Bewitching You

by Estrella, Viola

Now, neither of those men existed.

  “Um, Mr. Phillips.” Sandy stood in front of him with one of her penciled eyebrows vaulted dramatically.

  Gray stopped and glanced around. He hadn’t realized he’d walked out into the lobby toward the elevators. What was he going to do? Follow her?

  Give in to the thoughts that had been flooding through his mind while he’d had her backed against the wall?

  He’d almost lost control in his office. Her enticing sweet vanilla scent, her blue eyes staring up at him, her glossy full lips pouting, her hand on his chest lowering to feel his stiffening erection, the softness of her breasts as he pressed up against her—it was all Sofia in the flesh, not some dream.

  Authentic. Tangible. Sensual.

  Stop.

  He had to think of Rachel. I might be an ass, but I’m not a cheater.

  “Mr. Phillips?” Sandy waved her long artificial fingernails in his face. “Anybody home in there?”

  “Sorry.” Gray straightened his tie. “I was, uh, thinking.”

  “I could see that.” She slid a red fingernail down the seam of her low v-neck sweater. “That wasn’t your fiancée, was it?”

  “No.” He didn’t bother explaining. It wasn’t any of her business. “Do you need something?”

  Her lips curved coquettishly. Gray knew that particular smile quite well. It was the same one he’d gotten from numerous women who’d ended up in his bed over the years before he met Rachel.

  “I do need something,” she winked, “but it’ll have to wait. You’re late for a little appointment. Mr. Linden called while you were in your office with that woman. I didn’t want to interrupt. The conversation seemed pretty heated.”

  “Oh, shit.” Gray hurried to his office to grab his materials. The clock on the wall said he was fifteen minutes late.

  Damn.

  He picked up his boards, closed the office door behind him, and ran directly into Mr. Linden.

  Mike Linden was a small man. Five and a half feet tall, and he couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred and ten pounds judging by the way he dropped to the floor like a feather.

  Gray apologized, and sweat beaded his brow. He held out a hand for Linden to take, but his boss proudly pushed it away and rose to his feet on his own. The small elderly man dusted off his suit jacket as he glared up at Gray.

  “Phillips,” he said, while sweeping back a lock of silver-streaked hair, “you screwed up.”

  “It won’t happen again, sir.” Gray hated groveling, but he had screwed up and needed to dig himself out of the hole he’d created. “Is Bud B. still here? I’ll apologize to him myself. I’m sure he won’t mind once he sees—”

  “Nope.” Linden put his hand up. “He left. He’s a busy man, and you making him wait put a dark cloud over this entire company.”

  “Then I’ll call him and explain.” There had to be some way. Gray couldn’t simply give up.

  “Don’t you dare, Phillips. Luckily, Beaver stepped in and handled the situation. He’ll be taking over the project.”

  It wasn’t until then that Gray noticed his nemesis smiling smugly a few feet behind Linden. No way was this happening. In a matter of minutes, Gray had mucked up his chance to be promoted and this moron was reaping the benefits.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Gray muttered.

  “I assure you, I’m not,” Linden said. “I had high hopes for you, Phillips, but if you can’t even arrive on time to an important meeting, how can you manage an entire department?”

  Beaver, over Linden’s shoulder, lifted his eyebrows as if waiting for Gray’s answer. The nerve.

  Gray clenched his fists at his side and tried to ignore Beaver. The heat of anger rose up his chest. “You’re saying not only do I not get the account, I don’t get the promotion either?”

  “Why don’t we talk about this at a later time? You seem upset.”

  “No. I want to know now. I’ve worked my ass off for this company, and I deserve that promotion.”

  Beaver stepped to Linden’s right. “That’s highly debatable, Phillips,” he said while shaking his head. “Mr. Linden saw for himself just how unreliable you can be.” He smirked and silently mouthed, “You fucked up.”

  It was all Gray could take. If he was going to fall, he’d drag Beaver down with him. He tightened his fist and swung, hitting his colleague square in the jaw. And damn, did it feel good.

  If only for a moment.

