“I’ll take that as a no.” Patience is a virtue, I reminded myself as I hurried to catch up.
We stopped in front of the Ferris wheel. My eyes rounded when I saw its size. My mouth went dry. “How about we ride another coaster first,” I suggested, attempting to sound nonchalant. “And come back to this later.” Like when it was dark. So when I was at the top of the freaking thing, I wouldn’t be able to see the ground and the distance between me and it, and how fast I’d hit bottom if I somehow managed to fall.
“You ride coasters, but this scares you?” Ben’s lips twitched, but he had the grace not to laugh. “Is that a girl thing?”
I stood as tall as my barely five-foot height allowed. “There is a massive difference between this thing and roller coasters. And I’m not afraid. Just…” I narrowed my eyes at the grin spreading across his face. “I’m not! These things make me nervous. And what do you mean, ‘Is that a girl thing?’ ”
His grin disappeared again. “If this really scares you, we’ll skip it.”
“No. Let’s just do it later.” I’d absolutely be able to ride the monstrosity when it was dark. But…if it would make him happier, I’d do it now. Anything to get his smile back. “Let’s just get in line,” I huffed.
His fingers grazed my chin. Applying the lightest bit of pressure, he pushed so I could do nothing but look up at him. “My…” He inhaled a breath. “Someone I used to know once told me that Ferris wheels are the ‘scariest ride ever’ because of the slow backward climb to the top in a seat that ‘wiggles and jiggles.’ ”
“Exactly!” I said. “But I’m happy to go. I don’t throw up or anything. In case you’re wondering. Not that you are or anything, but…” Oh, God. Babbling about puking was sure to win him over. I crooked my neck toward the Ferris wheel. “Let’s just get in line.”
“Nah,” he said easily. “We’ll catch it later, if you’re up to it. How do you feel about bumper cars?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I usually stick to the fast rides. But I’m game to try.”
He pulled me toward him by the shoulders. “Chloe Nichols, are you seriously telling me that you’ve never experienced bumper cars?”
I shook my head in mock sadness. “I have never, in my life, driven a bumper car, ridden in a bumper car, bumped or been bumped by another bumper car.”
“Well, Red, I’d say it’s time you got bumped.” Lacing his fingers with mine, he tugged. “You’re going to love every second of it.”
My cheeks flooded with warmth. The image he evoked made me gasp, and I got hot all over as we started off.
He stole a sidelong glance at me and then immediately changed direction, pulling me toward one of the many gift stores dotting the main strip. “Your face is already getting sunburned,” he said. “Let’s get you some sunscreen or you’ll be miserable later.”
“Yeah,” I choked out. “Miserable. Good idea.”
After we made the purchase, he squirted a glob of lotion onto his palm. “Pull your hair back so I don’t get any in it.”
I did as asked, and then his fingers gently touched my skin, rubbing the lotion into my cheeks, my chin, my nose and my forehead in small, even circles. My eyes closed at the thought of him touching my breasts, my stomach—hell, my entire body—in exactly the same way. A sigh escaped. I wanted him, every part of him, so much that my muscles literally ached with it.
“Wow, you’re really sensitive to the sun, aren’t you?” Ben’s voice shook me from my fantasy. “Your skin is turning redder by the second. I’m surprised you don’t carry sunscreen around with you.”
“I probably should start,” I mumbled, opening my eyes. His hands moved to my neck, softly massaging, his fingers dipping ever so slightly inside the collar of my shirt, eliciting a yearning that tingled through me. Warm hands. Strong hands. Hands I simply wanted everywhere.
Struggling to regain my sense of equilibrium, I stepped back. “That should do it. I can do my arms.” The words were short, quaky little bursts.
Concern lit his expression, which was sweet. But what I wanted to see was attraction, desire, passion. Reminding myself once again that there was plenty of time for that, I finished applying the sunscreen and tucked it away in my purse.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.” For the moment, I very purposely pushed everything else away, intending to focus 100 percent on just having a good time, on enjoying Ben’s company and using everything in my arsenal to make this day the first of many, many more.
