Charmed (Contemporary Romance)

by Ines Saint

  • • •

  They’d been skating for half an hour when Timmy and Michael became hungry for a snack, and Emma and Jamie took them to the tables just outside of the rink while Nick and Hannah stayed on.

  “So anyway,” Emma continued when they sat down. Jamie laid food and juice boxes out on the table and listened intently. “She wants me to join her sorority, and I just don’t have either the heart to join or the heart to say no to her. Were you ever in a sorority?”

  “No, it really wasn’t my thing. I had a really great group of friends, and my head was in a million other places. But I know my sister-in-law really loved it. To this day, she still feels I should regret not joining hers, but I really don’t.”

  “That’s what Celine says — that I’ll regret it later. Celine says her network of sorority sisters helped out whenever she had fundraisers and things like that.”

  Though Jamie wished she had the nerve to ask who Celine was to Nick and Emma, it made no sense to care. “Well, it boils down to how you feel about it. I’m sure your mom just wants you to be happy and make good decisions. Whatever you decide to do, just make sure she knows it makes you happy and why.”

  “Well, next week is Halloween and I have to make a decision by then ’cause that’s when initiations start. I wish I could come to the Autumn Falls Halloween celebration instead. Are you taking the kids?”

  “Of course!” Jamie smiled. “It’s one of the things I’ve looked forward to most.”

  That led to a conversation about Halloween costumes, and they each shared their favorites from the past.

  Jamie had to give it to Nick, Emma was a fun, smart, and kind young woman.

  • • •

  Nick watched Emma and Jamie with mixed feelings as he circled the rink a few times. He wanted them to get along, but … why? It bothered him that it mattered. It shouldn’t.

  He took a few more turns around the rink as Viera’s kid, Hannah, did the same. “Hey, how about a race?” he asked when she skated by.

  “You would really race a twelve-year-old girl?”

  “Not just any twelve-year-old girl — Justin Viera’s twelve-year-old girl. And I’ll give you a head start.”

  “You’re on — three times around the rink, and I get half the rink as a head start.”

  “Half the rink?”

  “That’s the lead my father gives me.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” Nick called.

  They raced, and Nick held back so they could come in at a tie. “Wow, we tied. My father always wins, so I guess my father really is better than you,” Hannah said after she steadied her breathing.

  “So, your father doesn’t let you win?”

  “Well, he always wins, but he lets me come in second by a hair.”

  Nick readjusted his skates, aware Hannah was openly studying him.

  “You do kinda look like the guy who plays Wolverine,” she remarked.

  “Who?”

  “You know — the guy who plays Wolverine in the X-Men movies. My grandma thinks you look like him, and my mom and Jamie agreed.”

  Nick grinned. “You were all talking about me?”

  “Um … no.” Hannah’s smile quickly faded. “It’s just when Aunt Jamie said the twins were going to your school, Grandma kind of thought it out loud when she remembered you, and we all agreed, that’s all. Geez, your ego is worse than my dad’s.” The smile came back, and Hannah rolled her eyes at him before skating away.

  • • •

  An hour later, the twins had tired of skating, so Jamie and Hannah took them across the street to Milford Park while Nick and Emma locked up. Jamie was happy, the twins were having a blast, and the weather was cool enough to layer up, but not cold enough to be uncomfortable.

  “Aunt Jamie?” Hannah turned toward her.

  “Mhhmm?”

  Hannah hesitated a moment. “Please don’t be mad, but I kinda sorta told Nick we all think he looks like the guy who plays Wolverine — but I told him Grandma said it first, after she found out the twins were going to his school.”

  “All right, hon, that’s not a big deal. Everybody gets told they look like somebody else at some point. Don’t worry about it.”

  Nick and Emma were crossing the street now, and Jamie was surprised. She thought they’d leave after skating.

  “Hey, isn’t this where you almost split your head open with your ‘snow wand’?” Nick asked when he saw Jamie sitting on the edge of the slide.

