A hand skimmed along my knee, breaking into my thoughts. Apparently, Verda had decided I’d focused on my inner struggles long enough. I swallowed before removing the earplugs. I gulped back a sob before untying the blindfold, before wiping the fabric across my eyes to soak up my tears. I closed my eyes, knowing the light in the room would seem overly bright. Also, I wanted to treasure what I’d just experienced before joining the reality of the world again.
A thumb grazed along my jaw. My breath locked in my lungs.
“Open up, Red. I need to see those beautiful green eyes of yours.”
My jaw fell open, but I kept my eyes glued shut. Was I hallucinating? Oh, please, no. A choked sob escaped my throat. The thumb moved to my cheek, and fingers spread into my hair. This moment, the realization of it, almost became too much to bear.
“I don’t think I can,” I whispered.
“Please?” His other hand caught mine, and he squeezed. “Trust me, Red. Open those eyes.”
So I did. But my heart stopped beating. My lungs refused to take in air. I lifted my chin and stared into the bluest eyes I’d ever seen—a vast, endless ocean—and in that second my heart thudded once, twice, and then began beating again as I came alive under Ben’s gaze.
I blinked, half-afraid he wasn’t real, that somehow my brain had conjured him up and he was nothing but an illusion brought on by my hopes and Verda’s special brand of therapy. But no. Ben was here. And he was looking at me with that smile that melted my bones.
“You’re not going to faint again, are you?” Concern etched his features, and he muttered a soft curse. “I worried this might be too much for you, but Verda insisted. I just wanted them to kidnap you and bring you to my place.”
“Y-you wanted them to kidnap me?” My shock was beginning to fade. “This was your idea?”
Pulling away, he took the chair that Verda had been in. I scanned the room to see if the Gypsy brigade remained in residence. They didn’t.
“Not all of it. But I remembered your tale of the first kidnapping”—a flash of humor glinted in his eyes—“and I came up with this grand scheme of romancing you.”
“Romancing me?” I squeaked. “The last time we saw each other—”
“I know.” He whisked a hand over his jaw. “I was kind of a jerk. It was a lot that night, Red. I don’t know if you can forgive me for bolting out of there, but I couldn’t come to grips with everything you told me. After saying good-bye to Rissa…it was just too much.”
“I get that. Totally. But what changed your mind? What made you decide to”—I sucked in a breath—“romance me?”
His jaw tightened, and myriad emotions flickered through his expression. “I left that night knowing my feelings for you hadn’t disappeared. But I was angry and hurt, and didn’t know what to believe. So I went home and moped. Went to work and moped. Went to see Gabe and punched him again”—he blinked—“and moped.”
He’d moped. About me! And his feelings…“I know my spell worked, Ben. I promise you that. I absolutely removed every other spell I ever cast on you.”
“I believe you. I felt something that night. I don’t know if I can explain it, but while my feelings remained the same, a sort of release came over me.” He shook his head. “I didn’t have to be with you. My choices were mine. But I still wanted to be with you. Does that make sense?”
Happiness and hope and love swarmed in. “Yes. It means that my spell gave you your will back, your freedom, but that you…you still care about me.” I thought of something else, though. “You were very sure you couldn’t be with someone who had that type of power. Wh-what do you think about that now?” I awaited his answer with bated breath.
“Your magic is a part of who you are. And you’re the woman I can’t get out of my thoughts.” Again, he rubbed his jaw. “I guess what I’m saying is—”
I’d heard enough. Somehow, he’d found a way to accept me for the person I was, so there was no reason not to tell him the truth. “It’s okay, Ben. I gave my power up.” At his curious and startled glance, I gave him an abridged version of my recent past.
I figured he’d be relieved. Happy, even. But he frowned. “I wouldn’t have asked you to do that. Ever, Red.”
“I’d decided before I told you anything about my gift that I didn’t want that specific power anymore. It scared me. This was my choice, and had very little to do with you. With us. It was about me, and the type of person I want to be.”
He stared at me. “You did this for you and for no other reason?”
I laughed, and a solitary tear fell from my eye. “Yes. But if the side effect turns out to help us, that makes me even happier.”
“Honestly, it doesn’t make a difference. I’d already made up my mind when I contacted Elizabeth.” He winked. “About romancing you.”
