Charmed: Destiny Romance (12 page)

Mel stood up and began to pace. She’d never told anyone this – everyone in the magical community already knew. But recalling what had happened, how she’d been treated – tears sprang to her eyes for the poor, confused, and above-all
lonely
teen she’d been.

‘I had to be kind of segregated. At least until I could learn to control my powers. So I had my own special classes, my own teachers – people who didn’t mind being around someone who could read them, or individuals – like Aunt Gertrude – who have the skills to block them.’

‘So you can’t read the old lady’s mind?’

‘No. Well, only occasionally. She’s an incredibly powerful witch. She’s able to block her thoughts from me, so most of the time I can’t read her.’

‘Why do I get the impression that’s entirely for the best?’ Michael said under his breath.

Mel giggled, nerves getting the better of her.

‘Go on,’ Michael encouraged.

‘So after a while, I got put back into normal classes. I’d started wearing my ring,’ she held up her hand to show off the crystal, ‘and I’d started to get better control of myself. But when people know you can read their minds, they . . .’ She broke off, remembering with a stab of pain the rebuffs and outright rejections she’d received the few times she’d been brave enough to reach out to try to make friends.

‘Let me guess – they react like I just did.’

Mel nodded.

‘You must admit, it
is
a hard thing to comprehend. And for those of us who can’t read minds, it feels like a terrible invasion.’

Mel was so glad he’d said ‘those of us who can’t read minds’ instead of ‘ordinary’ or ‘regular’. Mel
was
‘ordinary’ and ‘regular’. She just happened to be able to read minds.

‘Yes, I know that. And it’s one of the lessons I was taught early on. But I have to tell you, from my perspective – most people’s minds aren’t places you want to wander without an invitation. I learned pretty quickly that I’d find out a lot of things I’d prefer not to know.’

‘Go on.’ ‘When I’m wearing the ring, I can’t read minds unless I make a specific effort or unless they’re feeling such extreme emotions it’s obvious, probably even to non-mind-readers. The ring also blocks my thoughts from influencing others – my powers sometimes work the other way, too. If I’m feeling particularly strong emotions, I can affect other people – they can end up feeling my emotions.’

Michael’s eyebrows shot up but he didn’t say anything.

‘Again, I wear my ring, and everything’s fine.’ Mel paced over towards the TV and she noted that the surfboard had been moved. It looked better where it was now – and the object itself seemed more satisfied. Its aura was calm and settled.

‘But,’ she continued, ‘no one at school really trusted that. I can understand it, I guess. But school was pretty . . . tough.’ She blinked hard. No tears. She’d shed enough in self-pity for her isolated life until she’d found the sanctuary of employment with Aunt Gertrude.

Michael stood up and came closer. ‘So obviously you’re not allowed to tell anyone about these powers. I get that.’

‘Exactly. I’m forbidden from telling anyone outside the magical community. The problem is, that everyone inside the magical community knows who I am and what I can do. And . . .’

‘Very few people can handle being around someone who can read their mind,’ Michael finished for her.

Mel drew in a sharp breath. ‘Yeah. It’s . . . lonely.’

‘And that’s . . . your life?’

Mel shrugged. ‘It’s hard to make friends. The girls at Aunt Gertrude’s shop are really the only people . . . No one inside the magical community wants . . .’ She trailed off. He got the picture.

Mel found herself pressed against Michael’s chest, his arms around her.

He pressed a kiss to her hair. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, so quietly she almost didn’t hear it. ‘I hate that all those people were so unkind to you.’

She took a long shuddering breath. She still didn’t know what his perspective was going to be about all this, but just for the moment she’d accept his comfort. She’d never had any before. Sure, Aunt Gertrude had given her occasional words of encouragement and support when Mel had endured hurtful words from a magical colleague. But no one had ever wrapped her in their arms and apologised on behalf of all the barbed comments and turned backs Mel had experienced in her life.

She didn’t want to cry – didn’t want to turn this into a therapy session. So she hung on to Michael and tried to keep breathing, long and slow to keep the tears at bay. Besides which, she had no idea if this might be the last time she got to be close to him like this.

Eventually, too soon – although forever would have been too soon for Mel – Michael let her go. He stepped back, his hands on her shoulders, and looked down at her with an intense expression.

‘I get it. I get what you’ve told me,’ he said. ‘But I don’t know exactly what it means for . . . 
here
. Right now. I’m “non-magical”.’ He made air-quotes with his fingers. ‘So does that mean we’re not allowed to be together? But then I know about your abilities, so what about that?’

‘Oh! I have to tell you something. Aunt Gertrude . . . Well, she cast a spell . . .’

‘Why do I have the feeling I’m
not
going to like this?’

‘You can’t tell anyone about magic or my powers. If you ever try to, make sure you’re near a bathroom.’

Michael put a hand on his belly. ‘Huh. Is that what that was?’

Mel gasped. ‘You haven’t . . .’

‘No. But I thought about it. And yeah, okay. I believe you. That there’s a spell, I mean.’

He looked pensive for a while, and Mel wondered what it would be like to be in his shoes. To have your entire understanding of the world flipped on its head. And to know that you could never tell anyone about it.

‘So what does it all mean?’ he asked eventually.

Mel hesitated. How exactly did you go about telling someone you’d met only the day before that they were your soul mate without sounding like a nutcase?

‘Do you remember the book?’

‘That weird one that read like tax law?’

‘That one.’

‘I remember. It said that you couldn’t read my mind.’

‘Because . . .’

‘Because . . .’ Mel saw the moment when the knowledge clicked inside him. ‘It said you can’t read my mind because we were soul mates.
Are
soul mates.’

‘And that doesn’t have to mean anything, Michael.’ She looked away, afraid of what she might see in his face. ‘Aunt Gertrude said that some soul mates don’t even
like
each other.’

