A Taste of Magic (28 page)

“Go on. It’s okay.”

“Hot men. And you’re pretty hot.”

He laughed again, humor glittering in his eyes. “I’ve been interested in you since the beginning. So, no, Liz. It had nothing to do with any brownies. You’re stuck with me.”

Everything was real? As much as I’d hoped it would be true, I hadn’t allowed myself to think this moment would really happen. I tried to temper my happiness, my excitement. “Well. If you don’t mind, I’d still like you to eat the cake I was making when you walked in on me. Just so I know. For sure.”

“Absolutely. I’ll stay here tonight until it’s done. I don’t want you worrying about this.
I
know how I feel about you.” He bent down and kissed me lightly. “Now I just need you to believe it, too.”

More heat flushed through me, but I didn’t care. If I hadn’t gotten stuck in my window, would I have even met Nate? Thank God I’d gone out that night and lost my keys. Fate, every now and then, knew exactly what she was doing.

“Are you ready to hear everything, Nate?” my grandmother asked, striding from the bedroom. I could tell she thought it was going to be a problem, convincing Nate not to end things based on gypsies and magic and ghosts.

Nate released his grip. “Actually, I think we’re all set here, Verda. I wouldn’t mind hearing all the details, but it isn’t necessary.”

A cop. Practical to his core, from everything I could see, and he was willing to accept this part of who I was at face value. Oh, that didn’t mean he’d buy into all of it, I knew that, but still.

I said, “We’ll be waiting for a cake to bake anyway. So, yeah, let me make some tea, and we’ll tell you Miranda’s story.” I mean, really, if we did end up together, like in marriage someday, and had children, he had a right to know everything, didn’t he?

Exactly.

Chapter Twenty-one

Nate and I entered my apartment, just returning from our night out. While the evening had been fun, I couldn’t completely relax. And probably, neither could Nate. I asked him about every fifteen minutes or so if his feelings had changed. Luckily for me, he hadn’t gotten annoyed with me yet.

Even more important? Each time I asked, his answer remained the same. And it was the “all things are wonderful” answer I wanted to hear.

I kicked my shoes off and headed for the couch. He followed, sitting down next to me. He opened his arms, and I scooted into them. With my head on his chest, my cheek rubbing against the softness of his shirt, my body finally began to unwind. Weird or not, whether it made sense or not, this man affected me in a way Marc never had. And I never would have known these feelings if we’d stayed together. So yeah, in a screwed up, backwards sort of way, it was a blessing he’d left me.

“So—are you still sure?” I had to ask again. It was almost impossible for me to believe that something this awesome wasn’t the result of magic.

His arms tightened around me. I couldn’t see his face, but I heard his deep intake of breath. All at once, the calmness that had started to seep into me evaporated. “What? It’s happening. Isn’t it?”

He answered, his voice low and serious, “Yes, Lizzie. I think it is.”

Oh God
. I knew it was too good to be true. I pulled out of his embrace. Sitting up straight, I tried to swallow my disappointment. My sorrow. “It’s okay. None of this is your fault. It’s mine. And you’ve been so terrific.”

“Lizzie—”

I held up a hand. “No. It’s fine. Really.” If he tried to explain, if he tried to be nice just to make me feel better, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold back the sadness that was pushing in on me. I hated this, but come on, I knew it was a possibility.

A light of something hit his eyes. Probably, he felt bad.

“We can still be friends, right? You said yourself you can always use more friends,” I babbled. I tried not to, but there you have it.

“Of course we can be friends. But you should let me finish what I was going to say.” He reached over, grasped my wrist, and tugged me back to him.

Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure what was happening.

Cupping my face with his hands, he tilted my chin upward so that we were eye to eye. The warmth of his touch settled my nerves. A crawl of hope began deep in my belly, branching out bit by bit, until all of my anxiety fled.

“What I was going to say,” he said, his lips touching mine in a quick, sweet kiss, “is I’m becoming more enraptured by you every minute we spend together.
That’s
what’s happening.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

And then, as quick as a heartbeat, everything was right in my world once again. “You scared me,” I said in a rush. “I thought … well, you know what I thought.”