Even though everything he’d said so far was good, amazing and thrilling, he hadn’t tried to touch me again and he hadn’t actually said what those feelings of his were. I guess, silly as it might sound, I wasn’t there yet. I wasn’t to the point of believing that we were going to be together. That we were going to be okay. So yes, I definitely wanted to hear about his plan to romance me.
“You said you punched Gabe?”
A rough laugh emerged. “I went to see him, because I wanted to try. For Rissa. He pointed out that I’d never punched him over Sara, but that I hadn’t hesitated in doing so over you. Over ‘just a kiss.’ ” Ben growled. “Just a kiss! His hands were all over you. My temper flashed, and I saw him touching you again, and I swung at him before the thought even processed.”
A glow of pleasure whipped into me. “How’d Gabe take that?”
“He laughed his ass off. We ended up talking.”
“And?”
Ben shrugged. “We have a long way to go, but we’ll see. Right now, though, I’m more focused on us. I contacted Elizabeth with my idea, asked her if she could arrange another kidnapping and bring you to my house. I had this idea of a tent in the backyard, with the stars above us, a bottle of champagne…but then I met Verda.”
I grinned, imagining. “So this was her idea.”
“Yep. She said she wanted to be positive that you’d want to see me, and not just lug you off to my house without that assurance.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And she meant that, but I also think she loved the idea of putting one over on you again.”
That sounded like Verda. All of it. I laughed, and another tear eased down my cheek. “And you agreed.”
“I wanted to surprise you.” His voice caught. Longing and something else—love?—winged into his eyes. “So I agreed, and with Verda and Elizabeth’s help, set the room up. And waited for you to arrive.”
“You were here?”
“In the bathroom. Worrying about what your reaction would be, if you’d be willing to even talk to me, let alone what I have in mind.”
“What do you have in mind?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he strode to the box of cupcakes and grabbed the solitary one with pink icing rather than white. Returning to me, he cleared his throat. “That depends, Red. But I hope you’ll hear me out.”
My heart pounded. Trembles of disbelief fluttered through me. I bit my lip and nodded. “I love you. So yes, Ben, of course I’ll hear you out.”
He pulled a chair so close that we were knee to knee when he sat down. My eyes focused on the cupcake, wondering, hoping, but unable to actually believe the idea that floated in my brain.
“A long time ago, when I met Sara, I believed in love at first sight. I stopped.” His voice erupted, his tenor thick and heavy with emotion. “Then one day, I was on my way back to the office from a meeting. I remembered my assistant’s birthday was coming up.”
“Okay…”
“There’s a flower store right across the street from the Mystic Corner, Red. I planned on stopping there and ordering her flowers. As I do every year. But I saw your store, and a compulsion came over me.” His eyes gripped mine. “I had to go in
. I didn’t know why.”
“Oh,” I breathed.
“I walked in. I saw you behind the counter, and my body responded like a sex-starved teenager.” He smiled at the memory. “It shocked me. I hadn’t reacted so suddenly, so strongly, to a woman in years. Then, when I managed to pull myself together enough to ask about pendulums—and by the way, my assistant didn’t even know what they were—I looked into your eyes. And I fell in love. Right then, at that instant, I was a goner.”
“Wh-what? But…you didn’t seem interested and—”
“I thought I was being stupid. I assumed my reaction was because I hadn’t had sex in a ridiculously long time, and that my brain was confusing lust for love. So I figured your fun and games offer would be perfect. That I’d get you out of my system and that whatever I thought I felt for you would disappear.” He combed his free hand through his hair. “What a deluded fool I was.”
“Deluded?” The question was more of a sob than anything else. “Fool?”
“Yes, Chloe. Because I loved you the minute I saw you, and that hasn’t changed.” Scooting his chair even closer, which should’ve been impossible, he blew out a breath. “I love you. I know I love you. I’m done pretending that this kind of thing can’t happen.”
“Uh-huh?” I wheezed.
His lips quirked, and then he offered me the cupcake. “This isn’t how I planned this. I was going to explain everything to you, and if that went well, kiss you. Seduce you. And then feed you this in the morning. But I can’t wait.”
I accepted the cupcake, every instinct I had on high alert. “You want me to eat this now?”
“No. I want you to break it in half.”