There was a moment of silence. And then he said, ‘Oh, I definitely like you.’

She looked up at him. ‘Aunt Gertrude said that you said you’d fallen in love with me.’

‘Maybe. Have you fallen in love with me?’

‘Maybe.’

Michael smiled.

At last, the secret, tiny flame of hope that she’d had no idea she’d been harbouring all these years burst into life. She wasn’t destined to be alone forever. She wasn’t always going to be an outcast, left on the sidelines to watch other people enjoy life.

‘You need to meet my sister,’ Michael said suddenly.

That wasn’t what she’d been expecting him to say. ‘Why?’

‘She needs a reading. And I’ve got a few things to suggest that you say.’

‘Really? Like what?’

‘Like the fact that she’s going to get a job offer from Outer Mongolia.’ He stepped closer. ‘And that
Vogue
magazine is going to call asking to do a feature on her for their “worst-dressed” list.’ Closer still. ‘And that Tom Cruise is going to offer to marry her.’

He was standing right next to her now, near enough to touch if she just leaned in a little.

‘And you also have to say “thank you”.’

‘For what?’

‘For telling me a psychic reading was going to change my life. It just wasn’t in quite the way I expected.’

‘I must say, you have been one of my more successful clients.’

He reached out and took her hands in his. Mel smiled and it felt strangely like her feet were lifting off the ground. Happiness made her feel so full and light at the same time, it was as if she could fly.

‘What now?’ he asked.

‘Anything, as long as it’s with you,’ she said.

‘It’s nice to see you back,’ Michael said.

Kate sniffed, wiped her eyes with a tissue, and hugged him yet again. ‘Thank you, Michael. Thank you so much.’

‘You’re welcome. How’s Tim doing?’

‘His surgery is scheduled for next month. The doctors are very hopeful. Thank you, again.’

Michael laughed. ‘I think you already said that. Like, a hundred times.’

‘And I’ll say it a hundred more before I’ve even begun to make it up to you.’

‘How about you just sort out the issues for the MDA tax assessment? Then we’ll call it even.’ Michael handed her the file and then headed back into his office.

He’d been back at work for three days.

The morning after the phone call with his father – the first morning he’d woken up with Mel, his soul mate, asleep in bed beside him – Kate had walked into his father’s office with a resignation letter and a full confession.

She’d made a transcription error while handling the Johnstone file. By the time she’d noticed, it was too late, and she’d been dealing with her husband’s diagnosis of a serious heart condition. Fearing she’d be fired, she’d kept her silence, letting Michael take the fall. But guilt had consumed her and eventually she’d confessed.

His father had let Michael decide the punishment. And Michael had instantly granted Kate two weeks’ compassionate leave, which she’d just returned from. He knew what it was like to be distracted enough to make a mistake at work. And Mel had told him how racked with guilt Kate had been.

Michael had worked with Kate long enough to know she was a valuable employee who didn’t deserve to be fired for one simple error. A mistake he could easily have made himself while he was as distracted as she’d been. They’d agreed, though – only one of them could afford to be distracted at a time, that way they balanced each other out.

So Michael had been doing his best not to be distracted while Kate was away. Thank goodness she was back now, though, because life with Mel wasn’t making concentration very easy, because she . . . well, because she breathed. That’s all she needed to do to have his mind wandering places it shouldn’t. Places it definitely shouldn’t while there were spreadsheets to attend to.

Michael shrugged out of his jacket, hung it on the back of his chair and took a seat. His eyes went, as they always did, to the frame on his desk. A photo of Dave. But now there were two other images tucked into the frame: two angel cards from the pack he’d bought at Crystal Gaze. The first: the archangel, Michael. To remind him to be brave. And the second: the guardian angel card. Michael wasn’t sure if his guardian angel was Dave, or Mel, or someone else entirely, but he wanted to thank them for the way life had turned out.

His phone rang. Mel’s face appeared on the screen, poking her tongue out at him, a shot he’d snapped while they’d been standing in line for frozen yoghurt at the suddenly incredibly popular ice-cream and soup shop in St Kilda.

‘What are you up to, Minx?’ he answered.

‘You won’t believe what Aunt Gertrude has just done.’

He sighed contentedly and settled back into his chair. Mel called at least every few days with a story about her godmother’s mischief-making. Generally, they were the highlight of his day. As long as he didn’t have to come face-to-face with the old gal, he quite liked her. It was her wandering hands he had a problem with. ‘What did she do now?’

‘She, she . . .’ Mel spluttered. Then she drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. ‘You know what?’

‘What?’

‘I think we should get takeaway tonight.’

‘Why’s that?’

‘Because then I can tell you this story naked.’

A smile spread across his face, and it was a good thing his office door was closed, because no one needed to see him looking as goofy as this. ‘You know what? That sounds like a great idea to me.’

The End

After years of writing press releases, employee newsletters and speeches for CEOs and politicians – none of which included any kind of kissing – Emmie Dark finally took to her laptop to write what
she
wanted to write. She was both amazed and delighted to discover that what came out were sexy, noble heroes who found themselves crossing paths with strong, determined heroines. And plenty of kissing.

Emmie's published works include two Harlequin SuperRomance novels,
Cassie's Grand Plan
and
In His Eyes
.

Emmie lives in Melbourne, and she likes red lipstick, chardonnay,  sunshine, driving fast, rose-scented soap and a really good cup of tea. Like, a
really
good cup of tea. She's particularly fussy about it, and has been known to pack her own teabags when she travels. Most members of her family are too scared to make her a cuppa, in case they get it wrong.

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First published by Penguin Books Australia 2013

Copyright © Emmie Dark 2013

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ISBN: 9780857976895