A Breath of Magic
Authors: Tracy Madison
Tracy Madison
LEISURE BOOKS 
NEW YORK CITY
As we kissed, his hands swept to the base of my neck and a swirl of sensations, of longing, rushed up from between my legs. I wanted him now, right where we were. But: “Not…here.”
“What are you doing to me, Red?” he asked, his breathing ragged. “I don’t ravage women in the backs of stores. I feel like a horny sixteen-year-old.”
“We have chemistry. It’s…magical.” I spoke the truth, if not all of it.
He grasped my hips with both hands, tugging me so that my bottom slid a few more inches along the desk. “Where the hell were you when I was sixteen?”
“I don’t know. But when I was sixteen…You wouldn’t have liked me then.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Why not?”
No magic, that’s why not. But I couldn’t say that. “I was a total cliché: the girl in the shadows reading poetry and daydreaming about the future. Other than a few friends and my sister, I was fairly invisible.”
He spoke with absolute assurance: “I would have seen you.”
To my aunt and godmother, Connie Lynn Tompkins, for the love you’ve given and the many, many gifts you’ve shared. Thank you for every joy you brought into my life. I will never stop missing you.
“Let me get this straight. You want to magically coerce your boyfriend into marrying you? Are you crazy?” My cousin Elizabeth gaped at me as if I’d suddenly sprouted a set of horns. Or maybe a third eye.
“
I
can’t magically coerce anyone. And no, that isn’t what I want. Not exactly, anyway.” We were ensconced in her office at A Taste of Magic, and while I’d known before arriving at the bakery that gaining her approval would be difficult, I’d hoped, at the very least, for her understanding. “It’s more that I want to use magic to take away Kyle’s reservations about commitment.”
Her brown eyes darkened to the same shade as her hair, either in anger or disbelief. Or maybe both. “There isn’t much distinction between the two, Chloe. Besides, do you really want to marry a man who wouldn’t say yes on his own?”
That same question had been bobbing around in my head for weeks, and my answer changed repeatedly. I inhaled a quick breath, hoping to smother the uneasiness that knotted my stomach. Instead, the thick, buttery, almost too-sweet scent of the bakery assailed my senses, adding queasiness to the mix. “We’ve been dating for nearly a year. Marriage is the obvious next step.”
“But why the hurry? Just let your relationship progress naturally, and you’ll end up where you’re supposed to.”
Her logic, right or wrong, made me want to scream. Of course, I didn’t. Doing so would only paint me as an emotional basket case. And I wasn’t. Okay, maybe I was
slightly
emotional, but my reasons for going forward were sound. Fidgeting in my seat, I offered, “It’s almost like we’re already married. He just needs…a little shove to make it official.”
“And you think I’m that shove?”
“Well, it’s not like I can do it myself!” After a few more breaths, I reined in the quick temper that accompanied my red hair. “I’m sorry, but you’re the only one who can do this.”
Compassion replaced Elizabeth’s disapproval. She reached across her desk to grasp my hand. “Is that what this is about? We all believe the magic will find you. Both Alice and I have gifted it to you several times, but maybe you’re not in the right place to receive your power yet. Be patient, sweetie. It will come.”
Yeah, right. Patient. I’d been best friends with Alice, Elizabeth’s sister, long before I discovered we were related, so at first I’d been pleased to learn we were cousins. Now…well, the blood relation should have been enough for me to claim the family’s Gypsy magic. But so far? Nada. The bluebird of patience had long since flown the coop. Worse, instead of feeling closer to my newfound relatives, I’d never felt more alone.
Except for Kyle.
I pulled my hand away. “I’ve given up on receiving the magic, Liz. So to answer your question, no, that’s not what this is about.” I counted to three and then gave my request another go. “What I’m asking for is simple.”
She tilted her head, staring into my eyes. “Maybe I misunderstood you. Please ask again.”
No way had she misunderstood, but I’d ask again. Heck, I’d ask one hundred more times if it worked. I wanted to become Chloe Ackers instead of Chloe Nichols so badly, it still surprised me. I didn’t understand the urgency, but I trusted it. Straightening my shoulders, I said, “I’d like you to bake something special I can serve tonight, because I plan on proposing.”
“And ‘special’ means what, exactly?”
Liz probably figured that by forcing me to say in detail what I wanted, I’d decide the idea was ludicrous. Of course, she had no way of knowing that I’d been contemplating this for the past six weeks and had long since gotten over my qualms. Well, most of them. “Just bake me a cake with the wish that Kyle’s fears about commitment vanish. That’s it. After he eats the cake, I can propose. If he says no then, I’ll know the reason is because he doesn’t love me, and I can live with that. But if I ask him without your magic, I’ll never know if his rejection is because his feelings for me aren’t strong enough, or if it’s because he’s too afraid of marrying
anyone
.”
