“You
know
that’s it.” I ground the words out. Heavens, she was pushing my buttons, and apparently enjoying it.

“I suppose there is one thing I can tell you.” She shimmered again, and I was afraid she was going to disappear, but thankfully, her image resolidified. “Though it’s something you already know.”

“Go on. I can tell you’re losing power, or whatever.”

Another shimmer. “The beach drawing, Alice. Was that your magic or Elizabeth’s?” Before I could answer, she nodded. “That’s right. So if it isn’t your magic, then why are you using that as your guide? Look to
your
magic.”

“My magic? But all my magic has done is wedding pictures that aren’t of me.”

“Really? Look again. Try again. Now I have to leave. I’ll see you soon, dear granddaughter, but not until after your daughter is born. Be safe and do what’s right.”

And then she vanished.

I wasn’t upset this time, because it was fairly obvious she’d hung around as long as she could. Strangely, though, the thought of not seeing her for months saddened me a little. Somehow, I’d gotten used to her. Oh well, when she did show up again, she’d probably drop another bomb on my head, so maybe I should be grateful.

Once again, I grabbed my sketchbook, intent on flipping through it, on trying to figure out what Miranda had alluded to, when Chloe barged in. “There you are!” Her face split in two, she was smiling so hard. “I need to tell you something.”

“Oh yeah? I need to tell you something too.” And what a something! “You go first, though.”

“Kyle got a tattoo of an eagle,” she blurted. “It’s his spirit animal, but that’s not what’s important.”

“Then what is?” I asked, wanting her to hurry so I could give her my news.

“The tattoo is in the middle of his back! You know what that means…” She looked at me expectantly.

“Yay for Kyle?”

She laughed. “Don’t be so sarcastic. Don’t you see? There’s no way Kyle can be your soul mate, because the guy in the drawing doesn’t have a tattoo.”

“I already knew he wasn’t my soul mate, Chloe. I told you that…which is why you’re dating him, remember?”

“Yeah, but now I know 100 percent for sure. It’s made me feel loads better. Because things are…well, they’re kind of nice right now with him.”

“Then I’m glad.” And yeah, even though I’d settled the Kyle issue, it relieved me too. Though her other comment jarred me, knowing what I did about her future. Not that I could do a thing about it. Well, not now anyway. “So, come here and sit down. I want to show you something.”

Curious glints sparkled in her green eyes. She plopped down next to me. “What’s up?”

I picked up the drawing I’d just completed and put it in her hands.

Her chin dipped down as she took it in. “Um…Alice? This is my mother. Why did you draw her?” Confusion squinted her eyes. “Is it a gift?”

“It wasn’t meant to be, but you can certainly have it.” I picked up the other drawing, the one with all the faces, and passed it to her. “Look at this one.”

Her mouth scrunched as she appraised the picture. Her eyes darted from one face to another, and the minute she saw what I wanted her to see, another bolt of confusion swept over her. “What is this? I see Elizabeth here. And your grandmother. Why is my mother here too?”

I tried to keep my voice light. “You’re my family.”

“Well, duh. Haven’t we gone over this?”

My lips quirked. “No. I mean you’re
really
my family.” And then I told her the truth about her connection to me, and mine to her. I shared with her everything Miranda had said, word for word. “So, I don’t know how she got us together. But it seems our hearts knew all along what our brains didn’t. We’re family,” I said in a rush.

“Family? Not just me, my aunt, and my sister…but you. Elizabeth. Verda. Oh my God, this is…unexpected. And terrific! And wow. Just wow.” She blinked, and while she didn’t actually cry, her green eyes were way shinier than normal. Something else occurred to her, because her jaw dropped. “Do you realize what this means? Oh my God, Alice! I can have the magic. I can be like you and Elizabeth.”

I barely heard her, because instead what I heard was my own voice coming back at me:
It seems our hearts knew all along what our brains didn’t.
Was what I thought I knew about Ethan all along the actual truth, just like with Chloe, but I’d been too blind to see? To believe?

Maybe.