  “Yes.” Jamie laughed. “I guess we have a history of disastrous first meetings.”

  “You guys first met here? Right on Hero’s Trail? Just like the legend of Autumn Falls?” Emma’s eyes were as bright as her dad’s when he was in the mood for mischief.

  “Did the stars crash in the sky above?” Hannah teased, following Emma’s lead.

  “I was eight, people.” Jamie kept her tone light, but shot Hannah a warning glance.

  “This is Hero’s Trail?” Timmy immediately knelt down and began digging under the slide. “Maybe this is where those dolls are buried.”

  “Dolls?” Michael’s face twisted in disgust at the mention of dolls.

  “Dolls?” Nick asked.

  Jamie groaned. “The charm dolls from the legend. Timmy’s obsessed.”

  “It’s such a tragically beautiful story.” Emma sighed.

  “Beautiful? Flinging yourself off a cliff over a man is not beautiful, it’s lunacy.” Jamie shook her head.

  “Idiotic,” Hannah agreed.

  “Definitely extreme,” Nick chimed in.

  “Wow, you guys sure are sour on love,” Emma remarked.

  “Mom says that when the Hero and Autumn met, stars crashed into each other,” Michael, who was more interested in the sky above than in dolls, informed them. “Do you know what happens when stars crash, Nick? ’Cause Mom doesn’t know.” He rolled his eyes at this.

  Nick bit his lip, obviously trying not to smile at Michael’s frustration with his mom. “Well, it’s pretty rare for two stars to crash into each other. Too many things have to happen at once. The galaxy is really large, and stars are usually too far apart to be on a road to collision.” Michael and Timmy seemed disappointed, so Nick kneeled down and spoke to their imagination. “But when they do crash, the sheer energy of the cosmic clash turns them into something entirely new, like a stunning, never-before-seen form, or a newer, brighter star.”

  Emma sighed. “You know? I think the stars colliding in the sky above the very moment the Hero and Autumn met symbolizes how rare and beautiful it is for any two people to truly fall in love.”

  “It sounds like a stellar disaster to me. Something like that could probably signal the end of the world as we know it,” Jamie said. Hannah giggled and the boys, disgusted with Emma’s lovey-dovey analogy, high-fived their mom.

  Emma changed the subject by asking Jamie if she could take the kids for a walk along the lake and Hero’s Trail to look for ducks to feed. Jamie agreed, and Emma asked Hannah along.

  When they left, Jamie got up and walked over to a park bench beneath a blazing red maple tree where she’d have a better view of the kids, and Nick followed. For a while, each was lost in thought.

  Jamie glanced over at Nick, and he seemed content, but she couldn’t help feel that a part of him was always distant. Teasing, smiling Nick was probably lonely in his own very particular way. He just wasn’t the type to let it show. She knew he’d grown up with a notoriously difficult and distant mother, and he’d then gone on to an unhappy marriage. But he had Emma, and he was well liked with plenty of friends and admirers.

  She wondered how many female friends he had, and if all his female friends had wicked thoughts about him.

  Did Celine Bliss get to act on her thoughts? Jealousy pricked her chest and she r
olled her inner eyes at herself. Her schoolgirl crush on the headmaster of her children’s school now came complete with antagonistic feelings toward beautiful blondes. Life was peachy.

  But what woman could look at his lips and not wonder if they were warm? They certainly seemed firm, she thought as she looked over at him. She quickly lifted her gaze to his eyes and away from his lips when she saw he was watching her, too.

  “Your expression has changed at least six times since you’ve been sitting there. What is going on in that mind of yours?” he asked.

  “Nothing. Just thinking, or daydreaming, or whatever you want to call it.”

  “About what?”

  “Nothing special.” Jamie sprung up and began walking toward the tree. Nick got up, too, and made a gentle grab for her hand, turning her around.

  “Come on, share. What goes through your mind when you’re lost in thought, Jamie? I’d love to know.” He let go of her hand and looked at her in earnest. Her breath caught painfully in her chest because she had this need to share something, anything.

