Enchantment (20 page)

Somehow the gang had
managed to convince Gray to say farewell to Benita and let Vinuesa
take a look at her palms one last time . . . just in
case.

As they walked through the
courtyard, the two Dutch girls walked by and said
“
Hola
.” Gray
smiled back. She hadn’t gotten the chance to meet anyone outside
her group. Maybe if she’d befriended the Dutch girls rather than
Hannah she would never have stepped foot in that theater, and she’d
still be enrolled in the program. But then, that would also mean
she never would have experienced one night of true
passion.

Vinuesa stood up the moment
they walked into the small lobby.

“
Buenos días
,” Gray called out as
though she’d never left.

Vinuesa scowled. “You
should not have run off like that.”

“
Lo siento
, couldn’t help myself. I
was under a spell. I’m still under a spell.” Gray shrugged. “I
can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

Marco snickered.

Vinuesa folded her arms
across her chest. “Spell or no, if it were up to me,
Señorita
Perez, I’d send
you back home to your mother.”

It was Gray’s turn to
glare. She shouldn’t have agreed to come back here. There was no
going back. It only made her feel worse.

Gray began inching
backwards when the swish of a long skirt caught her
attention.

“And what kind of help
would we be to
Señorita
Perez if we sent her back home?”

Unlike Vinuesa,
Señora
Contreras smiled
constantly—not in the big, friendly dopey kind of way, but as
though she was in on the most amusing secret. That smile had a way
of unnerving Gray, like right then.

“S
eñora
. . .” Gray said, feeling
suddenly ashamed. She’d walked out on the program without an
explanation or
adios
.

Still smiling, Benita said,
“Why don’t you come with me,
Señorita
Perez
.”

It wasn’t a
question.

Gray looked at her friends.
Hannah smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. Benita had already moved
down the hall, her dark hair trailing behind her in loose waves.
Gray followed her inside her compact office. There was a set of
chairs in front of a tiny desk. Benita took one and beckoned for
Gray to take the seat beside her.

Benita said nothing about
closing the door, but Gray did so now even if it made the room feel
even more claustrophobic. Every wall was covered in artwork. Many
pieces were quite sensual and suggestive.

Once Gray took a seat,
Benita folded her hands in her lap. “Hannah tells me you are under
a love spell.”

Gray looked at the scuffed
floor below her feet. “I’m sorry I left without telling
you.”

“I’m sorry you felt you
couldn’t tell me,” Benita countered.

“It’s just . . .
embarrassing.” Gray looked from the floor to Benita. She willed
herself not to look away again.

Benita nodded. “You must
not allow yourself to feel ashamed about this, Graylee.”

Right. Easier said than
done.
Gray found herself nodding despite
her thoughts.

“You are the first witch to
come here of her own choice. Did you know that?”

“No.” Not that it
surprised her. What teenage witch would willingly give up their
powers for three months?

“Do you remember why you
told me you wanted to be here when we first met?” Benita
asked.

Gray nodded. “To get over
my guilt and broken heart.”

Benita leaned forward
suddenly and took Gray’s hands. The Spanish witch’s grip was warm
and firm. Gray felt the instant urge to pull them away, but at the
same time it was as though their palms had fused together. Tingles
coursed from her palms to her fingertips. No doubt Benita made
Vinuesa look like an amateur when it came to reading
palms.

Benita leaned forward. “And
have you gotten over your guilt and broken heart?”

Gray momentarily forgot the
grip Benita had on her hands.

She thought about her
duplicate—Lee who had hijacked a body; ended up with Raj; finished
senior year with all the caps, gowns, and glory; and was headed to
college in the fall with the support of her doting mom, “dad,” and
boyfriend.

True, Lee had given up her
powers. Then again Lee had taken a life; never mind that it was
comatose. A life for a life. It was the least Lee could
do.

And they’d known the risks
of getting Adrian involved. Enter Duplicate Gray.

“I don’t feel guilty,” Gray
said, slowly, realization dawning over her.

What would’ve happened to
Lee if Gray hadn’t come along? Eventually Adrian would have figured
out that Lee was Gray in a new body and messed up her perfect life.
If he was capable of following Gray to Barcelona, Adrian wouldn’t
hesitate to follow Lee to the East Coast.

Great. Not only was Gray a
duplicate, but a decoy, as well. Lee should be singing her
praises.

While these thoughts were
running through Gray’s head, Benita had managed to move in even
closer, nearly in her face. Gray looked into her eyes.

“And your broken heart?”
Benita asked.

Gray’s body trembled. Her
hands shook in Benita’s as tears gathered into her eyes.

“I lied. I told him I’d
reversed the spell, and he let me go without a fight.”

Gray pulled her hands away
unexpectedly and sobbed. Why did she think of Adrian the moment
Benita mentioned broken hearts rather than Raj?

Benita made a soft sound of
comfort. “You cannot know your true feelings or mend your heart
until this spell is reversed.”

“But how?” Gray asked. “I
already tried outside help from a Spanish warlock named
Ortega.”

“S
eñor
Ortega, I know this man,”
Benita said, turning up her nose. “He relies only on
magic.”

“How else am I supposed to
fix this?” Gray asked.

Benita tapped her head.
“Think,
Señorita
Perez.”

Gray shook her head in
confusion.

“How are you being
controlled?”

“Ever since my luck amulet
went missing I’ve been under this spell.” Gray took a breath. “I
think someone took it and is using it to control my
emotions.”

