Don't Expect Magic (27 page)

There’s a Ferris wheel on the pier. We rise up, and although I can’t see Dad or Gina or Andrea or Aaron, I know they’re down there, somewhere, with all the rest of the people in the world. Flynn holds my boots on the other side of him, so we can sit close, and his leg presses against mine, our bare skin touching.

At the top, we stop. Flynn looks over at me with his
“X-raying the soul” photographer expression. Except it’s softened by a smile, just for me. Before he gets any closer, before any other parts of our bodies touch, I have to get it over with. I’m not going to make Dad’s mistake. I’m not going to hide. I’m going to be honest from the start.

“There’s something I have to tell you. About me.” He probably won’t believe me, but I’ll be able to prove it to him soon enough, once my next client comes along.

“Okay.” He focuses on me, serious, listening.

“It’s a long story.”

Flynn peers down, making the car swing, then smiles up at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Suddenly I’m nervous. I’m not sure what to say next. I don’t know where to begin.

The last purple crescent of sun falls into the sea, off duty at last, and I glance up, where stars will soon appear, like they always do. I search the sky for an answer. The twilight is so magical and unreal that I think I spot a glimmer of a star already. When I turn back to Flynn, it’s like the star has stayed in my view, because I see a glow on the other side of him—but it’s not a star. It’s coming from one of my boots. Or rather, from the chopstick sticking out of the holster.

A chopstick that’s become a wand.

Then it hits me all at once and I laugh to myself. I know exactly what to say next, because, really, there’s only one way
to
begin.

“Once upon a time …”