Page 33 of Charmed, I'm Sure
Magnolia
Always. Thanks, girlies. *heart emoji*
As soon as I slipped my phone back into my pocket, Taylor pushed the screen door open. His gaze locked onto me, shining like the tip of a flame as it raked down my body and sent a shiver down my spine.
Knock, knock. Who’s there? No one. Magnolia’s brain has once again left the building.
“Everything alright?” I asked, leaning against the rail in what I hoped was a nonchalant manner, convinced I couldn’t trust my knees around this man—especially when he looked at me like a man starved, and I was the only thing on the menu.
“Yeah. Cindy is going to put the key back in the box and lock up.” His steps were slow and methodical as he closed the space between us, but he didn’t crowd me against the rail like he had in the kitchen. Instead, he held out his hand for mine. “You ready to go?”
“Mmhmm.” It came out more of a squeak than anything else, but it was all I could manage at the moment. I ran my tongue across my dry lips as I slipped my hand into his, and it wasn’t lost on me how he tracked the movement.
Dinner passed in a flurry of awkward, heavy glances and little conversation. It was as if neither of us knew what to say after what had happened in the kitchen. We stopped for burgers at a place calledSomewhere—yes, that was actually the name, which was brilliant marketing if you asked me—and I made sure to keep my mouth full the entire time we sat in that tiny diner. The food was amazing, but my stomach was rebelling against me for the speed at which I’d inhaled my dinner.
The ride back to Bellevue Manor wasn’t much better.
I could feel his eyes on me every time he glanced my way, and it took everything I had to keep mine focused out the window. Tension settled in the cab like a weighted blanket as dusk filled the sky, painting it with color behind the massive oak trees. Louisiana sunsets never got old. The way mandarin and violet tones splashed the sky before stars danced in the navy backdrop was breathtaking.
“I didn’t know you sang." Taylor’s voice startled me out of my reverie, and I whipped my head toward him.
“I—I don’t.” Had I been singing? I hadn’t even realized he turned on the radio, but slowly, the tail end ofRainbowby Kacey Musgravesfiltered into my ears. If there was a song that could make me sing without knowing it, it would be that one.
“You do, and quite well, actually.”
“Okay, well, I don’ttypicallysing in front of people I don’t know.” Heat crept into my cheeks as I turned my head back toward the window.
“Why not?” His question caught my attention. It was only a few sentences, but it was becoming the longest conversation we’d had so far.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, wrapping my arm around my knee propped against the door. “I guess I don’t like being the center of attention? I don’t like people staring at me, especially when it’s something I don’t think I’m very good at.”
Taylor hummed in response, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly before his gaze met mine. “You’ve got a beautiful voice, Magnolia. Thank you for sharing that piece of yourself with me, even if it was unknowingly.”
Well, slap me sideways and call me Sally. This man was full of surprises, and each one left me speechless. I honestly didn’t know how to respond; “thank you” didn’t seem adequate.
“You really don’t know how to take a compliment, do you?” he asked with a chuckle.
"I think I’m just still trying to figure you out.”
“What do you mean?”
Expelling a heavy breath, I shifted my gaze out the windshield. Did I really want to get into this right now, in the cab of his car where there was no escaping the conversation? No. Not even a tiny bit. But the furrow in his brow and the softness in his eyes as I finally met his gaze pulled the truth from my lips before I could think better of it.
“You were one of my tormentors in high school, Taylor. You, Kyle, and all your idiot friends made my life a living hell. And now? I… I just don’t know what to think.”
“I know.”
His words were a heavy exhale, settling between us as a new kind of tension hung in the air. It lingered for the rest of the ride back to the manor, silence reigning until he put the Bronco in park.
With a murmured thanks, I gripped the handle on the door, but he caught my opposite hand, stilling my movements as his thumb brushed across my knuckles.
“I know I fucked up back in high school. I know that nothing I say or do will change the past. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to get to know you. To show you that I’m not that person anymore.”
“Why? Why are you so interested in getting to know me? I’m just—”
“You’re just Magnolia Bellevue?” When I nodded, my eyes falling to my lap, he pressed his finger beneath my chin and lifted it, forcing me to meet his gaze. “You’re far more than just a name. I may not know all that much, but I do know that.”
“Why, though? Why me?”