Benita nodded. “That’s a
start. When did you last have this amulet?”

Gray glanced over her
shoulder. “Here, in my room. I put it in a drawer then I took it
out and put it inside my purse and then I went . . .” Gray stopped
suddenly, eyes widening. “. . . to Adrian’s apartment while he was
away, and his grandmother was there. I left my purse alone with her
while I was . . . looking at something.” Gray wasn’t about to say
“while I was in his bedroom.”

She met Benita’s bright
eyes now and said, “It’s so obvious.”

Benita grinned. “And now
you have realized you don’t have to rely on magic to solve all your
problems.” She stood up. “S
eñorita
Perez, you have no more need of my program. You
have already completed it successfully.”

Gray’s mouth hung open a
moment. “I have?”

“I am very proud of
you.”

Gray slowly lifted herself
out of her chair. Benita hugged her as soon as she stood then
walked her to the door.

“What do I do now?” Gray
asked aloud.

Benita smiled. “I think you
know the answer to that question.”

The best person to locate
Adrian’s grandmother was Adrian himself. Gray smiled slowly. She’d
have to go see him. It’s not like she had a choice. But after she
said goodbye to her friends and she reached his apartment, there
was no answer. When she let herself in, nothing remained of
Adrian’s belongings.

So that was it? He didn’t
stop her from leaving the café. He didn’t chase her down the
street. And he didn’t even stick around for one more
night?

In terms of giving up on a
girl, Adrian had to have set a world record.

Gray stood in the bedroom,
scanning the room for any remaining signs of Adrian, but his
suitcase was gone, as was the trunk that had rested against the
wall. Gray stared at the bed one last time.

Memories had been made on
that bed, and she’d never see it again.

Adrian had truly fled the
second she cut him loose. Must be nice to get over a person within
seconds.

To think Gray had been
excited to see him. Now the only reason she wanted to was to get
her damn amulet back so she could end this thing for
real.

And that meant going to
Paris.

Gray sat on the nearest bench and
rubbed the bottom of her feet as she waited for the train. Tennis
shoes would have served her better than flip-flops on a day like
this. She’d ping-ponged all around Barcelona in the least likely of
places: Benita’s, Adrian’s apartment, and now back to the
Majestic.

So Adrian thought he could
tuck tail and flee back to France? Gray smiled to herself. This
time she would be the pursuer. It gave her a thrill to turn the
tables on Mr. Badass Avenger. She couldn’t wait to see the look on
his face when she showed up in Paris.

Lights appeared down the
tunnel and a whoosh of air tickled Gray’s bare legs as the train
came to a stop along the metro platform. She got back on her feet
and breezed onto the train the moment the doors opened.

Spacing out was like being
propelled through a time warp. In no time at all, Gray found
herself holding her head high as she walked through the lobby of
the Majestic for the second time that day.

A family followed Gray into
the elevator and trapped her in back. The mother had designer
sunglasses covering her eyes despite being indoors and the father
quickly admonished a seven-year-old girl when she said something in
a brisk language Gray couldn’t identify. No one bothered asking
Gray which floor she needed.

Gray peered over the man’s
shoulder. She focused on the top button. It lit up.

Moments like these made
being a witch all the more satisfying.

The little boy standing in
front of the elevator doors did a double take then turned around
slowly. He craned his head up and looked at Gray with widening
eyes. Gray smiled big.

The boy was still staring
when the doors opened on the twelfth floor. His siblings brushed
past him, followed by his parents.

“Jozef,” the father called
out in the hallway.

The boy took one last look
at Gray before dashing out.

Gray was still smiling to
herself when she knocked on Charlene’s penthouse door. Her sister
would no doubt be thrilled to see she’d changed her mind so
quickly.

Silence followed Gray’s
knock.

Seriously? How much
shopping could Charlene do in one day?

Gray lifted her finger to
let herself in, but no click followed the motion.

Gray frowned. Obviously
Charlene had blocked the use of such spells. Maybe she didn’t want
Gray showing up unannounced anymore or was truly paranoid over the
Ryan thing.

Gray sighed and knocked
again. “Charlene, open up.”

The door flew open and Gray
stumbled in, cursing as she nearly collided with the floor. “Shit,
Charlene!”

“Close the door!” Charlene
yelled in return.

Once Gray had the door shut
she had a chance to take in the scene. Open suitcases covered the
floors and couch. Gray counted at least six.

Charlene stood over a Louis
Vuitton suitcase holding a shiny paper shopping bag with red corded
handles. She unceremoniously dumped the contents inside the
luggage, tossed the paper bag over her shoulder, then zipped up the
case.

“Char . . .” Gray said
carefully. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve got a flight to
catch.” Charlene lunged for a shoe box.

“I thought you weren’t
leaving till tomorrow.”

“That was before Ryan
showed up.”

Gray’s jaw dropped. She
whipped her head around, searching the suite. “Here?”

“Somehow he got my new cell
number. He’s in Barcelona right now.”

Charlene took a pair of
brown leather shoes out of their box and set them at the bottom of
a new suitcase.

“Have you actually seen
him?” Gray asked.

“No.”

Gray’s shoulders relaxed
slightly. She walked over to Charlene, who was tossing V-necked
sweaters in over the shoes. They still had the price tags on. Gray
looked from the bag to Charlene.

“Don’t tell me you’re
seriously afraid of Ryan Phillips?”