With a sigh, Elizabeth tucked a stray strand of hair back in place. “It’s not a good idea, Chloe. It isn’t fair to Kyle, and it isn’t fair to you, either. You deserve a man who wants to be with you because of
you
—a man who loves you so much, he’d never need a spell to push him along. Don’t you want that?”
I heard her words, and the sentiment behind them, and a sudden longing for exactly that pulled at me. But I knew better. Other than with Kyle, I’d never had a relationship last more than a few months. Besides, Kyle was my highschool sweetheart, my first love, and after years of separation we were a couple again. That had to mean something. Otherwise, why had fate bothered to bring us back together?
“Not everyone is as lucky as you and Alice,” I said softly.
She snorted. “We weren’t always so lucky in love—or are you forgetting that? What we have now isn’t luck. Sometimes, it takes a while. But trust me, the wait is worth it.”
Maybe. If I believed that what she’d found with Nate, and what Alice found with Ethan, would happen for me, then maybe the wait would be worthwhile. But I didn’t. “I’ve never asked you to use your magic for me before. I swear, Liz, if you do this…I’ll never ask again.”
“Why is this so important to you now?” She gasped. “Are you pregnant?”
“No!” Not that I hadn’t thought of going that route, because I had. For about three seconds flat. Trapping Kyle, no matter what Elizabeth thought, was not my intention. “Besides, if I were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“We wouldn’t?”
Exasperation curled in my chest. I freed it with a loud sigh. “You know Kyle. If I told him he was going to be a father, what do you think he’d do?”
“Run for the hills?”
“And no amount of magic would get him back.” I shook my head. “No, this is the only way.”
Liz picked up a stray pen from her desk, fiddled with it for a minute and then plopped it back down. “And yet, you want to marry him.”
“Just because he isn’t ready for kids doesn’t mean he won’t ever be. And we have to start somewhere.” I stared at Elizabeth, trying to find the right words to get her to agree. “You used your magic for Alice,” I pointed out.
“Uh-huh, to help her
find
Ethan. Not to compel him to be with her.” Elizabeth stood and paced the small area in front of her office door.
“But we are together, so I’m not trying to force him to be with me. Why are you opposed to this? It’s not a big deal. Not really.”
She stopped. Turning to face me, she planted both hands on her hips. “Don’t ever say that to me again, Chloe. Altering Kyle’s perception so he’ll agree to something he normally wouldn’t is a huge deal. Massive. And the result—good or bad—would rest on
my
shoulders.”
My bottom lip twitched. My stomach somersaulted. I opened my mouth to argue, to tell her all the things I’d already said, but I couldn’t find my voice. The seconds ticked by with neither of us speaking. She was waiting for me to
back down so she wouldn’t
have
to say no. But I couldn’t. Not for this. “Please,” I implored.
Disappointment flashed over her features. “I can’t—won’t—help you make a mistake of such magnitude.”
“No? You’re saying no? There isn’t anything I can say that will change your mind?”
She approached me and then knelt down so we were eye to eye. “I don’t know what’s going on inside of you, but I don’t believe you really want to marry Kyle Ackers. Not with everything Alice has shared with me, and not with what I’ve seen for myself. What’s really going on here, Chloe?”
Mentally, I searched for an avenue I hadn’t yet tried, for something—anything—that would change the direction of this conversation, and therefore her decision. I wanted exactly what I’d said. I didn’t have a hidden agenda. And even though I stood behind my belief, that relaxing Kyle’s fears was not the same as forcing him into marriage, I understood where Elizabeth was coming from. I just didn’t agree with her.
As we stared at each other, I saw the conviction of her answer in her gaze, and my desperation—my want to finally be a part of something I’d never truly experienced: a family—crawled through me. The feeling swirled inside, swelling until I almost gasped in agony. But I held my breath and instead wished with every part of my being that Elizabeth would change her mind, that she’d do this one small favor for me. Seriously, if I could have bent
her
will at that moment, I would have. Even knowing how wrong that was.
Putting my hands on her shoulders, I worked to keep my voice steady so she wouldn’t hear my anxiety, my desperation. “I
need
this, Liz. I’m just trying to find my own happy ending.”
She blinked. Not once or twice, but three times. The air shifted around us, somehow the weight of the tension easing as it did. Shivers danced and rippled along my skin.