I wanted to grasp on to that and run with it, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more. But then, I thought of Kyle’s back and the tattoo he’d decided to get. The beach picture was in the future, which I’d always known, but it had never occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, the scar on my soul mate’s back wouldn’t exist in the present. And honestly? The only real reason it occurred to me now was because of Miranda questioning why I’d used it as my guide.

A long, hard tremble took me. “Maybe the scar happens a year from now. Or two years. Hell, who knows?” I mumbled.

“You’re on to something, aren’t you?” said Chloe.

“I think so, but…” I was about to say I didn’t have all of it yet, that it was still coming, when it slid into my comprehension. “Oh! I know! I know how to prove it is or isn’t Ethan once and for all…and it has nothing to do with that damn scar.”

See, the pieces of what Miranda had said came together, and suddenly I just got it. It was about the
other
part of my magic, the past part. All I had to do was draw a picture of my soul mate’s past. Like I’d done with Chloe’s mom. And if it were Ethan—well, I’d recognize him as surely as I had the photograph at his place.

“I need to go see Ethan. Right now.” I grabbed my sketchbook and my purse and headed for the door, because while I could use my magic to create the picture here, I wanted to do it with him.

Remembering Chloe, I stopped in my tracks and turned around. “I’ll be back to explain everything. I promise!”

“Just go!” She shooed me on my way.

I couldn’t wait to see Ethan. To tell him I loved him and that he was my soul mate—and that we were one little drawing away from our happily ever after.

I only hoped it wasn’t too late.

My hand shook as I knocked on the door to Ethan’s apartment. I’d half expected him to refuse me when I’d buzzed him from the outside, but he hadn’t. Thank goodness. The door opened, and there he stood—all tall, strong, sexy, and delicious—and my first instinct was to wrap my arms around him and lay a huge, fat, wet kiss on his lips.

Luckily, common sense won out, because he didn’t look happy to see me. He didn’t appear unhappy, either. More like a statue, stiff and unyielding. That mask was in place, shielding his eyes. And instead of the smile I’d hoped to see, his mouth was spread into a taut, straight line. Well, who could blame him? I’d turned him away. Not once, but twice.

We stayed there for a second, the air between us heavy with unsaid words, emotions. Finally, because I couldn’t stand the quiet any longer, and because the ball was oh-so-firmly in my court, I forced a smile. “Can I come in? I’d really like to talk.”

Nodding, he stepped aside. “Do you want to sit down?” he asked.

“Yes…no…” I pulled in a breath. “Yes. That would be nice. Thanks.”

I followed him on shaky legs. A stepladder stood in the living room, in front of the couch. Looking up, I saw the light fixture from the other night hanging in place. Scooting around the ladder, I balanced myself on the edge of the sofa. Ethan took one of the chairs. My gaze fell to my hands, to the sketchpad I clutched. The words I needed to say were there, inside of me, but they were all jumbled up, and I didn’t know what order they should go in, where to start, how to say what needed to be said to make everything right. And that scared me, because for something this important, I should know.

“You obviously came here for a reason, Alice. What is it?”

I scraped my bottom lip with my teeth, and then just pushed the words out as they came. “I made a mistake. But I know how to fix it, if you’ll let me. If you still want me.”

He drew in a breath. “Please be more precise. What mistake have you made?”

Rallying every bit of courage I had, I lifted my gaze to his. “I love you. My mistake was in walking away from you on the basis of that drawing. You were right about that.”

A glimmer of something—hope?—teased at his expression. “I love you as well. However, my shoulder remains scarless. Is that still a deal breaker?”

“No! Not anymore. Because, Ethan? You
will
have a scar there someday. I don’t know when exactly, but I know you will.”

A light of interest gleamed and his voice softened a tad. “You sound quite sure of yourself. How do you know?”

“When I drew the beach drawing”—I flipped to the appropriate page in my sketchpad—“it wasn’t with my magic. It was with Elizabeth’s, and I was supposed to use
my
magic to find my soul mate. Not hers.” I handed him the pad. “But I didn’t know that and I focused too hard on that one little thing, when I shouldn’t have.”

He barely glanced at it. “Please understand my confusion here. You’ve been very clear about the ramifications of being with me if I’m not the man in this drawing. What has changed?”

