A Taste of Magic (23 page)

My heart broke. This man was damn near perfect, and here I was throwing him away. And for what? A man I barely knew yet somehow recognized? Crazy. “Kevin, I’m sorry. I don’t think we should date anymore.”

“I was worried you’d say that. Just my luck to fall for a woman who doesn’t want to be with me.”

His smile lessened the edge, so I didn’t feel quite so horrible. “I just—I’m learning who I am without my ex, and I thought maybe we could make it work. Or at the very least have some fun. You’ve been so incredible to me.” Tears filled my eyes.

“Elizabeth, stop. I’m just a guy like any other guy. It’s better to end this now before I completely fall in love with you. I’m glad you’re being honest.”

“I like you so much,” I said.

“Good, because I like you, too.” Pulling me into his arms again, but for a hug, he whispered, “And don’t think this gets you out of the gym. No one else gets to train you, got it?”

I laughed softly and stepped back. “Got it.”

“Who’s the lucky guy?”

This startled me. “What? No—”

“Ah, I see.” He smiled again, and this one reached his eyes.

“There’s no other guy,” I said again. Even if I wanted there to be, there wasn’t. “I should go home.”

“No. I set up the couch for you. It’s late and, this way, we can grab a cab in the morning to pick up both of our cars.”

“Are you sure? It’s not too awkward?”

“Of course not. You’re a friend! And this way I can pump you full of water in the morning.”

I could do this. Kevin offered me friendship, and that absolutely rocked. Besides, it’s not like staying the night would hurt anything.

Yawning, I rubbed my hands over my eyes before unlocking my door. I wanted to catch some sleep in my own bed. While Kevin’s couch was certainly comfortable enough, I’d kept waking up throughout the short night. At least we’d left things on a positive note.

He’d been great all morning and, before going our separate ways, he’d given me another hug. Yeah, we’d be okay, and I’d gotten one hell of a friend out of it. But I wondered about the choice I’d made. Was it based on anything other than fear? I thought so, but I stressed over it. I also worried that my magic brownies had made him feel more for me than he normally would have. Which meant, just in case, I’d have to straighten that out sometime soon.

Pushing the door open, I kicked my heels off. Shower, bed, and then later some food. Maybe a Tylenol or two.

“Where have you been, Lizzie?” said my grandmother. “We’ve been worried sick.”

We? Turning on my nylon-footed heel, I opened my mouth to respond and then promptly shut it again. My parents, my brothers, my sister, Maddie, and Nate were all in my living room, watching me with sleep-deprived eyes.

“Um. What’s all this?” I managed to mutter.

Grandma Verda pointed a finger at me. “We thought you were lying dead in a ditch somewhere. There are police out looking for your car, young lady. Where in blue blazes have you been?”

My father crossed his arms. “Your grandmother was worried. We came to keep her calm. You should have called her, Lizzie.”

My mother whisked over to me and gave me a tight hug. “Glad you’re safe. Being safe is all that matters.”

“Welcome home,” Maddie said quietly, stifling a yawn.

“I still want to know what you were up to,” my grandmother said. “You should know better than to go gallivanting around town all night. We tried your cell phone and everything.”

“I… well. I had a date last night and um—” I broke off as I caught Nate’s dark expression. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I turned my cell phone off for the ceremony. I went to a wedding… and forgot to put it back on. I should have phoned.” Damn. It’s not like I was used to having a roomie to stay up and worry about me.

Nate stood. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he said, mimicking my mother. His gaze didn’t meet mine, wandering somewhere just to the side of my face. “I should go. I had a few friends unofficially looking for your car. I need to call off the search.”

My stomach hurt. I wanted to say something to him, but I didn’t know what. He nodded to everyone and left—very quickly, I might add. I frowned at my family but tried to keep my temper somewhat at bay. “Don’t you think you all jumped the gun? Just a bit? I wasn’t even gone twenty-four hours. You could have given me just a little more time before involving Nate.”

“Grandma contacted him first. He had her call us. No one knew where you were, sis. We didn’t know you had a date. Jon said you didn’t say anything about going out. Grandma didn’t know. Maddie didn’t know.” Scot’s words were sharp and pointed. “It’s not like you to disappear without telling anyone.”

My sister still hadn’t said anything, but her face was blotchy, which meant she’d been crying. Joe’s shoulders were set. Wow, I’d really lived like a nun if one miserable night out brought everyone to my apartment in fear.

On one level, I got it. But on another… it just annoyed me. I mean, yes: I’d behaved in an unpredictable manner. And in doing so, I’d managed to scare and then piss off my entire family plus Maddie, Jon, and Nate. But come on; it was
one
night.