“I will tell you if anything changes, when it changes. I won’t hide that from you. Trust in that. Trust in me. Please?”

I thought about that for a minute. And you know what? Nate wasn’t Marc. He wouldn’t show up one day, with virtually no clues, and tell me he was finished with me. So yeah, trusting Nate? “I can do that,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I’ve been a little nuts today.”

“Nuts I can handle. I don’t like seeing you doubt me. Or us. So have some faith, Gypsy Girl.”

Gypsy girl
. How cute was that? “Faith. I can do that,” I repeated.

We curled up again, with my head on his chest. We didn’t watch television, and we didn’t really talk. Mostly, we just enjoyed being with each other. I thought about the prior day and everything that had occurred. Nate had taken to the whole Miranda story fairly well, considering the circumstances.

After he’d asked a bunch of questions, he pretty much just held up his hands and went with it. Kind of cool, really. Of course, he also admitted that if he hadn’t witnessed the magic and seen Miranda materializing in front of him, it might have worked out differently. And, while he’d probably have more questions at some point, I was just relieved he was willing to accept.

After a little while, Nate asked, “Where’s Verda at? She hasn’t moved out yet, has she?”

“She’s staying at Vinny’s tonight. But no, she’s not officially moving out until Monday. I think she’s busy rearranging his stuff to make room for hers.”

Nate chuckled. He kissed the top of my head. “I was going to ask you back to my place, but if Verda isn’t going to be here …”

“Yes. I’d love it if you stayed here tonight.” After all, I’d wanted him in my bed for a ridiculously long time.

Standing, I grasped his hands and pulled him to his feet. “Follow me,” I said in my best husky-voiced drawl.

In a blink he was behind me. In my bedroom, he reclined on my bed, his long legs spread out straight. His gaze whisked over me. “Come here.”

“Not yet. Just relax.” I went to my closet and pulled out a couple of boxes. Somewhere, there was a little silk something I’d never had a chance to wear for Marc. Tonight I wanted to wear it for Nate. I dug through one box, and then another. Finally, I found it.

I dangled the red hot negligee in front of me. “I’m going to go change.” And when his jaw dropped open (yes, literally) I wiggled my hips. “Be right back, cutie.”

“Baby, you don’t even need to put it on now. Just come here,” he groaned.

“Nope. You’re a big boy; you can be patient. I
am
wearing this, Nate. Entertain yourself until I get back.” I rushed into the bathroom and stripped off my clothes, and then slipped into the negligee. I brushed my hair until it shined, sprayed some perfume on, and then stood back to appraise myself.

Okay, exercise sucked, but the results? Totally worth it. I sizzled. Tugging my robe on over the negligee, I pushed back the nervous ness. It’s not as if Nate hadn’t seen me, well, naked, but somehow I felt more exposed in the negligee. Weird, I know.

Stepping into the bedroom, I heard a vibrating sound and instantly realized what it was.

My entire body flushed with heat. It had to be as red as the negligee. “What are you doing?” I managed to choke out.

Nate, sitting upright on my bed, naked except for his briefs, had three of my toys laid out in front of him. He also had one in his hands, lights running up and down the shaft. Grinning devilishly, he said, “I found your stash. Strobe lights? Interesting, Liz. But what I really want to know is which one is your favorite?”

Mutely, I pointed to the bright purple one laying to the right of the other two toys. He set the flashing toy down and picked up the Bunny Rocket.

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Well, sweetie, why don’t you come here and we’ll see what we can do with this?”

Untying the belt on my robe, I let it fall to the floor. His gasp hit me in the stomach and, somehow, I wasn’t nervous or embarrassed any longer. I stuck one of my hips out. “Why don’t you come and get me?”

Oh my
. I’d never seen a man move so fast.

Within the next several hours, I had more fun than I’d ever had before. And let’s just say this: Battery operated sex toys? They’re not only for solo use. Definitely not. Not when you find the right person to share them with.

“Liz?” Nate’s husky voice murmured in my ear. His arms were crushed tight around me, our legs weaved together in a jumble.

“Yes?” I melted into him, on the verge of blissful sleep, wondering how in the hell I’d lived before I met him.