“This isn’t coming out right. Let me start from the beginning.” My heart raced, and probably I spoke too fast, but I managed to get all of it out. Unlike before, this time he stopped me often to ask a question or for clarification. Weirdly, the idea of the magic didn’t seem to bring forth censure. Oh, there was still a bit of skepticism there, but for the most part, he—outwardly, at least—accepted what I told him.

When I finished, I waited for him to smile. To be happy. To pull me into his arms and tell me he loved me, that he wanted to be with me. My entire body zinged with excitement. Everything I wanted was just around the corner. So close, I could see it.

But when several minutes elapsed, and he didn’t do any of those things, the first flicker of real fear trickled in. “What’s wrong? All I have to do is use my magic to draw a picture of my soul mate’s past. I know it will be you! And then we’ll know for sure, and we can be together. Isn’t that what you want?”

Slowly, he shook his head. “No, Alice. Not like this. I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I won’t go down that road again.”

“But it’s so simple.” Oh my God. I was losing him, but I didn’t understand why. “I thought…well, I thought you wanted to be with me. I mean, I get it if you don’t. I really screwed up. I turned down your proposal and I’m so sorry I did that. But I’m here now.”

In barely a breath, he was next to me. Cradling my hands in his, his gaze soaked into me. “Of course I want to be with you. But not because of a drawing—
any
drawing. I need you to make this decision based on our feelings. I need you to trust in me. To trust in us.”

“But it’s just that one drawing to set all my fears to rest. So there are no doubts, no worries.” I wanted to draw that picture so badly, my fingers twitched.

“Ah, sweetheart. If only it were that simple. Maybe I’m selfish, because I want you to love me enough, to be so sure of us, that
you’ll
decide our fate is to be together. Not some drawing. Not magic. Just me and you and how we feel.”

“But it’s just one little drawing,” I repeated, my mind stuck on the ease of getting the proof I needed. “I love you, Ethan. I
am
sure about that. But don’t you see? If you’re not the right man, then being with me will hurt you too.”

Steady gray eyes centered on me. “Take a breath. Calm down. Have faith in us.”

I focused on him, on his voice, and slowly the worst of my nerves eased. As I sat there with my hands in his, a realization slid into place. He wasn’t going to change his mind. It wouldn’t matter what I said, how I pleaded. He’d made his decision and that was that. And if I wanted us to be together—and oh, I did—then I’d have to do it his way.

But could I? Could I give up that one measure of control, of absolute surety, that he was my soul mate? Was I willing to gamble
everything
on the love I felt for Ethan? On the love he felt for me? The fear came back, crawling through me with a vengeance.

“Let me think,” I whispered. “I need to think.”

“Take all the time you need. I’m right here.”

Closing my eyes, I willed myself to relax. I fought to find the clarity that had come so easily earlier. I almost turned away again, and walked out that door, because as much as Ethan didn’t want or need any more proof than how he felt, I couldn’t let go of the desire for absolute certainty. I knew it was asking a lot. Normal people never have absolute certainty. But I
could,
and not reaching for it was terrifying. Almost too terrifying.

But because it—because
he
—was so important, I forced myself to stay, forced myself to breathe, and let the tide of emotions rip through me.

I could see my future with him clear as day. It was there, all around us, inside of me, just waiting for me to say the words to make it so. I thought them in my head, tried them on for size, let myself feel the way I would feel if I spoke them out loud. That feeling? Glorious, perfect, and oh-so-wonderful.

So then I imagined saying no, leaving and going back home. Without Ethan. The pain came so swiftly, so unrelenting, I gasped from the strength of it. I didn’t want that. I couldn’t choose that. Not just because it hurt. Not only because the thought of days, months, years without Ethan seemed incomprehensible. But because it just felt
wrong.
More than that, it felt stupid. How incredibly idiotic to run away from him—over what? A drawing?

But it all came back to that dream…to the prophecy. And how could I make a choice that could hurt my daughter? I wanted a sign that I was supposed to stay with Ethan, something to push me over the edge I stood on. Something to allow me to believe in my feelings, in everything I thought I saw with Ethan.