  She swallowed hard. “Well, sometimes I wonder what it would be like for the kids if Scott suddenly came home again, how much better their lives would be if they could share it with their father. I know it doesn’t accomplish anything, but my mind just goes there sometimes.

  “Other times, I just think about what I want a charm to ultimately look like, and along those lines, I also like to think about my business, about where I want it to go, which helps me plan for it. Other than that, I also worry about being a good mom, so I try to imagine what my kids will think about me in the future. At least, those are the places my mind goes when I’m into heavy thinking.”

  It felt good to let go of some of her inner thoughts and share them. “And where does your mind go when you’re in a more lighthearted mood?” Nick wanted to know.

  Jamie thought about it and answered truthfully. “Like you, I dream about places I’d love to see and make sketchy plans about when I’ll be able to go. I imagine what the perfect kiss would be like, and I dream about the wonderful daughters-in-law I’ll have some day.”

  “The perfect kiss?” Nick raised his eyebrow.

  “Well, I’ve got to do something to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I refuse to date, but I am a human female, you know, flesh and blood and all.” Her mother never missed a chance to remind her of this.

  “And what’s the perfect kiss like?”

  “I’ve already shared my thoughts. It’s your turn now.”

  Nick looked away, squatted, picked up a few rocks, and began skipping them across the lake. “I’m a simple man, Jamie; all I ever think about is Emma’s well-being, school stuff, and scoring against Justin at hockey. Your carnal thoughts are far more interesting.”

  Pointing to her head, she replied, “If you want to know the silly thoughts that simmer in these here waters, you’ve got to give me something.”

  “Fine. I’ll tell you one of my lewd office stories then. Maybe it’ll help you understand why I was such a jerk that first day.”

  “You have lewd office stories and you’re only going to share one? You know I’m going to want to hear more than just one.”

  “You only get one.” Nick smiled and gazed at the water in front of them. Jamie sat down beside him, resting her chin on her hands, studying his profile as he spoke. “A few years ago, the mother of a fifth grader who’d requested an appointment with me came into my office wearing a long coat. I told her she could make herself comfortable and take off her coat — I had the heater on and my office was pretty warm, you know?”

  He paused, and she watched him lower his lashes, look up, and swallow. Every movement fascinated her. “So the first hint I got that the meeting was going to be, well, memorable, was that she told me, ‘I’ll do whatever you’d like,’ which is kind of a strange thing to say.” He paused and Jamie bit her lip, guessing where this was going. “A moment later, she takes off her coat, and she’s only wearing jeans under it. Nothing else.”

  “No way.” Jamie laughed. “You’re making this up.” But Nick gave an impish, one-shoulder shrug, and she knew it was true. “I mean she was wearing something on top, right? A lacy bra or something?”

  “No — nothing. I was stunned. All I could do was yell over to Claire that I needed help. I didn’t even use the intercom.”

  “What did the mom do?”

  “She closed her coat just as Claire came in. I told Claire the meeting was over and to please escort the woman out. A week later her husband came back to pick up her kid’s transcript and they were gone.”

  “Her husband?”

  “Yes. Claire’s theory is that the husband was in on it, and maybe they were trying to get a free ride at the school — I don’t know, crazy, right?” Nick shook his head.

  “Well, I hope you at least enjoyed the view for that quick second.”

  “Are you kidding? I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”

  They sat in silence, with the occasional giggle escaping from Jamie whenever she imagined a terrified Nick with a naked, married mom in his office. He’d glance at her whenever she’d giggle and shake his head. Finally, he said, “Come on, Jamie, you’ve had your fun. Now you have to tell me about the perfect kiss. I didn’t know women thought about these things.”

  “What? You’re surprised we have standards?” Jamie saw the kids were walking toward them and would be there in a few minutes. She got up, brushed her jeans off, and leaned against the trunk of the tree, needing distance.

