Enchantment (28 page)

And then he began to repeat
his wicked words in French. There was no turning back after
that.

Adrian woke up at a quarter to noon feeling as
though he’d been the first man to the moon. If Gray weren’t
sleeping inside his arms, he might have chalked the entire night up
to one mind-blowing hallucination.

As expected, knowing exactly what he was
doing while he did it and, more importantly, with whom he did it,
had been one of the highlights of his miserable life. Better than
magic.

While his mind came fully awake, Adrian held
onto Gray.
Just five more minutes,
he told himself five
minutes later.

A stomach growled. It was hard to tell whose.
They were both going to need something to eat after the night
they’d had. And soon.

Adrian reluctantly slipped out of bed,
throwing one last longing look over his shoulder at Gray before
closing his bedroom door gently. He didn’t want to wake Gray by
snapping his clothing on right next to her ear. The sound was like
a car alarm in witch world.

On his way to the bakery, Adrian veered off
course to make a quick stop at the jewelers.

“
Bonjour,”
a woman called out from
behind a showcase.
“Vous cherchez quelque chose de
spécial
?”

Adrian wasn’t there to look. He was there to
buy.

“
Un collier,”
he
said, adding,
“quelque chose de tr
è
s
jolie
.”

“
Ah, bon,”
the clerk replied,
smiling.

If there was one thing the French understood
better than any culture in the world, it was love. Love meant
trinkets. Love meant kisses. Love earned smiles.

The sales clerk went to a case on her right
and pulled out a necklace with midnight-blue crystals that caught
the light as she held it in front of her. It’s as though she knew
exactly what to pick. The sparkling blue stones reminded Adrian of
the shine in Gray’s eyes.

“C’est
parfait
,”
Adrian said.

The clerk smiled as though she’d known all
along then proceeded to set the necklace inside a crimson box.
After Adrian used his credit card to pay for the jewelry, she stuck
the box in a fancy little bag with the jeweler’s name embossed on
the outside.

He couldn’t wait to surprise Gray with the
gift tonight—before their cruise on the Seine.

Images of her in the little black dress had
plagued him since he saw it hanging inside the shop. On that
thought, he took one last detour, this time to a shoe shop. It was
difficult to imagine Gray agreeing to wear strappy heels, but
flips-flops and boots didn’t exactly go with the dress.

Now that he was armed with gifts, he better
see to pastries and espresso to go. As Adrian passed the bakery
window, he stopped suddenly. For a second he stood, frozen in
place. Then he pressed his face up to the glass, nearly dropping
the box of shoes when he saw who was inside.

Adrian’s hand tightened on the box. He pushed
through the bakery door, ignoring the greeting called out to him
from behind the counter, and marched straight up to his nan.

She was seated at a small table, sipping from
a tiny porcelain espresso cup. A middle-aged woman sat across from
her, grinning. Both women were grinning. Adrian couldn’t remember
the last time he’d seen Nan smile that way, not mischievously, but
like she was genuinely enjoying herself.

“Hello, Nan,” Adrian called out, darkly.

His grandmother’s smile widened when she
noticed him.
No shame.

“Adrian!” She reached both hands out.

Despite how upset he was with her, Adrian
leaned down and let her embrace then kiss both his cheeks.

Nan turned to her companion. “This my
grandson, Adrian.”

The woman’s smile lit up her face. “Hello,
Adrian. It’s nice to finally meet you. Your grandmother has told me
so much about you.”

And you are?
One thing was certain.
She was American.

“I didn’t realize my grandmother had made a
new friend,” Adrian said carefully.

Was this woman a witch?

If he had to venture an age, he’d guess early
sixties. Her attire was conservative—slacks, a blazer, and silk
scarf knotted elegantly below her throat.

“I stay with Sarah,” Nan said.

Sarah leaned forward and smiled. “Your
grandmother told me about your situation.”

Adrian narrowed his eyes. “What
situation?”

Sarah showed no alarm at the venom in his
tone. She sipped her espresso before setting it down delicately on
its saucer.

“Your grandmother mentioned that you’re in
the middle of wooing a young woman.”

