“Jasmine?” An odd shadow passed over her face. Then she nodded. “So he’s taken her back to live with him. That’s good. She needs him.”
“And he needs her. But that’s not all he needs.”
“I can see how you became famous as the master of illusion.” She picked up a book, set it down again and removed her glasses. She fixed him with her steady glare, as disarming suddenly as it had been the first time he met her. “What you’re ignoring here are the things he and I have already done. And I’m not sure I can ever be the person he wants me to be.”
He sighed, placing both hands on the desk in front of her, deliberately adopting an attitude of defeat. “Okay. Yeah. I’m the last person to tell you two people who love each other can’t hurt each other. A lot more than two people who really don’t like each other, actually. And our actions are very, very hard to overcome. But if we try…” He straightened, spread his hands and produced a rose. “It’s the equivalent of magic.”
“You guys just can’t help yourselves, can you?” She took the rose he offered and twirled it between her fingers. “How’s your wife, by the way?”
“Happy. With an eight pound bundle of pink-garbed joy. Are you going to take me up on my offer?”
“Maybe.” She appeared lost in thought.
“Maybe?” He raised his eyebrows.
Her gaze snapped back to his. “Maybe. It’s the best I can do right now. Make the arrangements and send me the details. If you’re willing to do that, maybe I’ll be there.”
He nodded, knowing when he’d been bested. “Fine. But know that his night won’t be complete without you in it. And his life won’t either.”
Her only reply was a slightly sideways smile. “That’s not really my problem, is it?”
****
Not really my problem. Right. She sat alone in the hotel room overlooking the twilit river. A few boats still moved across the wide expanse, their lights like fireflies from this distance.
The room wasn’t exactly lavish, but it was comfortable. All she needed. And all she had at that point. She certainly had the ability to provide herself with a more permanent situation, but for some reason she hadn’t been able to follow through on any inviting prospects.
I’m working part time as a library assistant in a town I no longer feel at home in and I’m staying at a hotel. She sipped her hot tea and looked out at the water. Her life felt as fluid and in motion as the river. She couldn’t seem to get a handle on it anymore. She shifted her gaze to the sky and spotted a star. With her left hand, she felt in her pocket, pulled out the little velvet bag she kept what she thought of as her “star crystal” out. Did you see a trick?
No. She hadn’t seen the trick then or when he trapped her in a “crash landing.” But there had been one. Because magic didn’t exist. It was all tricks and sleight of hand.
But was it? She shook the crystal into her hand and closed her fingers over it as she remembered the jungle. The primal magic there had been palpable, as real as the crystal in her hand, and he had been as eager to share that with her as he had the trick of catching the star. Maybe more so. Because he’d cared what happened to her.
His night won’t be complete without you in it. And his life won’t either. But was that true? Really? He didn’t even know her. He knew the her from ten years ago. He knew the her from six months ago. But he didn’t know her because she wasn’t even sure she knew herself. And what if what she was wasn’t enough? Or too much?
She stood, shaking her head. No. She wasn’t going to do this again. Not again. She was just starting to discover herself. Or at least, who she could be. Not Kevin’s wife, not the half-crazed divorcee, not even the innocent young woman who’d once been so in awe of her best friend’s famous husband she’d shied away from any situations which put them in close contact. Right now she was in limbo. Living in a hotel room because she couldn’t make up her mind to stay here. But she had started her journey to finding herself and she couldn’t allow the fear that what she found wouldn’t be what someone else wanted to hold her back.
Maybe I started it back on the island. In his arms. The thought made her pause. She looked down at the crystal in her hand, then back up, a little startled at the sight of her own reflection in the darkening hotel window. That’s me.
She walked to the window, staring at the reflection as she got closer. Slender but strong. I’ve been through enough. I should be strong. She tilted her head and looked more critically. Her left eye was slightly larger than her right. But that was okay because her right breast was slightly larger than her left. She smiled at the thought and noticed how her lips rose higher on one side than the other. She was starting—just barely—to get laugh lines around her eyes. I’m getting older.
She remembered her mother saying something when she was young. As you get older, your time gets shorter. For the first time, really, she began to grasp what her mother had meant. She looked at her reflection for a moment longer. She felt strangely as if she were seeing an old friend again for the first time in a long time. But that’s just me. And I’ve been here all along.
Absurdly the words Logan had said to her after the “plane crash” came back to her. I like the world better with you in it.
She touched her reflection and smiled a little. “Maybe he actually had something there.”
Chapter 12
Rachel stepped off the plane half expecting Andre to be there to meet her, half dreading that he might have sent Logan. But neither of the handsome magicians waited in the little island terminal. Instead, an older woman dressed in a relaxed hot pink blouse and neat white pants stood from one of the pastel colored rocking chairs that lined the room. “Rachel?”
“Celia?” Rachel gaped at the older woman, then half ran to her. Celia enveloped her in the type of embrace only a mother could give. “Oh my God, it’s so good to see you.”
