Elemental Enchantment (3 page)

Flooded with memories and needing fresh air, Meaghan pushed out of the hard plastic chair. As she glanced again at the photos as she passed through the door, she couldn’t help but wonder if these two disappearances were somehow related to Marisol’s. The police had never found her killer, and as far as Meaghan knew, they didn’t even have any leads. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late for these two.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, opening them only when she heard a car pull into the parking lot. Forcing a smile, she slid into the driver’s seat as her brother-in-law, Ian, climbed in back.

“Thanks for taking us to the airport,” he said.

“No worries. I’m just glad you guys are finally able to take your honeymoon—”

“I thought you said you weren’t hurt!” Emma interrupted, peering at Meaghan’s face, concern filling her dark eyes.

“I’m not.”

“You’ve got a bruise by your hairline,” she said.

Meaghan adjusted the rearview mirror to look. Emma was right, a faint purple mark spread downward onto her forehead. She’d figured she’d bruise, but she hadn’t really thought it would be that noticeable. Great. She’d have to cover it with makeup for the wedding shoot tomorrow or figure out a different way to wear her hair to conceal it.

Normally, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but this couple was particular about having the photographers blend in with the guests so as not to be a distraction. Meaghan doubted that Bride and Groomzilla would appreciate a photographer with a bruised up face. Even without the mark, it would be hard not to be a distraction since she and Toby would have cameras, tripods, reflectors and light kits. It wouldn’t be easy to blend in with all that equipment. Whatever. If they wanted their photographers in wedding attire, that’s what they’d get.

Meaghan looked at the bruise one more time and turned to Emma. “Is it really that noticeable?”

Her sister winced. “Kinda.”

She sighed. “Extra makeup, it is.”

Emma reached into the backseat. “Honey, can you hand me the cookies?”

“Gladly.”

Glancing into the rearview mirror as she backed out of the parking lot, Meaghan laughed at the expression of disgust on Ian’s face.

“I really hope this craving doesn’t last all pregnancy,” he said. “I’m not sure I can stomach the smell of those things for the next six months.”

“Want one?” Emma offered around a mouthful of cookie.

Meaghan pulled up to the stoplight and looked at the package then at her sister. “Watermelon Oreos? Seriously?”

Her sister nodded and offered a cookie to Meaghan. “They’re delicious. Have one.”

“I can’t even begin to tell you how much I don’t want to.”

Emma shrugged. “More for me.” After a moment, she added, “Do you think they’ll have these in Ireland?”

“Christ, I hope not,” Ian muttered from the backseat.

Emma chattered excitedly about the trip—their delayed honeymoon—while Meaghan navigated the busy roads leading to the airport and wondered what it would be like. Not just to take a trip with a guy but to trust him enough to be honest about who and what she was.

At first, Ian had hated the fact that Emma was a witch—even hated Emma. He’d hated Meaghan and Rowan, too. He’d tried to, anyway. But he’d come around—particularly where Emma was concerned. Rowan had never had to hide the fact that she was a witch from her lover.

Meaghan thought of Eli. Not that he was her lover, but she couldn’t imagine telling someone like him her secret.

Actually, she could. She’d told someone her secret once. Told him and showed him what she could do. He’d taken off and never talked to her again. Sure, she’d seen him around campus, but he’d always given her a wide berth and refused to make eye contact. She’d tried repeatedly to return her engagement ring, but he refused to take it. It had amazed her that a person could go from talking about wanting marriage and kids to simply never talking to her again. It was what it was, and she wasn’t making that mistake again. Not with Eli or anyone else.

As she pulled into the drop-off lane, she pushed the thoughts of Eli and magic out of her head. She didn’t need to worry about relationships and confessions that would never happen. Right now, all she had to do was send Emma and Ian on their way and find a dress for the wedding tomorrow night.