We rode the bumper cars twice, but that was mostly for Ben. Why smacking into other cars as fast as possible made him appear as happy as a little boy on Christmas morning, I didn’t know. But I honestly didn’t care. It was just nice to see.
As for me, well, I could barely maneuver the stupid little cars. In between watching him and recovering from being pushed all over the place, I was totally out of my element. I even managed to get stuck in a corner. Repeatedly. Which, I soon discovered, made me target number one for all the other drivers.
And yes, that included Ben, though I sort of thought he was helping me out, because after he smacked into me a few times I got unstuck, while the other smackers always buried me deeper in the corner. Of course, I’d barely get myself turned around before I’d end up back where I started. Let’s just say that bumper cars are not my strong suit.
Next we hit a few more roller coasters, the big merry-go-round, which was far more thrilling than it sounds, and then the worst ride I’ve ever been on. Literally. I groaned to Ben, clutching his arm. “Whoever thought that a huge pirate ship suspended in midair and rocking back and forth at top speed was a good idea is an idiot.”
“I kind of liked it.” He stared at me for a second before running his finger down my cheek. “But you’re looking a little green.” Pointing to a bench a few feet from where we stood, he said, “Why don’t you go sit, and I’ll get you something to drink.”
“That would be heavenly. Thanks.” The ground swayed beneath me as I walked; my stomach sloshed and grumbled. Somehow, I was queasy and hungry all at once. Sitting down on the bench, I rested my elbows on my knees and my chin in my hands and sighed.
While I waited, in addition to staying as still as humanly possible, I couldn’t help but think of the day so far in plusses and minuses. Plus: he’d laughed several times, though not nearly enough to make his cheeks hurt. Minus: every now and then, the darkness from earlier returned. Plus: he shook that off fairly fast, or at least appeared to shake it off fairly fast. Minus: he seemed more interested in proving an unknown something to himself than he did in spending time with me. Plus: we’d held hands on the coasters and the godawful boat thing. Minus: we hadn’t kissed yet. And oh, how I needed to feel his lips on mine.
My stomach sloshed again, so I dug a peppermint Certs out of my purse, and popped it into my mouth. Ben joined me with two icy cold bottles of water. Collapsing on the bench next to me, he stretched his long legs out and unscrewed the top from one. Handing it over, he ordered, “Drink up.”
I swallowed a large gulp and then held the bottle to my cheek, my eyes on Ben. His own were focused straight ahead, taking in the strolling and chatting crowd: families, tourists, teens, adults. Anywhere but on me.
I ached to touch him but didn’t feel as if I should. Well, that’s a lie. I certainly felt as if I should, as if I had the right, but I knew he didn’t.
Touch me, I thought instead. Please. Look at me. Focus on me. See me. Touch me.
The queasiness gave way to the faintest tingling of warmth. A hot ball of energy in my stomach slowly expanded, licking through every nerve, every muscle, rippling into my skin, until every part of me vibrated with power. The magic took hold, frightening me with its quickness, with its potency. I tried to rein the energy in, but it continued; my emotions were too strong to turn back. I breathed in through my nose, out through my mouth, focusing on banishing the power. I hadn’t meant to cast a spell—cross my heart and hope to die, I hadn’t!
I gulped more water, not to quench thirst but in the hopes that it would drown out the magic. The fire burned on, so I tipped the bottle higher, dumping the rest of the water into my mouth. That’s when I saw it, out of the corner of my eye: a sparkle. Lots of sparkles. Holy crap! My hand was glowing. Not like one of those glow-in-the-dark green-tinted sticks for kids, but more like I’d dipped my hand into iridescent glitter. Not bright or showy, but very, very real.
The bottle fell from my grasp. Curious, I held my hand in front of my face. On closer appraisal, it wasn’t so much the skin that glittered and sparkled, but the veins beneath and, when I turned my hand over, the little lines in my palm.
“Chloe?” Ben asked.
I whipped my hand behind him, placing it in the space just below his neck. So he wouldn’t see the magic literally running through my veins. “I’m not a litterer. I swear! That bottle…uh…slipped.”