Adrian snorted and looked at Nan. “Wooing, is
that what you call it?”

How could Nan sit there sipping coffee,
acting all innocent and unaccountable for her actions? He swore old
people were as bad as kids—if not worse.

“I want Gray’s amulet back,” Adrian said.

He didn’t care if this Sarah woman was a
witch or not. He wouldn’t let Nan hide behind a normal.

Nan eyed the shoe box under his arm and the
jeweler’s bag squeezed between his fingers before meeting his eye.
He didn’t appreciate the grin on her lips.

“Hand it over.”

Sarah’s lips drew back at the tone he’d taken
with his nan. Well, it wasn’t any of her damn business. But Nan
kept smiling.

“Give me hand,” she said.

Adrian stuck his free hand out, cupping his
palm, waiting expectantly. But instead of dropping the amulet into
his fingers, Nan grasped his hand in her own.

He felt the familiar old skin—rough and
slightly cold.

“I want you be happy,” Nan said, grasping his
hand tighter.

Adrian felt his face soften even as Nan
crushed his fingers in her grip.

“I am happy.” He stared beyond Nan and all
the other tables inside the bakery. He stared beyond the walls and
streets. Paris ceased to exist. The entire world turned to
sunshine, surrounding him in the greatest feeling on earth. “I’m in
love.”

He blinked several times, wondering if Nan
had now cast a love spell on him, but that couldn’t be. These
feelings weren’t new.

The warmth receded. Adrian didn’t remember
Nan removing her hand from his, nor placing the amulet inside his
palm. He stared at it now, heart inside his throat.

Nan nodded as though agreeing to something
he’d said. “I stay with Sarah until you make decision.”

“She can stay with me as long as she likes,”
Sarah chimed in.

“How is it broken?” Adrian asked slowly,
staring into his palm.

“Put in water.”

“That’s it?”

Nan nodded, beating her chest with her fist.
“Must sink.”

As Adrian walked out of the bakery, he came
to the realization that the decision wasn’t his at all. The
decision was Gray’s. The next thought to hit him was that he’d left
the café without coffee or croissants. He’d just have to visit the
bakery around the corner. There wasn’t any way he was going back
into that one.

No good could come out of this. His nan had
to know that. This betrayal was a blessing and a curse. Much like
the body transfer she’d performed when he was a young boy. Like
then, she hadn’t bothered asking for his permission. He couldn’t be
around her at the moment, and he wanted to get back to Gray. But
not empty-handed.

Shoes and jewelry wouldn’t satisfy an
appetite like Gray’s.

Adrian slipped the amulet inside the jewelry
bag. The corded rope handles pulled at his fingers as he walked
blindly down the avenue.

Somehow he managed to get coffee in paper
cups and a bag with four
pain au chocolats
before beginning
the walk back to the apartment.

What would it be, Gray? The illusion or the
end to the greatest love spell ever cast?

Adrian listened for the shower after he
entered his apartment. All was quiet. He smiled to himself.
Sleepyhead. He knew what would get her out of bed: bread, coffee,
and chocolate. Sometimes Adrian felt as though he knew Gray better
than she knew herself.

“Gray,” he called out, approaching the
bedroom door, which was still shut. “Don’t tell me you want
breakfast in bed.”

He reached for the door handle.

“Adrian, wait!” Gray called out, just as he
stepped in.

At first he thought she was naked, but that
was not the sight he came upon. His eyes immediately landed on his
toy trunk, the lid thrown back carelessly and all his prized
objects scattered on the floor—Gray at the center.

Her mouth hung open.

“What the hell are you doing with my things?”
Adrian thundered before he had time to think.

“I just . . .”

Before Gray could continue, Adrian stomped
over to where she sat. She flinched, but he wasn’t after her. He
began grabbing his things off the floor, throwing them inside the
trunk. These were his most personal belongings and Gray had helped
herself, tossing everything around her on the ground.

The moment everything was tucked away, Adrian
shut the lid with a crack and hoisted it onto the top shelf in his
closet.
He swung around, eyes flashing. “Never go through my things again.
Got it, Gray?”