  Closing her eyes, she conjured the kiss she sometimes imagined. “The perfect kiss should be a first kiss, when anticipation is running high. And it should be unexpected but longed for, soft yet firm, exhilarating and thrilling. And the man should really, really know what he’s doing.” Though she left out the part where the man’s heavy-lidded jade green eyes closed just before he leaned down to kiss her, she opened her eyes to see those very eyes looking down at her, sending chills up her arms.

  “And you’re going to wait thirteen years and I can’t remember how many months for this kiss?”

  “Oh, I don’t think it’s ever gonna be that good, so I’m not waiting around for it. I just imagine it, and that’s enough. I mean, when is a kiss ever that good?”

  “You’re kidding, right? You’ve been in love. You’re telling me you’ve never had that perfect kiss?”

  She hesitated. “When you think you’re in love and the chemistry is right, you get the exhilaration and the thrill, and it’s all great and wonderful — but there’s only one first kiss. The one where anticipation is really high … and it always ends up being awkward because nerves get in the way. It’s still really sweet and memorable, just not perfect.”

  Nick touched her nose with his forefinger and said, “According to your standards, I’m sure few people have had the perfect kiss. But listen, if we’re still friends in thirteen years, I’ll be sure to help you out by telling Alex Rhodes what your standards are, if he’s still waiting around for you, that is.”

  “Yeah, right, because that would take the nervousness away.” Jamie decided to ignore his jibe about Alex.

  “Well, he’ll probably be in his forties by then, so he won’t be nervous. I mean, if you’re out of your twenties and don’t know what you’re doing when you kiss a woman, you have problems.”

  Jamie pushed herself away from the tree and sidestepped Nick to walk toward the kids. She was afraid she was wearing her thoughts on her warm face. Those thoughts were that Nick was probably one of those men who really, really, knew what he was doing when he kissed a woman. He certainly did in her daydreams. It took a certain kind of confidence, a certain kind of finesse, and he had them both.

  Michael and Timmy ran up to them while Hannah and Emma lagged behind.

  “Mom, where did Autumn fall?” Michael asked breathle
ssly.

  “Nobody knows but you might’ve passed it during your walk, though it might be somewhere near the park, too.”

  Timmy’s eyes widened. “Can we go around again? We think we know where the dolls are buried, but Hannah wouldn’t let us dig.”

  “I don’t mind exploring,” Nick said, and looked at Jamie expectantly.

  Jamie gave in. “Sure, we can go around and look, but no digging with your nails. Find a stick or something.”

  Emma and Hannah stayed behind as Nick and Jamie walked with the boys around the lake, fueling their imaginations as to where Autumn fell and where the dolls were buried.

  “I’m tired,” Timmy declared a while later as he held his arms up to Jamie. She picked him up and, of course, Michael instantly began whining that he was tired, too.

  Nick picked Michael up and placed him on his shoulders, and Jamie looked over at them, feeling a sudden, nauseating lump in her gut.

  They could easily be mistaken for a family.

  Something in her doubted Nick went on long walks with every mom at school while carrying their kids on his shoulders. She put Timmy down and reached over to pull Michael down from Nick’s shoulders.

  “Hey … ” Nick turned.

  “If you’re afraid Nick will let me fall, Mom, I know he’d never let me fall.” Michael looked up at her, dejected.

  “You and Timmy know you need to walk. It’s not like I could carry you both if Nick weren’t here.”

  “But he’s here right now.” Michael kicked at a rock.

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s not around on a regular basis so it’s better not to get used to him,” she said, softening her tone because her words sounded harsh.

  They walked on in silence, Nick falling out of step with her. Jamie, unable to speak anymore, just wanted the walk to be over with. Unfortunately, the kids decided to examine the area beneath a “suspicious” rock.

  Jamie watched as an unanimated Nick tried to encourage them, his mood obviously altered. The boys seemed to catch it, and they became subdued as well. The thought that they could be affected by Nick’s mood sickened her. It didn’t matter that he was going away soon. He was here now, affecting her and her children now. Why had she focused on later?