“I asked Andre if I could meet the plane on the off-chance that you came.” Celia backed away, holding her at arm’s length and smiling at her, a few tears in her eyes. “I’ve missed you.” She stroked a lock of Rachel’s hair, clearing her throat. “You stopped coming to visit.”
“I know.” Rachel remembered the last time she’d visited. Jasmine had only been a couple of years old, just starting to toddle around, and she’d told Celia about being engaged to Kevin. God, had it really been that long? Overcome by remorse, she hugged Celia hard. “I’m so sorry.”
The older woman patted her back, then took her hand and led her to the baggage area. “Let’s get your bags and I’ll take you to your room. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Rachel spent the short ride to the hotel in silence, but she held Celia’s hand and thought about all this woman had given her over the years. Her own mother, who now lived in Florida, had always been a remote woman, more concerned with social standing and her career than with childcare. Rachel and Angel had taken care of each other a lot, but Rachel had also had Celia to go to in her teenage years. Nora had never balked at sharing her mother, and Celia’s warm personality had been more than enough to get both girls through first dates and the difficult days of being a new driver and the many other social crises girls go through in high school and college, especially in a small town.
Oh, Nora. What would you think of me now? What would you think of the things I’ve done? And the things your husband had to stop me from doing. She shuddered in remembered horror. She’d come so close.
Celia squeezed her hand. “We’re here.”
They’d given her the same suite she’d stayed in before. How exactly had they managed it? Andre wouldn’t have told Logan she was coming, and she was fairly certain he had no idea she was there now. If he had, he would have been at the airport.
So now what?
She turned to Celia. “Is Jasmine here?”
Celia nodded. “I’d love to reintroduce you.” She paused, then hurried on, as if eager to say what she needed to before she lost courage. “Ian told me. About you two.”
“Ian?” Rachel smiled a little. “I thought everyone had stopped calling him that.”
The older woman sniffed. “He tried to get me to stop, but I ignored him.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Rachel ran her fingers across the dustless surface of the desk. “I hope…I hope you don’t think I…” What could she say? How could she finish that sentence? I hope you don’t think I’m betraying Nora? I hope you don’t think I’m disrespecting the memory of the best friend I’ve ever had? What did it matter at this point when her sins were so much more numerous and damaging?
Her friend’s mother understood, however. She sat on the couch. “You know, you always fit into our family so easily. Seamlessly. As if you and Nora were actually meant to be sisters instead of best friends.” Her expression was rueful. “Once or twice, I actually wished you were.” She laughed. “Who am I kidding? Nora wasn’t an only child, but she and her sister never really got along, and she was such a tender soul. You made her so happy, whenever you were around. I loved it. I loved you.” She reached for Rachel’s hand and squeezed. “I love you, and I love Ian and if you two can make each other happy, I’m all for it.”
Rachel wondered if they could or if she and Logan weren’t really meant to be. But that was what she was here to find out, and having the approval of the one woman who still bound her life to Logan’s meant a lot. She squeezed Celia’s hand and searched for a reply that would express some of the fullness in her heart. Before she could find it, however, the door flew open and a little girl came bounding in. “Gramma! I went swimming with Uncle Andre and we found live sea stars!”
Jasmine. Rachel’s heart gave an unexpected leap at the sight of the little girl, who reminded her so much of her old friend she couldn’t possibly have been anyone else’s daughter. She was so tall. Dear God. How had so much time passed?
Celia cleared her throat and turned. “Have you forgotten all your manners, young lady? How do you enter a room where two adults are talking?”
“Oh.” The tiny cutie with the curly dark hair like her mother’s and the dark eyes like her father’s stopped and looked shyly at Rachel. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted. It was very rude.”
Rachel couldn’t help but smile at the little girl’s articulate apology. “That’s okay, sweetheart. You were excited, huh?”
Jasmine’s face lit up. “Yes! It was awesome! Gramma, can you come next time, please?”
“Snorkeling? I don’t think so.” Celia shot Rachel a sly look. “But maybe Miss Rachel would like to join you and your father sometime.”
“Oh, could you?” Jasmine grabbed Rachel’s hands with the confidence of a bright child. “We would have so much fun.”
Uncertain how to react to such an unexpected turn of events, Rachel cleared her throat and glanced at Celia.
“Jasmine, there’ll be time for that later,” Celia smiled and kissed the little girl’s head. “But I’m glad you’re here. Miss Rachel was a friend of your mother’s.”
“You knew my mommy?” Jasmine’s face illuminated even more, if that was possible. “Can you tell me about her? Gramma tells me stories and we write her letters sometimes.”
Sudden tears threatened and Rachel had an almost overwhelming urge to sweep the little girl into an embrace, but she blinked rapidly and bit her lip, smiling at the innocent request. “Of course. I loved your mommy a lot and I would like to tell you all about her. I met you before, you know. A long time ago.”
“When I was a baby?”
“Yeah.” Rachel remembered the beautiful pink-wrapped bundle she’d held during the funeral. How had she let it go so long without visiting Jasmine and Celia? She could have been a part of this child’s life all along. But the pain and guilt of her friend’s death had been so fresh back then, and distance had selfishly allowed her to dull her own pain while leaving her friend’s family—her family—to go on without her.