She blinked back tears.

He didn’t care. She’d gone behind his back.
Invaded his most personal possessions.

“I’m sorry,” Gray answered, feebly. “I just
want to know what happened to you . . . when you were younger.”

“Why do you think something happened to me?”
Adrian asked, straightening.

Gray lifted her head to meet his eye. She
hesitated before answering, “I just . . . know.”

“Well, I already told you once before, and
you didn’t give a damn.” With that, Adrian stormed out of the
room.

He paced the living room as though he were a
caged cat at the Parc Zoologique. Adrian still remembered the look
on Lee’s face when he relented and answered her question—the same
question Gray asked now. Her diabolical double had kept her
expression hard when she said, “That’s no excuse for your behavior,
Adrian.”

It may have been wiped from Lee’s memory, but
it was burned forever on his own.

Adrian already knew how Gray would react if
she weren’t under a love spell. She and Lee might look different,
but they shared the same thoughts and feelings.

Adrian stopped pacing suddenly, catching the
jeweler’s bag on top of the kitchen counter from the corner of his
eye. Well, it was as good a time as any to end this charade.

“Adrian . . .”

The sheepish expression had disappeared from
her face. Gray stood in the doorframe of his bedroom. As soon as
their eyes met, she walked forward, stopping five feet away from
him.

“I’m sorry I went through your things. I
shouldn’t have done that and I apologize. I know I haven’t exactly
earned your trust over the years, but I hope one day that will
change. Until it does, I promise you I won’t pry again.”

Her level-headed grown-up speech only made
things worse.

Adrian motioned toward the counter. “I got us
breakfast.”

Gray kept looking at him. “Thank you. I’m
starving.”

Adrian got out two plates and set a
pain
au chocolat
on each. He set one in front of Gray, but she
didn’t touch it.

“You’re not eating?” Adrian asked.

“Not until you forgive me.”

An involuntary snort escaped through his
nostrils. “And if I don’t you’re really going to leave the
croissant on the plate?”

Gray lifted her chin. “That’s right.”

“That’s the one with the chocolate inside,
you know?”

“I don’t care.”

Adrian picked up his croissant. “Well, I
don’t like eating alone so I forgive you.”

“And I’m hungry so I guess that will have to
do.” Gray had the croissant in her hands in three seconds flat.

Adrian watched her eat half of the pastry
before dipping the last half in her coffee and taking little bites.
How could he stay mad when Gray had acted under the influence of a
spell? A spell his dear old nan had placed over her.

Once more his eyes landed on the jeweler’s
bag.

When he looked back at Gray she was staring
at him.

“Are you going to tell me what’s inside the
bag?”

It didn’t seem right to give Gray the amulet
while she was still in her PJs, finishing her coffee. He didn’t
want to humiliate her any more than necessary. The apartment
probably wasn’t the best place to break the spell, either, unless
Adrian wanted to risk a kitchen full of broken dishes.

“I got you something,” Adrian said.

Gray’s face lit up like a kid at Christmas,
and then it fell. “Now I feel really awful!”

“Gray . . .” Adrian said slowly. Her rifling
wouldn’t matter soon. He’d never see her again. “Don’t worry about
it.”

She cocked her head to one side.

“I mean it.”

Adrian reached into the bag, pulling out the
velvet box. “For tonight,” he said, handing the box to Gray.

Her expression was unreadable as she stared
at the box. She took it carefully, as though it might detonate in
her hands. Adrian knew the feeling. He held his breath as Gray
opened the box.

“Oh, Adrian,” she gasped.

To hear those words one last time on her lips
was worth everything. The amulet could wait till that night. He had
to at least see her wearing the jewels, the shoes, the dress . . .
and then he’d end it. He’d let her have her night out on the
bateau mouche
. Once they’d disembarked he’d give her the
amulet along with the key to a hotel room. Adrian would need to
book something near the Seine. Unlike the meddling Gray, he’d allow
her her privacy when she broke the spell. Adrian was the last
person she’d want to see when the spell ended—that was for
certain.