Everyone was staring at me. The walls closed in around me. I breathed, hoping to relieve the suffocating pressure I felt, but it didn’t work. “I’m sorry,” I said again. “I should have called. I just didn’t think of it.”

My grandmother stared at me with watery blue eyes. She was holding back tears, and that realization curled in my belly like acid. I felt like dog-doo on the bottom of designer shoes, but my family would get over it. So would Jon and Maddie. I knew this. Nate, on the other hand?

Probably not. And that was just something I’d have to deal with.

“I’m really sorry,” I said to my family, to Maddie, for the third time. I wanted to run and hide. Go somewhere else. Anywhere else. So I took a clue from Alice’s playbook.

“I’ll be right back.” I went to my bedroom, closing the door behind me, and burst into tears. I’d hurt one man, alienated another, and scared my entire family. It was just too much.

My mother’s voice came through the door. “Honey? We’re leaving now. I’m sorry we upset you. We were just worried.”

“I know, Mom. You can come in if you want.”

She did and gave me another hug. Brushing my tears with her hand, she said, “Just get some rest. Maddie said she’d call Jon and tell him you’re home.”

“That’s nice of her.” I’d have to thank her later.

“But Lizzie? Don’t do that again. No matter how old you get, you’re still my baby.”

“I know.”

“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

A few minutes after everyone left, my grandmother came into the room. She perched herself on the edge of my bed and glared at me. “You scared everyone. Poor Nate was beside himself. He’s a good man. You should be focusing on him and not this other person you were with all night.”

Leave it to Grandma to say what she thought. “Stop. It’s not what you think. I slept on the couch.”

She snorted.

For some reason, that made me cry all over again. “You know what? I’m tired of this. I’m sick of being a mouse.”

“What? What are you talking about, Elizabeth?”

“You know, a mouse. Mousy. For once in my life, I’d like to be the snake. I thought I could do it, I thought it was working out okay. I thought I’d found the snake. But no, I’m still just a mouse.” I blurted everything out in one garbled mess of words.

Gotta give my grandmother credit. Her granddaughter was making zero sense, sounded like a blithering idiot, but she patted my leg and said very calmly, “Well, if that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll have.”

Ha. Did she have an instruction book on finding your inner snake? If so, where the hell was it?

I rolled over and punched my pillow. “I’m going to sleep now, Grandma.”

“You do that, dear.”

Chapter Seventeen

I hesitated before going into my apartment. A week after my infamous night out and, while I’d made my peace with everyone else involved, I’d yet to speak with Nate. Glancing toward his door, I envisioned walking over, knocking, and apologizing.

I couldn’t do it.

“Coward,” I whispered, deciding on trying the next day. Don’t let this fool you, as this was the exact same decision I made every single day. You’ll notice I hadn’t lived up to my promise yet.

Inside my apartment, I immediately started a pot of coffee and went to change. Apparently Grandma Verda was out, because Shirley meowed loudly at my heels, probably hoping I’d heat her up some Spam-special cat mix. No. Not happening.

I tugged my sweater off as I entered my bedroom. Tossing it to the hamper, I unbuttoned my pants, glanced toward my bed looking for my pajamas, and caught a flicker of color to the left. Pivoting my gaze to see what caught my attention, I sucked in a deep breath. Then I did what any normal woman in the same situation would do. I screamed my ever-living heart out.

Oh my God.
It couldn’t be. I took a step forward and then backed up again. No way. She didn’t. She couldn’t have.

“Grandma Verda, what have you done?”

I blinked. I blinked again. Honestly, I was really hoping I was hallucinating.

Sitting along the wall next to my bed was a rather large glass tank. That wasn’t what scared me, but inside the damn tank was a huge, coral-colored snake. The thing had to be— oh, I don’t know—eight-feet long.

A freaking snake in my bedroom
.

Grandma Verda was crazy. I mean, it had to have come from her. Who else?

A snake
.
In my bedroom
.

I moved a little closer. The snake slithered to the other side of the tank, its blood-red tongue flicking in out in out. My stomach turned upside down, and I shivered. Really, what was she thinking? That I’d curl up with it and pat its head?

“Lizzie? I’m home! Did you see my gift?”

I flew out of my bedroom and told myself to remain calm. You know, because she was old. “Grandma, why is there an eight-foot snake next to my bed?”

“Why, honey. You told me clear as day you wanted a snake. It took a little longer than I wanted because I had to research to find the perfect one. And it’s not eight feet long. Closer to five.” She wrinkled her nose. “There’s a lot to buying a snake. I also bought you a book on snake care.”

“No. I never said I wanted a snake. Never. I despise snakes.”