  ~ * ~

  Papers flew across the driveway after Sofia stumbled over her own feet. Of course an afternoon shower had just poured through, leaving the ground wet and ruining all of her job applications.

  “Just great.” Sofia looked around at the damage and began picking up each piece, crumpling them all together into a sopping ball. Her entire morning had been wasted. Why, again, hadn’t she filled out the applications while she was there? Oh, yeah, she’d wanted them to look perfect before she handed them back in, with her resume she’d designed on the computer attached. The template had cute pink swirls and… She sighed.

  What about her life was ever less than disastrous?

  Evidently, nothing.

  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Sofe.” She tossed the applications into the trash before heading inside. If Sofia Good was anything, she was resilient. Strong.

  Strong enough to stop rapes and murders from happening, and strong enough to attempt to peel the thought of never being loved by that man from her mind and her dreams.

  However, she was not strong enough to deal with her mother and her grandmother talking about her as she walked through the door. Not today. The whispers echoed into the hallway from the den. They didn’t even bother to stop when Sofia leaned into the room and cleared her throat.

  Her mother held up a finger. “Sofia doesn’t need a man in her life. She’s got me.”

  They sat on either side of the large walnut desk, inclining toward each other as if that would stop Sofia from hearing their every word.

  “Need a man? No,” Nana said, “but she deserves a little happiness.”

  “You can stop now,” Sofia cut in before they could continue. “I have no idea why you’re discussing this, but it’s pointless. Sofia doesn’t need or want a man, especially Gray Phillips.”

  Geez, it disgusted her to say his name aloud. She hoped she never saw him again, eyes opened or closed. As of this morning, he was nothing to her.

  But then why did it hurt so much?

  Maybe because this could be her only chance at love.

  “Oh, honey.” Nana stood up and held out her arms for Sofia. She’d obviously read her mind. “Come to Nana.”

  Dang it. Times like this she wished she knew her mother’s trick to block Nana out. Her mother had learned it in high school, and it had something to do with envisioning someone naked. Was it Rodney Dangerfield?

  “Sofia, don’t do that.”

  “Sorry, Nana, but I’m really not in the mood to be read.”

  “I’ll try not to, but I’m worried about you. I can see that he’s hurt you.”

  “I’m fine. Really.”

  “If he’s been having the dreams, too, then he’ll come to you eventually,” Nana whispered and rubbed Sofia’s shoulders.

  Now, how did she know that? No secret was safe in this family, not even the ones in her head.

  “I don’t want him to. In fact, I’m going to prevent it from happening. I can do that, you know. I can control my own destiny.” And her mind. Rodney Dangerfield, Rodney Dangerfield.

  “What happened?” her mother asked as she walked toward them.

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Mom. It’s over and done with.” Sofia willed back the unwanted tears forming in her eyes.

  It was no big deal, she told herself. That relationship simply wasn’t meant to be. That was all.

  Her mother moved in and caressed her cheek. “Darn it. I never should have told you to go after him. Men are nothing but closed-minded nimrods. They’re all testosterone-
driven assholes, and it sounds like this guy isn’t any different. He’s not worthy of you, just like your father—”

  “Laura,” Nana interrupted. “Please, show a little self-control.”

  Sofia glanced from her mother to her grandmother and wondered for the billionth time how they could possibly be related. One short and overweight, the other tall and lean. Sofia was somewhere in between them, leaning more to the short and, okay, slightly chubby side—so maybe eating cold pizza for breakfast hadn’t been the best decision. The only characteristic that truly bonded them was the blue eyes.

  And, of course, there was the whole no-man-will-ever-love-them issue. Psychic powers weren’t exactly on a man’s list of top ten reasons to stick around.

  Her mother was right. Who needed a man anyway? All Sofia required was a job and the two women in front of her.

  “Sofia,” Nana began in a cautious tone, “I’m going out of town for a week or two. An Amish family in Allen County needs a midwife for a difficult pregnancy, and I agreed to help. I was wondering, since you no longer have a job, if you could housesit for me and take care of Sam? Besides,” Nana eyed Sofia’s mother, who was fuming from being cut off and was most likely planning another desperate attack on poor Herbert to take the edge off, “it might be good for you to have some alone time away from everything.”