He blinked. His eyes deepened in color to a nearly black indigo. The heat in my hand increased, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or alarming. Rather, it was a lot like the rush of warm water from a faucet. Another blink, and he bent his head toward me.
Three of my fingers rested on his neck, the other two on his shirt. Warmth was everywhere: my fingers and wherever I touched him. Before I knew what was happening, before I could even begin to process the change in me, in Ben, his face came closer to mine. We were eye to eye, nose to nose and very nearly lip to lip.
“Chloe,” he said again. “Do you know how beautiful you look right now? Your skin is radiant, almost luminous. Is that—?”
“Cosmetics! The sun! It’s…uh…girl stuff,” I whispered in a rush. I moved my hand up, wove my fingers into his wind-blown hair and tugged his head forward. “Kiss me. I want you to kiss me.”
Gripping my arms, he dragged me even closer. Everything slowed down. The sounds around me disappeared. This—oh, God—was the moment I’d been waiting for.
He brushed my lips with his, just the slightest of touches, and a physical jolt fired through me, sending everything into a whirling, dizzying, breathless spin. He deepened the kiss, whirling me even further into the maelstrom of emotions, of sensations, into a level of intimacy so deep, so baring, that it seemed impossible.
I moaned as my tongue slipped inside his mouth, tasting him, savoring him, enjoying him as I’d never enjoyed a kiss—a man—thus far in my life. His hands slid from my arms, wrapped around me, enfolding, capturing me. And I knew in a way that the drawing hadn’t shown me that I belonged to this man. He belonged to me. We belonged to each other. And I would fight to the death to win him over.
He pulled back, desire in his eyes.
“Why…? Don’t stop,” I whispered. “Don’t ever stop.”
This elicited a grin and a chuckle. “Sweetie, we’re in the middle of an amusement park. If I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to.” He winked. “And then we’d get kicked out.”
I stroked his cheek as I had earlier, barely noticing the glitter had disappeared from my hand. “I don’t think I care. But you’re probably right.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Probably? You’re…you’re like no woman I’ve ever met. But, Chloe—” With a quick shake of his head, he retreated. “Never mind. This isn’t the time.”
“No never-minds. What?” I pressed. “You can say anything to me.”
His face became serious. So serious that my stomach hurt. “I started to tell you the other day, but I don’t date anymore. I’m not interested in settling down or finding a wife or becoming involved in a relationship.”
“Oh.” His words were a bucket of cold water in the face.
“And you’re the type of woman who’s looking for serious.”
“How do you know what I’m looking for?” I raised my chin, straightened my backbone. “So you’re just out for some fun and games, is that it?”
He had the courtesy to look ashamed. “I wasn’t. I’m not. You’re the first woman I’ve gone out with in a long time. Hell, Chloe, I still can’t figure out why I said yes.”
Ha! Well, I knew the answer to that one. “Maybe you’re drawn to me. Maybe I’m the girl of your dreams, but you don’t recognize it yet.”
“No, Chloe, you’re not. I met the girl of my dreams a long time ago, and it didn’t work out. I’m not in the market for another.”
He looked so darn serious, and he believed every freaking word of his spiel, but that drawing told me different and our kiss told me different, so even though his declaration hurt, I swallowed the pain. “I just got out of a year-long relationship, myself, so I’m not looking for serious,” I lied through my home-bleached teeth. “I’m looking to have fun. And games. And honestly, Ben, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather do that with.”
Relief washed over him. In any other circumstance, my heart would have crumpled into a thousand and one slivered pieces. As it was, it merely split in two.
“You’re up for that? Because I’m not going to change my mind,” he said softly, his gaze searching.
Giving him my best possible come-hither, slutty-girl-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-neighborhood smile, I winked. “Oh, baby. I’m up, down and all over that.”
“Well, then, Miss Chloe Nichols, I’m game. It will be my pleasure to be your rebound.” He tipped my chin with one finger and kissed me gently. “I’m starving. Do you think you can handle some food?”
