Page 26 of The Trouble With Spells
Smiling, he took her hand in his, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry if I don’t remember you from school. I’m guessing that’s how you and Callum met?”
She nodded, “He latched on to me in first grade and I haven’t been able to shake him yet.”
“Hey, you’re still here, lady, don’t blame me for your poor life decisions,” I joked with her easily.
“So, Michael,” Macy gave him a heated once over, that I would have to be blind to miss and I didn’t like one little bit, “what brings you to my little witchy walking tour, and with my bestie?”
Since we had arrived over a half-hour before the start time of the tour, none of the people attending Macy’s tour were there yet. The start spot was a popular restaurant, and people wandered the streets, as well as there being a dozen or more different walking tours that were assembling or in some stage of their tour.
Lowering my voice, I whispered, “I did a thing.”
Macy raised a brow, smirking, “His name is Michael and he’s not a thing.”
Michael raised his hand, the picture of innocence, “I’m not the thing he did. But for the record, I wouldn’t be opposed.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I straightened my glasses when they went sideways from the motion and muttered, “I can see introducing you two is going to be a mistake.”
Macy cackled, unrepentant, and that was part of her charm. “Quick, tell me, before the people converge on us and I have to play the all-knowing goddess of all things witchy.”
“You are super extra tonight.” I was glad I would be leading up the rear of the tour, basically helping check people in, answer any questions before the tour started, and then mainly look out for any stragglers when we moved on to the next stop. It was amazing how many people ended up in the wrong tour at one stop or the other. But with so many different walking tours going on at the same time, it was bound to happen. It was one of the reasons we wore the shirts, as well as good marketing.
“Michael needed help,” whispering, I ducked my head to be closer to her height, so she could hear me better. “The spell kind.”
“Callum, you didn’t!” Macy hissed, well versed on my wonky spell casting.
“Oh, he did,” Michael nodded, and I shot him a glare. He just grinned, not intimidated by my glare at all. Not that anyone ever really was.
Macy gave him a quick once over again, like she hadn’t already clocked every single inch of him and probably had stored his measurements in her head. “Well, I don’t see any extra appendages. No fur or tails. And he looks like the same hottie he was in school.” She licked her lips, “Maybe even better. Nicely matured. So, what’s the prob?”
“The prob is I tried to break a tiny little bad luck spell someone placed on him, and I ended up binding us together instead.”
Macy blinked rapidly a few times, then cocked her head at Michael.
“It’s true,” he nodded, “we can’t get more than ten feet away from each other or my head explodes.” He made an exploding motion with his hands by his head, “Bam! Instant, blinding pain.”
Turning to give me a sly look, she said, “I mean, there are worse things you could have ended up doing.”
Michael nodded, clearly agreeing with her. “I’m not complaining.”
“So, Michael,” Macy sidled up to him like they were old friends, “what did you do that made someone put a bad luck spell on you?”
His cheeks colored a little and he winced. “I picked up a guy at a club, took him home, and then asked him to leave. You know, after.”
Macy gave me a look, and I shrugged, “Super abridged version, but basically. It’s not a strong spell and not from a born witch. Daphne will unravel it when she’s home. Until then, we’re stuck with each other.”
“Still not complaining.” Michael winked at me. Winked! The way my stomach flipped flopped from that wink was…disconcerting.
A few people started arriving, and Macy pointed her finger at me. “We’ll talk about all of this later. I brought your flowers, by the way. They’re in my bag.” MouthingMichael is gay?at me, she raised her brows in a silent question.
Shooing her with a wave of my hands, I turned to Michael, “Any questions before we get started?”
“Several,” he was watching the crowd grow and gather around us, Macy checking people in on her tablet efficiently. “First though, flowers? What’s that about.”
“One of our stops is the Witch Trials Memorial. I like to leave flowers on benches there for the victims. It’s just my way of remembering them.”
He frowned, “A lot of innocent people died because of mass hysteria and children’s lies.”
“There’s always been witches in Salem, Michael. From the very beginning.” I told him quietly, not disagreeing with his statement. “Where there’s enough smoke and finger pointing, there’s bound to be a little bit of fire. I’m not saying the people that were executed were witches, because they weren’t. But…just because the lies were aimed at the wrong people, doesn’t mean they were lies.”