  ~ * ~

  Penny Jones pulled up to her home after driving from her daughter and granddaughter’s house. She knew what she needed to do for Sofia.

  Something she’d only done once before.

  Something to help Sofia find her own true love, just as Penny had many years ago.

  It had worked its magic then, literally. Now it was time to do it again. Sure, magic spells took a lot out of Penny, and she wasn’t as young as she once was, but this was important.

  She walked inside her home on a mission to bring her granddaughter happiness. She was determined to make it so Sofia didn’t suffer the same bitter fate as Laura. She’d already picked out the necessary materials. Items she usually kept in her shed out back, along with all of her other magical goodies, were spread out on the floor. She sat down in front of them, close to the Earth.

  Penny didn’t practice witchcraft often. Her mother had taught her less was more. She’d taught the same to Laura, who decided for herself and Sofia that magic was not going to be a part of their lives at all. Their gifts were about all Laura could handle. Anything else was unnatural to her, abnormal.

  Penny never argued, never undermined. Until now.

  Each magnet lay out on the hardwood floor before her. One represented Sofia, the other Grayson Phillips. Penny closed her eyes and slowly breathed in and out, letting the energy rise inside of her.

  This is interesting. A masculine voice vibrated into her head.

  Penny opened her eyes and glanced around, but there was no one to be seen. “Hello?” she called out. It had been a mind she’d read, rather than an actual voice she’d heard. She could tell from the vibrations.

  Can you hear me? he asked.

  “Yes, but I can’t see you. Are you a spirit, by chance?”

  “I am. But you’re not frightened?” He spoke this time in a deep and youthful tone.

  “No.” Penny chuckled. She’d heard her share of ghosts in the past. In fact, her late husband had spent a week on earth after he’d passed, before fulfilling his unfinished business and moving to the light. “No, I’m not frightened by you one bit. However, I am curious why you’re here. Who are you and what is your business?”

  “My name is Hayes Phillips, Gray Phillips’s brother. I need to see to his happiness before I can cross over, and I think your granddaughter, Sofia, can help with that.”

  “Oh? How do you know of my Sofia?”

  “She’s the palm reader’s daughter, right?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Well, I’ve been watching her.” He paused and laughed an infectious laugh. “Not in a weird way or anything.”

  Penny smiled. “That’s good to know. Go on.”

  “You see, I was angry with the palm reader at first. I’d been to her a month before my death, and she’d told me to be careful. That’s it. She hadn’t warned me of my looming death. She hadn’t even given me a hint. So, I brooded in their home, watching them, wanting to get even with the so-called psychic. But as time passed, I was more entranced by the daughter. She was sweet, innocent, and pretty in her own way. Not really my type.” He chuckled lightly. “Definitely perfect for my brother, though. I began to think how lucky he would be if he were to find her. Then I remembered.”

  The young man stopped talking, but Penny continued to read his thoughts. He’d remembered how selfish he’d been, leaving his brother. And Rachel. He’d gone to see them after the spirit world had taken his body and saw the ring on her finger. They were engaged to be married, but neither of them was happy with the idea.

  How could they be?

  Penny nodded as she came full circle with the rest of the story. “I understand why you’re here. We have the same goal then, don’t we?”

  “Yeah, I think we do.”

  ~ * ~

  Rachel braked hard, nearly hitting the school bus filled with children on their way home from school. She’d been so consumed with her thoughts she hadn’t noticed the light was red.

  What was wrong with her? She was going to kill someone if she couldn’t get it together.

  Hayes. He was the problem. She couldn’t get him out of her head. All night and all day during class, visions of the intimate time they’d spent together had manipulated her mind. Kissing. Wanting. Spreading her legs for him and letting him have whatever he desired.