Oh, God. I was right. I knew it to the core of my being. My tears fell faster and harder, and my chest filled with love for this man. My hands shook as I peeled the wrapper off of the cupcake, shivering in anticipation. Cracking it open, I saw it. And yep, I cried harder.
Tugging the ring from the chocolate center, I laughed. I shook my head, somehow still denying that every dream I’d ever had was coming true. Right now. Right at that second.
Ben pushed the chair out of the way and knelt in front of me. “Chloe, I don’t know if I deserve you. You make me laugh. You’ve made me believe in things I never knew existed. You make me want things I stopped wanting years ago.” His fingers touched my chin, and then my cheek. “I love you, Red. Will you do me the honor of making that drawing a reality? Will you marry me?”
Oh. Oh, wow. Just freaking wow.
“Yes. Absolutely. Yes, yes, and yes.” A huge, booming laugh flew out of me. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Now, tomorrow, a year from now. Whenever you want.”
“So…you’re saying yes?” he teased, with a grin just as wide as mine. I nodded, and he pulled the ring from my grasp and slid it onto my finger.
Awe mingled with shock coursed through me. I’d used my magic to coerce Kyle into accepting my proposal. I’d used my power to compel Ben to date me. And then I’d given up my gift, had nearly given up on finding my happy ending, when true love found me. And how incredible was that?
Ben stood and pulled me upright, the chunks of cake falling to the ground. One fast tug, and I was in his arms. I raised my chin, stroked my finger along the plane of his cheek. “Kiss me, Ben. Kiss me now.”
He did.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Some stories are more difficult to write than others, and this was one of those stories. Thank you to the following folks for sticking by me and helping me through the process:
My critique partners, Natalie J. Damschroder: for your support, motivation, and your expert knowledge of hyphens. As difficult as the writing of this book was, it would have been so much more so without you in my corner. Connie Phillips: for your words of encouragement and constant belief in me. You have the ability to see the forest through the trees, something I am always in awe of.
My editor, Chris Keeslar: you totally gave me the confidence I needed when I needed it. Thank you so much for that, as well as for your patience, wit, and belief in me and the stories I want to tell. You rock.
My family, starting with my mom, Krystene Palenske: for truly loving my books and for her excitement to read this one. My kids: for thinking it’s cool that your mother is an author and for bragging about me to your friends. My husband, Jim Duncan: for your never-ending support, and also for cooking dinner nearly every night when I was consumed by this story.
And a special thanks to a very special teenager, Katelynn Phillips: for your excitement over this series and for your incredible talent. I love the book trailer you made. Thanks, sweetie!
REVIEWERS ARE CHARMED BY TRACY MADISON!
A TASTE OF MAGIC
“A Taste of Magic is a yummy concoction that will leave you craving more, more, more from exciting new author Tracy Madison!”
—Nationally Bestselling Author Tori Carrington
“Tracy Madison is an author to watch. A Taste of Magic is…magically delicious!”—Annette Blair, National Bestselling Author of
Never Been Witched
“A Taste of Magic is a magical tale of romance and revenge. Ms. Madison takes readers on an adventure in baking that’s highlighted with tasty treats, sexy men, and a touch of humor.”
—Darque Reviews
“This whimsical urban fantasy is a fun tale as the lead character will learn the effect of unintended consequences when she bakes her wish into a cake.”
—Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round Reviews
“[Madison] has a breezy, intimate style that’s fun to read.”
—RT Book Reviews
A STROKE OF MAGIC
“This is an uplifting and delightful story about finding love and trusting your heart. It’s humorous and heartfelt.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Ms. Madison has penned another delightful spell that will ensnare and bewitch readers and leave them wanting more…This book is one that you won’t want to put down until you read it from beginning to end and it will leave you craving more. This is a definite keeper…”
—Night Owl Romance
“Fans will enjoy this delightful paranormal romance filled with two wonderful lead characters and a strong support cast…Anyone who enjoys A Taste of Magic will appreciate this lighthearted frolic as once again, Tracy Madison provides a charming whimsical urban fantasy.”
—Midwest Book Review
Other books by Tracy Madison:
A STROKE OF MAGIC
A TASTE OF MAGIC
Copyright
A LEISURE BOOK®
May 2010
Published by
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
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New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2010 by Tracy Leigh Ritts
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E-ISBN: 978-1-4285-08
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