Celia put her hand on Jasmine’s head and caught Rachel’s eye. The depth of understanding in her gaze surprised Rachel. “We should let you rest and get ready.”
“Oh, are you coming to the magic show?” Jasmine clapped her hands. “Oh goody. Do you know my daddy, too?”
“Yes.” Rachel choked a little on the word. “Yes, I do. And yes, I’m looking forward to the magic show.”
“Will you sit with us? We’re sitting right up front.” Jasmine turned to her grandmother. “She can, can’t she?’
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Celia kissed Rachel on the cheek and looked her in the eye. “I’m sure it will make your father very happy to see her there.”
****
“I really hope we’re doing the right thing.” Lydia’s mutter was just audible as she and Stacey walked around the pool toward the table where Celia, Jasmine, Tony and Andre clustered around Logan.
“Do you really have any doubts?” Stacey gave Lydia a sharp look. Andre’s love had brightened her own horizons so significantly she only wanted to share that view with everyone else, but Lydia’s sharp edge sometimes made that difficult. “Don’t you think they deserve a chance to be happy?”
Lydia laughed. “I don’t mean that I don’t want Logan to be happy or that I doubt his judgment in any way. Of anyone or anything. So stop being all protective mama on me and save it for your daughter.” She put her arm around Stacey’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “I just wonder if Ian is really ready for this.”
Stacey blinked a little at Lydia’s use of Logan’s first name. Of course, he’d only used his last name for as long as she’d know him, but Lydia had been his friend before. In happier times. “You mean the magic show, not Rachel.”
Lydia widened her green eyes a little and nodded. “Yeah. That’s what I mean. Magic—at least at Ian Logan’s level—well, it’s not like doing a birthday party for kids. It’s a commitment, even an addiction. Maybe more than love, even, when you think of the practice and the secrets and the overall—” She swept her arms wide with a helpless gesture and then laughed a little. “Well, commitment. That’s it. And I know you know. You’re married to one of the best magicians I know.”
“I am.” Stacey watched as Andre started toward them. He had not expressed any concern about the show and Logan’s readiness for it. But he also hadn’t started calling Logan by his first name, either. She considered for a moment the possibility that a woman in the same field might have a different—perhaps more accurate—take on Logan’s readiness to return to performing.
Before she could allow any further doubts to enter her mind, however, Andre met them and she summoned her most confident smile. “Hey, what did you do with our daughter?”
“She’s bonding with her Uncle Tony.” Andre kissed his wife. “I think he mentioned needing to get one for himself.”
“Oh God, don’t start putting ideas in his head already.” Lydia rolled her eyes and continued around the pool.
Andre chuckled. “She can say what she likes, but I’m betting a family isn’t too far from her mind, either.” He turned back to his wife. “Everything set?”
“Well, she’s here.” Stacey slipped her arm around her husband and they continued around the pool at a slower pace than Lydia. “Celia said she’s sure Rachel wants to see him, too. And she bribed Jasmine to keep the secret.”
Andre pulled her a little closer. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Of course it’s a good idea.” She gave him a quelling look. Now was no time for doubts. “He’s in love with her, right?”
“And she walked out on him.”
“If memory serves, I walked out on you in the beginning. Didn’t slow you down much.”
“I think that was more of a mutual walking out.” He considered. “But yeah. I didn’t hesitate to try to get you back once I’d come to my senses.”
“Well then, we need to make sure he gets the same chance. And he’ll never do it on his own. He thinks she has good reason to never forgive him.”
“I’m sort of ambivalent about th
at, actually.” He shrugged at her sharp look. “Well, she could have had us all arrested.”
Before Stacey could protest, they were at the table and Logan rose from his seat. He plucked his daughter up and settled her on his shoulders. “Well, we should do this thing if we’re gonna.”
“You don’t want to do it?” Stacey felt her first stab of real doubt, remembering Lydia’s comments. She stepped over to him under the pretense of straightening his shirt collar.
“I didn’t say that.” Logan gave her a fond smile. “And I’m pretty sure my collar’s not going to stay straight with a munchkin on my shoulders.”
“Come on, Daddy, I want to see some magic!” Jasmine hugged her father’s head.
“Do you, sweetie?” He swung her down to hug her before handing her to Celia. “Okay then. Go get your front row seat.”
“Good luck,” Celia smiled as she set Jasmine down and they walked across the lawn to the auditorium, the little girl blowing him kisses as they went.
“There, see?” Stacey knew she was seeking reassurance for her actions. “She wants to see you perform.” She bit her lip and glanced at the others then back at him. “This is your moment, Logan. It’s been six months since Rachel left and six years since Nora died. It’s time. Show your baby girl what you can do.”
He gave her an odd look from his depthless eyes. She said a quiet prayer that what was going through his head was a newfound determination to rebuild his career—and his life. But when he replied she couldn’t really tell from his words if he meant them. “Yeah. It’s time. Let’s do it.”
****
Island Magic Page 16