* * * *

Eli loved his best friend. He really did. But even with the goats, breaking up the house party two nights ago had been more enjoyable than John’s wedding rehearsal today. Part of the problem was that he was still hung over from the bachelor party last night. John hadn’t wanted the traditional strip club party, so instead they’d gone kayaking down the Thornapple River and gotten good and hammered once they’d arrived at their campsite. They’d made it back to town with enough time to shower, pick up their tuxes and make it to the rehearsal.

The other part of the problem was that John’s wife-to-be was hell bent on setting up Eli with Cara, one of her bridesmaids. Cara was nice enough and definitely pretty, but they had absolutely nothing in common. She looked just as uncomfortable as he felt. Unfortunately, the entire evening had them joined at the hip. At least, he’d be able to leave once dinner was served. All he wanted was fall into bed and sleep for a week.

The moment Cara excused herself, John headed in his direction. “How’s the head?”

Eli grinned. “Better than yours, I’m betting.”

“You’d be right. There’s nothing like a pre-wedding argument to make a hangover extra potent.”

Eli leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Everything all right?”

John sank into Cara’s empty chair. “It’s okay. Shannon’s just stressed out. Her family is being its usual dysfunctional self, and for some reason, she was under the impression that I was coming home last night.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. It hasn’t been the greatest day.”

Eli shifted in his chair. “Sorry, man.”

John shrugged. “It is what it is. It’ll be better once the stress of the wedding’s over. Speaking of, Shannon wants to know how you and Cara are getting along.”

“Look…she’s sweet, but…”

“No spark?”

“Not even a little one,” Eli admitted.

John nodded. “I didn’t really think she was your type. You need someone who’s more of a challenge.”

Eli grinned. He had the perfect challenge in mind. He just had to find her again. In a town this small, it wouldn’t be that hard.

Chapter Four

Meaghan adjusted the focus on her camera as the bride’s processional music started playing and froze. She was supposed to be getting shots of the groom while Toby was photographing the bride’s entrance. Except what filled Meaghan’s frame at the moment wasn’t the groom. It was his best man.

Eli.

She couldn’t believe her luck. Her stomach fluttered nervously, but she forced her attention to the man next to Eli where it belonged.

If she missed these shots, they couldn’t be reproduced and Toby would kill her. Meaghan didn’t even want to think of how the bride would react. Inhaling deeply, she watched the man’s face, capturing the exact moment he saw his wife-to-be enter the church. After snapping a few more pictures, she took a few of each member of the wedding party as the bride made her way up the aisle.

As soon as the bride was at the front of the church, Meaghan switched places with Toby and moved to the balcony to take a few overhead shots. Maybe she’d make it through the reception without Eli noticing her. It wasn’t a big deal if he did, she supposed, though the idea of more contact with him made her uncharacteristically nervous. Maybe she’d get lucky and he wouldn’t recognize her. Then again, who cared if he recognized her? Weddings were great places to hook up. Maybe she wouldn’t need a
Get Meaghan Laid
spell after all.

She studied him from above. Something about him still seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him today any better than she could the other day. He was even more attractive than she remembered. The tux didn’t do anything for her, but imagining pulling it off him certainly did. Her nipples tightened, chafing against the lining of her dress.

Sighing, she pushed thoughts of a nearly naked Eli out of her head and zoomed in on the altar where the priest addressed the bride and groom. This shoot couldn’t be over soon enough, and she’d have to make sure she deleted the excessive amount of photos of Eli that were sure to be on her memory card before she gave it to Toby.

As soon as the ceremony was finished, Meaghan made her way downstairs, deftly avoiding the crush of the receiving line, and darted back inside the church. She needed to get the reflectors set up for the formal portraits. Carefully kneeling, she adjusted the base of the largest reflector and reached up to angle the screen toward the front of the church. A shadow fell over her. She knew without looking who it was.

She took a moment to try to calm the rioting in her middle, pasted a serene smile on her face and looked up. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Eli’s firm, full lips quirked, and his eyes sparkled. “I’m sure there is,” he muttered quietly, but she caught his words nonetheless. He cleared his throat and offered his hand to help her up. She didn’t want to take it—to touch him—knowing that his proximity would only make her longing worse, but she did, allowing him to pull her upright.