“Lizzie, yes you did. That morning. You said you didn’t want a mouse, you wanted a snake. Now, I don’t understand why you’d want something scaly instead of soft and cuddly, but it’s your pet.” She turned to hang her coat up and said, “You’re half undressed. Go put something decent on.”

“Grandma. I don’t want a snake. You misunderstood me. I said I wanted
to be
a snake. Meaning…” Oh, hell, I sounded like a freak.

“Meaning what? Why would you want to be a snake? What a ridiculous notion.”

“Oh, never mind. Where did you get it? It needs to go back. I can’t sleep with a snake in my room. Why is it in my room, anyway? Right next to my bed!”

“I bought it from a very nice man. It was his son’s, but his son just got married, and the new wife refuses to keep it. It’s a caramel corn snake. I thought that was perfect, because you love caramel corn. Oh, and he’s almost fourteen years old. Isn’t that remarkable?”

“Remarkable.” I would never be able to eat caramel corn again. “Well, call whoever you bought it from. I’m not keeping it.”

Grandma Verda huffed. “I spent days arranging this for you.” She picked up a book with a whole bunch of disgusting slimy snakes on the cover. “Maybe you need to read up on them and then you’ll want to keep him.” She flipped the book open. “Corn snakes can live for thirty years, Elizabeth! Sometimes more.”

“I appreciate the thought, but listen. Snakes scare me. I don’t want to own one, I don’t want to feed one, and I can’t imagine changing his cage. I am a bad person to own a snake because he wouldn’t get the proper care.”

“That’s why I bought you this book. Feeding him is easy! I bought you plenty of frozen rodents.”

Did she say what I thought? “What?”

“Frozen rodents. I didn’t think you’d want to feed him live ones.”

Ugh.
“And they are where?”

“In your freezer. Where else would they be?”

She’d probably heat one up for him in my Calphalon pan, too. I gagged at the thought. Of course she wouldn’t; I mean, cat food was a far different thing than frozen rodents. But still. “Um, do you feed it to them frozen?”

Grandma Verda slapped the book on the table. “Read the book. Find out for yourself.”

“Give me the number, Grandma.”

She pouted but dug in her purse and handed it over. Of course she frowned at me. I didn’t care.

I dialed the number, all the while trying to calm myself. When the man answered, I said, “Hi. My name is Elizabeth Stevens. My grandmother purchased a snake from you? Well, it was a mistake and, honestly, it needs to go. I can’t keep it.”

When I finished my conversation, I sighed in relief. “He doesn’t want it back but had another person interested in it. He’s going to have him call me.”

“Fine. I was trying to make you happy. Don’t ask me for anything ever again if you’re not going to keep what I buy for you.”

I ignored the pout in her voice. I mean, really. A snake! It was like my worst fear come to life. Why do you think I wanted to
be
a snake? Because I was scared to death of them, that’s why.

“We need to move it out of my bedroom. I can’t sleep with it in there. And when does it need to be fed again? I’m not doing that.”

“Oh, for pity’s sake. Calm down. He doesn’t need to be fed for five to seven days. You’ll have to move him yourself if you want him moved. I had Scot bring him over and set everything up.”

“Scot? As in my
brother
Scot?”

“Yes.” Grandma Verda shook her head slightly. “I worry he’s on drugs. He laughed the entire time he was here.”

Of course he’d laughed. He got to be part of the greatest joke in the world. I was going to kill him. “I’ll call him. Right now.”

I darted a glance toward my bedroom. Damn. A snake?

Maddie peered into the snake cage. “He’s kinda cute. You sure you don’t want to keep him?”

“You’re serious? You think he’s cute?”

“His colors are gorgeous. I always wanted a snake when I was growing up. My mother had a ridiculous lifelong fear of snakes, so she always said no.”

Let me tell you, this boggled me. How could I be friends with someone who wanted a snake as a little girl? That’s just— weird. “Maddie, you’re one weird chick.” I went to open the freezer, then remembered what was in there. “Can you get the ice out?”

She looked at me strangely but pulled the ice out, apparently not noticing the box clearly labeled as disgusting dead rodents. “When was Scot here?”

“Earlier today. But he made me wait five whole days before coming. The jerk. He thinks this is just too funny for words.”

“You really slept on the couch?”

“Um. Yeah.” I shivered. “I really want the snake gone. Do you want him? If this guy doesn’t come through?” I’d never visit her again, but she could come here, right? Right.

“Hmm. Maybe. I’ll think about it. You’re all alone to-night?”

I nodded. “Vinny is home from the hospital, so Grandma’s been spending all her time over there.”

Maddie knelt down in front of the snake. “Hey, what’s with the white stuff in his mouth? Is that normal?”

“No clue. Don’t care. He won’t be my problem soon.” Hands on hips, she said, “Yeah, but he is now. So, you should find out about the white stuff.”