  Seeing him again had been agonizing. If the man in her room really had been Hayes, if his words had all been true, then he’d loved her. Who knew what would have happened if he’d lived to tell her? It wasn’t fair to her, and especially not to Grayson. How could she ever go ahead with the wedding, knowing what she knew? After everything was said and done, she couldn’t imagine letting Grayson into the space in her heart where only Hayes had been.

  It wasn’t right, and it had been ridiculous of her to ever think it would be.

  The car behind her honked twice, letting Rachel know the light had turned green. She pressed the gas pedal and carefully continued home.

  The phone call to Grayson this morning had been a pathetic attempt. As soon as she’d heard his voice over the line, she’d chickened out. Not only did she not want to hurt him any more than he’d already been hurt, she didn’t want him to think poorly of her. She didn’t want to see that look of disappointment she’d become so familiar with.

  He hadn’t always been this way. Remote and irritable. Before Hayes died, he was a kind, loving man. Rachel had loved that part of him. If only the passion had been there—the little thing called chemistry. Then she would’ve never slept with Hayes, and she wouldn’t be in this predicament right now.

  Her cell phone chirped on the seat beside her, and she pulled off the road into a convenience store parking lot to answer it. No sense in adding another distraction to her already preoccupied mind.

  “Hello?”

  “Rachel, it’s your mother.”

  “Hi.” Darn it. Why hadn’t she checked the caller ID?

  “I can’t talk long, dear, but don’t forget to meet me at the bridal shop at five for your dress fitting. Olga has a tight schedule and doesn’t like waiting.”

  “The dress fitting,” Rachel repeated absently.

  Seeing her wedding dress was the last thing she wanted to do.

  “Don’t tell me you forgot. How many times have I told you to write down appointments in the day planner I gave you?”

  “I can’t do it, Mom.” There. She said it.

  “It’s a simple task that saves a ton of grief and keeps you organized, Rachel. I don’t see what the big deal is. I’ve done it since—”

  “I’m not talking about the day planner, Mom. I can’t… I’m not feeling well. I can
’t make the dress fitting.” Her excuse was only partially true. There wasn’t enough courage in the world to tell her mother the real reason she wasn’t going.

  “Well, take some ibuprofen, have a short nap and meet me there at five.”

  “No. I can’t make it. Not today.”

  “But Olga—”

  “Tell Olga I’m deeply sorry, and I’ll be sure to refer every bride-to-be I know now and in the future to her because she is such an understanding, caring, and highly skilled dressmaker.”

  “Well…”

  Lying to her mother was never easy, and in the past, she’d avoided untruths at every cost. Today was the exception. “I have to go, Mom. I’m going to throw up.”

  A familiar chilled wind crept up Rachel’s back and underneath her hair before finally resting like a heavy hand on her neck.

  Rachel snapped the phone shut and dropped it in her lap. “I’m losing my mind,” she said through fresh tears.

  “Let me find it for you.” Hayes’s deep voice filled the car, and Rachel felt an invisible but very tangible finger wipe the tear away.

  Chapter Six

  “Not every man is bad.” Nana smiled sympathetically as she poured hot water from the teakettle into Sofia’s cup. “Your grandfather was a fine man.”

  Sofia dunked her teabag up and down. Nana had insisted on making Sofia tea and a sandwich before heading off to help deliver the baby.

  Agreeing to housesit and take care of the cat, Sam, had been an easy decision for Sofia. It wasn’t as if she’d had any major plans or a job...or a boyfriend. Nope, she was free to sit up in this dark, scary house—out in the middle of nowhere without a telephone or electricity to charge her cell phone—for a long, long time.

  First, she had to convince her grandmother she would be fine by herself. “Yeah, I sort of remember Grandpa. He used to give me candy when Mom wasn’t watching.”

  “He did?”

  Sofia ducked her head and took a sip of tea. “I guess you weren’t watching, either.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” Nana paused, then shook her head. “The point, dear, is that good men are hard to come by, especially for women with gifts. Trust me, honey, reading your grandpa’s dirty old mind on a daily basis wasn’t the highlight of our married life.” She sat down opposite Sofia and tapped her fingers on the table. “Although it was nice to know my husband still found me attractive after thirty years of marriage.”