“I’m famished,” I said, still smiling brightly through my lies. “Food sounds terrific.”
He stood and pulled me up too. “Let’s do it. Then, if you’re ready, we can give the Ferris wheel another try. What do you think?”
“Sure, why not?” The sky hadn’t even begun to darken, but I sort of figured I wouldn’t notice the size of the wheel or how far the ground loomed beneath us. Not with my mind, heart and soul rehashing every last word of the crummy conversation we’d just had. Besides, I’d had my share of roller coasters for the time being, literally and figuratively. Not his dream girl, he said? Didn’t want a relationship? My rebound guy?
Yeah, well, we’d just see about that.
Chapter Nine
Tuesday evening, I was curled up on my couch trying to pay attention to one of my favorite old movies, Arsenic and Old Lace. Unfortunately, that was a no-go. Not only was I bummed that I hadn’t heard from Ben since our date, I’d spent half of every night fantasizing about him touching me and the other half nearly sick to my stomach worrying about the darkness inside him. I was flat-out exhausted.
I kept coming back to that one moment, the one on the roller coaster when he’d looked at me with that too-sexy-for-real-life smile. That man, the one I’d so briefly glimpsed, was the real Ben. I needed to find him, to draw him out, because that was the man who would fall in love with me. I was sure of it.
Learning the origin of his darkness seemed the ideal place to begin, but the idea of investigating filled me with more than a little fear. Delving into his past could potentially have the opposite effect I intended, pushing him further away. And even with magic on my side, there were no guarantees, which Sunday’s date had proved well enough.
Sighing, I switched the television off. Cary Grant and his on-screen, homicidal spinster aunts would have to wait. So would Ben, for my thoughts turned to Kyle. I’d left him a few messages, just wanting to know how he was doing, but he hadn’t returned my calls. I hoped he was okay.
Standing from the couch, I went in search of something to munch on, but stopped midstride when the doorbell rang. I wasn’t expecting visitors, so I peered through the peephole before unlocking the chain. Grandma Verda was on the other side.
“Hey, Verda,” I said, opening up. Glancing over her shoulder, I gestured for her to come in. “Are you alone?”
“Yes, dear. It’s just me.” She whisked inside, a blur of orange and white—and pink, naturally, as her hair remained reminiscent of cotton candy. She held her handbag tightly in front of her while she glanced around my apartment. “Do you have company?”
Me
mories of the last time made me pause. “Why? I’m not in the mood for an intervention tonight.”
She chuckled. “That’s not why I’m here. What with your magic arriving and Miranda’s help, I think you’ll be okay. There isn’t any reason to steal you away.”
“Well…good. And no, I don’t have company.” We’d already discussed both Miranda and the arrival of my magic that night at the Mystic Corner, so I figured Verda’s visit was somehow related to my friend and cousin. “Is Alice okay? I tried calling, but no one answered.”
Verda headed directly for the living room. Normally, she moved as if she were twenty years younger than her actual age. Not tonight. Her slow, shuffling gait and the slumped form of her shoulders reflected every one of her years.
When we were seated, I said, “You look a little tired. Are you feeling all right?”
Her hands shook as she deposited her purse on the floor. “No need to worry yourself over me. I’m just dandy. As for Alice, she’s also well enough.”
“I’m…uh…glad to hear that.”
“I probably should have called first,” she admitted. A quiver rippled through her, making her hands tremble more. Clutching them together in her lap, she fidgeted and then spoke so softly, I had to lean close. “I have a favor to ask.”
That put me instantly on alert. “What kind of favor?”
She sat up straighter. “You have to promise that you won’t share this with anyone.”
“Of course I won’t.” I mimed zipping my lips shut. “Completely confidential.”
“That means Alice and Elizabeth too. Are you willing to keep something from them?”
I’d somehow assumed Alice and Elizabeth already knew. “Can you give me a hint as to what this is about?”
Her watery blue eyes were full of defiance. “No. You have to trust me, and then you have to promise. I’m sorry to do this to you, Chloe, but I need your absolute assurance that you’ll keep this quiet.”
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