His hand engulfed hers, and he didn’t let go right away. The feel of his roughened palm sliding across hers sent awareness fluttering through her body, and she quickly extracted her hand. She needed to focus. She had a job to do then she needed to get the hell out of there. Except there was part of her that wanted to stay and see what would happen next.

“I thought I recognized you earlier,” Eli said. “What are the chances?”

She nodded tightly and forced a smile. “Probably astronomical.”

“Meg, have you got the reflectors set up yet?” Toby called from a few pews away.

“Almost.” Meaghan looked at Eli. “I should probably get back to work.” She met his eyes. They were such a brilliant blue and almost hypnotic.

He smiled. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other at the reception.”

Oh, she definitely wanted to run into to him, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good idea at all. “I’ll be working.”

He nodded, but his expression didn’t fade as he backed away before turning and joining the rest of the wedding party as they made their way toward the front of the church. Great. He was probably one of those guys who liked a challenge. He seemed into her. Would it be so bad if she were the night’s challenge? Maybe they could both get what they wanted. Or maybe she should just do her job and get out of here. God, she was so wishy-washy tonight. She was annoying herself.

Barely listening as Toby went over the list of poses the couple had chosen, Meaghan took a deep breath and set up the rest of the reflectors. She needed to get a damn grip. She was never nervous around men. Not like this. She didn’t know what it was about Eli that had her ready to jump out of her skin, but whatever it was, it needed to stop. Yes, he was insanely hot, but he was also not the guy for her. Not even for a night, she told herself firmly. Ignoring the sensation of his eyes on her, she finished prepping the shoot and put fresh batteries and a new memory card in her camera.

* * * *

Eli had paid only the vaguest attention to the directions given by the photographer. He hadn’t fared much better at dinner. His focus was almost entirely on Meaghan and the short black dress she wore. He’d managed to pull it together for the best man’s toast and the required post-dinner dancing, but ever since then, all he’d really wanted to do was go find Meaghan.

John leaned over and nudged him. “I’m going to assume the brunette photographer is the challenge you’ve been looking for?”

Eli laughed and shook his head. “That obvious?”

“Enough that Shannon has given up on plotting to get you and Cara together.”

“That’s something.”

John made a show of looking at his watch. “Your official best man duties ended three seconds ago. What are you doing standing around here?”

Eli grinned and took off in the direction he’d last seen Meaghan. She and her partner had been making the rounds, photographing the bridal party and the guests, taking what seemed to be tons of candid shots. He didn’t envy John the job of sorting through all the pictures after the wedding.

As he made his way through the crowd filling the hotel’s ballroom, he spotted Meaghan talking to the other woman, who looked up at him and smiled. “Can I help you with something?”

Meaghan turned to follow the other woman’s gaze, and she momentarily froze.

“I was hoping to convince Meaghan to dance with me.”

“I’m working,” Meaghan said quickly.

The other woman’s smile grew. “Actually, I’m just about to wrap things up with the bride and groom. You’re free. I’d like you to sort out all the usable photos by Monday evening, though.”

“Right.” Meaghan nodded. “Big job. Lots of pictures. I should get on that. Right away.”

“I’m sure you have time for a dance,” her friend said then shrugged. “If you want one.”

Eli held out his hand. “You wouldn’t let me take you out to supper; can I at least have a dance?”

An expression of surprise crossed her friend’s face, but Meaghan seemed set on ignoring her.

She glanced at his hand then up at his face before slinging her camera over her shoulder and placing her fingers in his.

“You sure you don’t want to set your camera down?”

“This thing is worth more than my car. Not a chance.”

He led her to a nearly empty section of the dance floor and pulled her into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly met his gaze as they swayed together to the music. He tried not to focus on how perfectly she fit against him or how her full breasts grazed his chest. It was nearly impossible not to tug her flush against him and kiss her the way he’d always wanted to. Instead, he stared into her deep brown eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay? You weren’t hurt at all?”