My daughter kicked then, and just like in that first vision, this kick had far more strength than it should have had. It startled me. It rocked me. And weirdly, just like it had with Miranda so long ago, it brought every last thing into focus. The tears started then, dripping down my cheeks, one after another. And I knew, in every breath I took, in the beat of my own heart, that yes, Ethan was that man. Nothing…no magic, no warnings, nothing would ever change that.

I opened my eyes, wiped at my tears. “Yes. I say yes. I won’t do the drawing. I won’t doubt what we feel. I trust you. I trust us.”

All impassivity dropped away, and the tension emanating from Ethan evaporated. “Thank God. You nearly scared the life out of me there, sweetheart.” His hands touched my cheek, my lips, my hair. “You’re quite sure this time, correct?”

“Oh, yes. Quite sure.” I leaned toward him. “Kiss me. Love me. I’m yours for as long as you want me.”

And he did. Kiss me, that is. Sparks of desire, longing, whipped through me, just like always. His arms tightened around me, pulling me closer, locking me to him. His scent punched into me, and every bone in my body went weak, every muscle melted. Because kissing Ethan? Well, it was the stuff dreams were made of.

He pulled back and stood up, and immediately his absence chilled me.

“What’s wrong?” I gasped. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you? I mean it: I’m in this for good. I promise.”

Deep laughter tumbled out. “Not at all. You’re stuck with me. But I do have a present for you. I’ll be right back.”

Confusion clouded my brain, but he was back so fast, I didn’t have to wonder for long. A wrapped, flat box in his grasp, he sat down next to me. “When you left here that day, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t believe that I’d fallen, yet again, for a woman who would leave me over…” His voice caught. “Never mind that. I went home to see my mother and my grandmother. I hadn’t planned on telling them anything about you, but my grandmother sensed something. And one day over tea, I told her everything.”

“Okay…”

“She gave me this present for you. She said it would give you what you needed to know to move forward with me.” The darkness from earlier crept into his gaze, and he blushed. “I even visited Beatrice to see what her intuition said.” He shook his head and chuckled. “She knew I was coming, and backed up what my grandmother told me—that I should give you this to fix everything. But I couldn’t do it…because I needed you to believe in your feelings, to believe in me. So I’ve held on to this, hoping you’d come to me on your own. And you have. So here. Please accept this gift from my grandmother.”

My hand trembled. I ripped the paper off carefully, for some reason apprehensive about what I would find. Silly, but there you have it. Beneath the paper was a plain brown box. I picked off the tape that held the lid shut and slowly opened it. Gasped. Stared. “Oh my God. Do you know what this is?”

He angled himself so he could see the framed photograph. “That photograph has sat on my grandmother’s mantel for most of my life. Why, Alice? What does it mean to you?”

I shook my head, not able to talk, barely daring to breathe. Because somehow, his grandmother had known the exact right gift to give me. And even though I didn’t need it now, even though the proof wasn’t necessary for me to move forward, I was still oh-so-grateful to have it.

The picture? It was a photograph of a woman rocking a baby to sleep. And it was the same picture I myself had drawn. “This baby is you. Not my daughter. And the woman is your grandmother. Oh, my.”

Confusion crinkled his eyes. “You’ll have to fill me in—” He looked up toward his ceiling, and the timbre of his voice changed. “Move, Alice! Now.”

“What?”

Everything happened at warp speed. He pushed me down, flat on the couch, his body covering me. A loud crack reverberated, and then another. I tried to squirm out from under him, but he held me tight, secure. Then came a crash, and Ethan’s body tensed and then jerked, and the weight of something slammed onto him. A curse ripped out of his mouth.

Slowly, too slowly, he moved. Chunks of glass fell to the ground as he righted himself. That was when I finally saw what had happened. The ceiling light had come loose and crashed down upon us. Well, it would have landed on me if Ethan hadn’t moved so fast.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Pain lit his eyes. “I think so. Can you take a look?” He turned his back to me, and carefully slipped his shirt up. “How bad is it?”

Blood dripped from his shoulder, but it was a fairly clean cut. “Not too bad, but you’re going to need stitches. We should go to the ER.”

“So I’ll live?”

I took another look and had to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of my life. “Oh yeah, you’ll live. But that cut? It’s so going to leave a scar.”