After a long breath, she covered my hands with hers. “Okay, Chloe. If this is truly that important to you, I’ll cast your wish.”
I ignored the cake as best I could while cleaning up after dinner. It sat there on my counter, in all its chocolaty goodness, taunting me to slice it, to move ahead with my plan. Only, the prospect of feeding the magical dessert to Kyle was wigging me out. Just a little. But not because I’d changed my mind, because I hadn’t. Nope, what bothered me was the possibility that he’d still say no, even with the help of Elizabeth’s magic. If that happened, we’d have to break up. Again. And honestly, it had taken me years to get over Kyle the first go-around. I wasn’t eager to go down that path again. But the idea of waiting for my life—our life—to begin thrilled me even less.
Drying my hands on a dish towel, I pushed the kitchen door open with one shoulder and peeked around the corner into my living room. Kyle was sprawled on the couch, TV remote in hand, clicking through the channels. My nervousness ramped up another notch. He wouldn’t say no, would he? We’d been together almost constantly for the past eleven months, and he seemed content. Happy, even. But was that enough? And did that mean he loved me? A voice inside my head countered with Are you sure
you
love
him
?
“Of course I love him,” I whispered. Love could mean a zillion different things, and really, what wasn’t there to love? He made me laugh, he was easy to be around, and being with him was far better than being alone. That last thought strengthened my resolve. I was ready.
“Kyle? Do you want dessert? We have chocolate cake.” A tingle sped down my spine. I was really going to do this.
He groaned and rubbed his hand over his stomach. “I’m stuffed. How about we start the movie and have dessert later?”
“Um, sure. Later is fine.” Kyle always stayed over on the
weekends. Eventually, he’d eat a slice. Even if it was for breakfast. I’d waited this long for my happy ending, what did a few more hours matter?
I joined him on the couch and his arms came around me. I settled against him, nestling my head against his chest. Comfort eased in, and I began to relax. Yes, I could definitely see us spending the next many years curled up on the sofa together.
He’d already put the DVD into the player, and with a few clicks the action movie I’d rented began to play. I spent the first fifteen minutes obsessing over the cake in the next room, however, and the next hour or so debating with myself over how to pop the question. You’d think I’d have given more thought to the actual proposal, but most of my concentration had gone into convincing Elizabeth.
Kyle didn’t go for grand romantic gestures, so anything too mushy would likely undo any of the good Liz’s magic managed to accomplish. Okay then, so reciting a poem or serenading him would fall flat. I’d just say it straight out. Simple and direct. Easy enough. But how long to wait after he’d eaten the cake? Would the magic take effect immediately? Or should I give it an hour or two? God. I wished I’d asked Elizabeth for more details on how her specific brand of magic worked. I’d just have to wing it and hope for the best.
Sliding to the side, out of Kyle’s grasp, I took stock of my potential husband-to-be. His denim-covered legs were outstretched and crossed at the ankles, and his slim shoulders were slumped forward. The faint wrinkles in his shirt, along with the tiny hole in the heel of his right sock, brought a grin to my face. They were proof he found the same comfort with me that I found with him. And weird or not, that realization made me feel a heck of a lot better. We were good together.
As if he heard my thoughts, he turned, his amber eyes meeting mine. I waited for him to say something, to offer me
a grin or to pull me toward him. He ran his hand through his already mussed brown hair and returned his attention to the screen. Fighting frustration, I leaned back against the couch.
When the credits finally rolled, I grabbed the remote and clicked the television off. I wanted to work in a little romance, maybe a kiss or two, before serving the cake. Silly, maybe, but even with the magic, the night I became engaged should be special, something to be remembered and cherished.
Making my voice bright, I said, “That was a fun movie!”
His lips quirked. “If you call kidnapping and murder fun, then sure.”
Kidnapping? Murder? I should have paid closer attention. Going on a hunch, I said, “There was a chase scene! Those are fun!”
“I’ve seen better.” He scooted forward, grabbing his shoes from where he’d kicked them off. “It was a nice evening, though.”
I processed his flat tone and slow, purposeful movements. Moisture beaded on my forehead. “Are you going somewhere?” My voice shook, just a little, and that ticked me off.
He stopped and looked at me. Really looked at me. Another blast of uneasiness rose to the surface. All through dinner I’d chatted nonstop, but Kyle hadn’t. That was unusual for him, but I’d passed it off as nothing more than hypersensitivity on my part. Now I wondered if there was something bothering him.
As quickly as the thought came, it flitted away. Nah…it had to be me—and everything I’d planned for this night. “Kyle? Are you leaving?” I asked again.
He shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking, Chloe. Of course I’m not going anywhere.”