“Are there catalogs for these things?”

“What? The toys?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Yeah. And tons of Internet sites.”

“Excellent. Let’s buy some more.” He kissed me, and I immediately felt the burn of heat begin once again.

This magic? The one we created together? It beat the hell out of anything gypsy magic could accomplish.

I wrapped up the remainder of the dark chocolate cake I’d baked for dessert and put it in one of the boxes from A Taste of Magic. I entered the living room and handed it to Marc, who was still sitting on the couch.

“Here, you should take this home. I won’t eat it,” I said. Besides, I had most of the second cake sitting on my counter. The one I’d made for Nate.

Really, though, I didn’t think Marc was going to need to eat any more of it. The evening had started out rough with him making advance after advance. He’d said words to me that a year ago I would have loved to hear. But everything had changed. Thank God for that.

I’d rushed us through dinner, trying to hold him at bay. But then, soon after dessert, things had settled down. When he’d started to pace, I knew the magic was working.

I’d never seen my magic work that quickly, which, to me, meant he loved Tiffany and he’d love his baby. He just needed to get over his fears and not repeat his mistakes, not try to use me as a crutch. And dispelling the other magic pushed all that along.

He rose to his feet and accepted the box. “I want to say one more thing, Betty.”

Enough was enough. “Seriously, Marc. Please don’t call me Betty. Ever again.”

He paused, the dark brown of his eyes deepening even more. Nodding his head in acceptance, he said, “Got it. Sorry. I seem to have ignored a lot of what you’ve asked of me over the years.”

I shrugged, just wanting this over with. Plans with Nate were calling, and I didn’t want to waste another second. Tonight he’d talked me into watching
Star Wars
. “It’s time to move on. For real. For both of us.”

“I agree. I… I was kind of a dick at the end. I am sorry about that.”

“You’re right. You were a dick,” I agreed. Hey, it was the truth.

He combed the fingers from his free hand through his hair. “I deserve that.” He paused a moment and then said, “I did love you.” He ran his hand over his eyes. “But then I stopped. I don’t know why. I didn’t know how to deal with it, and I was stupid. I should have handled everything better than I did. It’s always bothered me, but ever since seeing you again, it’s been worse. I really want you to know I’m sorry. Truly sorry.”

Prickles of pain poked at my eyes, like tiny little needles. And because the new cake had reversed the delivered-to-his-office-cake’s magic, I had to believe his apology was real. That it was heartfelt. And that meant more to me than a magically induced apology ever would.

“Well,” I said. “I made mistakes, too. I pushed you too hard to start a family. I got angry with you for working so much. But the worst thing I did was trying to make you be the man I thought you should be, instead of allowing you to be who you are. We both grew up, and you changed, and I didn’t know how to handle that.”

He opened his mouth as if he was going to argue with me, but I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him. “We both made mistakes. Probably because we married too young. Let’s just call it even, and both of us can be happy from here on out.”

“I’d like that, Liz.” Walking stiffly toward the door, he stopped abruptly. “No chance at being friends?”

Sadly, I shook my head. “We can’t be friends. But we can be friendly. If we run into each other somewhere, we don’t have to be enemies.”

He put the cake box down and reached out a hand. Just like the old days, way back before we’d stopped loving each other. For some reason I didn’t want to dwell on, I met his hand with mine.

Grasping it tightly, he tugged until I stood in front of him. “You are an amazing woman, Elizabeth Raymond Stevens. I hope whoever you end up with treats you much better than I did.”

I blinked, and tears dripped out of my eyes. Silly, really, being this emotional. He leaned over, his lips touched mine, and this was
not
like the old days.

It was a simple kiss, yet it spoke volumes for me. This kiss was one of good-bye. The good-bye we’d never truly said. I stepped back and wiped the tears away.

For the very last time, thank you God.

He picked up the box, tossed me a smile, opened the door, and walked away. Went home, where his wife and unborn child waited for him. Exactly where he should be.

As for me? I was in for a night of lightsabers and spaceships. But really, it was spending more time with Nate that put a smile on my face.

Well, that and, you know, that hot, crazy sex thing.