She had a point, as much as I hated to admit it. “All right, I’ll call … someone, in the morning.”

She sipped the lemonade I’d poured for her. “Good. So, have you heard from Miranda recently?”

“Not a peep, which is strange. Of course, I haven’t really done any magic lately, so maybe it’s connected.”

Flipping her blonde hair behind her shoulder, Maddie grinned. “Maybe you should tonight then!”

I shrugged. The magic thing? I don’t know. It had kind of lost its appeal after all the setbacks. “Hey, why don’t we get a movie tonight or something? Or go out for one?”

“Can’t. Spencer is taking me to his parents’ for dinner. I’m a little nervous. What if they don’t like me?”

“What wouldn’t they love about you? You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and you like snakes. They’ll adore you.”

We were silent. Maddie watched the snake slither around and do what ever snakes did. You know, snakey stuff. I, on the other hand, devoutly ignored the beast. I knew I was being stupid about this, but I couldn’t help it. Pictures of snakes made my skin crawl, and while I knew there was nothing wrong with having a snake as a pet, I was flat out uncomfortable with every single aspect of owning one. Tomorrow I’d call around to some pet stores to see if they’d take him. Whoever had wanted him apparently didn’t any longer, as they hadn’t contacted me.

“Have you talked to Nate yet?”

I’d told her about Kevin, and while I hadn’t said anything about Nate, she wasn’t stupid. I shook my head. How could I miss him so much? I hadn’t figured that one out yet.

“Why not?”

I set my glass in the sink. “Not sure what to say, I guess.” “How about you’re sorry for upsetting him, but nothing happened between you and Kevin. Tell him the truth. You care about him, and you’re not dating anyone else.” Maddie pointed at me. “You’re going to stay unhappy until you deal with it.”

“
I
am not dating anyone else, but I’m fairly sure Nate is. So, what’s the best that can happen? He accepts my apology and kindly informs me he’s involved with someone else?” I shook my head again. “It would suck, and I’d be putting myself in the line of fire. Not doing it.”

“You owe him an apology, if nothing else. You should have seen him that night, Liz. He was totally freaked out. I’m not so sure he
is
involved with anyone, because he definitely looked like a man who had feelings.” She paused a moment. “For you.”

Hope bubbled up, but I quashed it. I knew what I’d seen, and the expression on Nate’s face when he’d looked at the red-haired woman had been filled with love. I’d bet money on it. “No. You’re wrong. I wish to God you weren’t, but you are.”

“Well, you’ll never know for sure unless you take a stab at it.” She winked. “You could always whip up something magical.”

“No, that’s what got me into this in the first place. I don’t want to be with anyone because of a spell.” I mean, there wasn’t any doubt now. That amazing night on the couch? Yep, it had to be the result of the banana muffins. Only, for me, everything I’d felt was real.

Too real.

“Yeah, I get that. I was joking, anyway.”

Wanting to change the subject, I asked, “You want some cookies? I baked them yesterday.”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “Don’t get me wrong, but, um … I’m a little wary of eating anything you bake at this point.”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “No reason to be. The cookies are clean,” I teased. “Word of honor.” I hesitated. “But there is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about. I think I should bake you something new—”

“Absolutely not. I’m not going through that mess again,” she interjected.

“Just listen to me before you say no. I’m thinking it might be smart to bake something to take off the effects of all the other spells. You know—just to be sure. I don’t want you getting so miserable again.”

She shook her head. “I’m feeling terrific. I don’t want to screw with that. You fixed what ever was wrong, so let’s just leave it alone.”

“Are you sure?” It made me happy to get something right, but I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

“I’m positive. But if I start feeling weird again, I’ll let you know. Deal?”

“That works. Just don’t wait too long if you think something has changed. Promise?”

“I promise.” Then, she checked her watch. “I need to take off. Spencer will be here soon, and I bought a gift for his parents I want to wrap.” She put her glass in the sink and gave me a hug. “Try to have a nice evening. Take a bubble bath, read a book, relax. It’s the weekend, ya know?”

After Maddie left, I roamed around my apartment, not sure what I wanted to do. I briefly considered going to see a movie on my own, but it didn’t appeal enough to put forth any real energy.

Switching on the TV, I sat on the far corner of the couch, where I couldn’t see the snake. Boredom clawed at me. It had been a while since I’d sat there, alone, on the weekend.

On a whim, I ran to the kitchen and tried phoning Jon and Andy, thinking they might want to hang out, only no one answered. I thought about calling Kevin but couldn’t do it. It wouldn’t be right. Not yet. Maybe in a few months we’d become hang-out buddies. And then, I noticed my answering machine was blinking its new message light, so I pushed the button.