Page 3 of To Teleport, or Not to Teleport?
My gaze flew to his, and the world around me spun and swam as countless emotions hit me at once. Sadness, anger, jealousy, resentment, loneliness… all punched me in the chest. Image after image came into view in my mind, each more confusing than the last, the vision choosing the most inconvenient of times to knock me off my feet.
As sudden as the visions had come, they left. I found myself cradled in Grayson’s arms a moment before I rolled away in time to upchuck the contents of my stomach.
“Aileen!” Cami cried.
“Shit,” Grayson said, pulling back handfuls of my hair.
Chapter 2
I casted a spell to clean my mess and ran to the bathroom, the sound of the lock flipping into place calming me a bit.
“Lee!” Grayson called after me.
“Give her time,” Cami said, and I could kiss her on the lips for it.
Pressing my forehead against the cool door, I shut my eyes. Snippets of a few of the images that had swamped me moments earlier came back. Not one of them made better sense, after the initial onslaught.
Grayson McCune was back.
A few minutes passed before Cami’s voice drifted toward me. “He’s gone. Take all the time you need in there, or I can get you a fresh croissant.”
I hurried out of the bathroom and passed Cami as she chuckled. Bending at the waist, I slid the glass aside and grabbed a croissant. Shoving it into my mouth, bits of chocolate and buttery yumminess replaced the taste in my mouth, and I was grateful not for the first time that I was a witch with an amazing metabolism. I grabbed a second and third croissant before I shut the case. The next bite I cherished, savoring each flavor as the bell chimed once more. Tensing, I froze and allowed only my gaze to slide toward Cami, who gave me the barest head shake.
“Hello, Cami. Aileen. Oh, I heard you’re coaching the running club over at the school.”
Turning slowly as I took another bite of heaven, I came face-to-face with Ava Gardner’s doppelgänger. The only difference was that Kenny’s mother, Karen Brenton, was blonde where the actress was not. It was clear Kenny got his darker hair and uneven complexion from his father. Karen was stunning, but it was a shame her beauty was only skin deep.
I swallowed, my food turning into shards of glass as it moved down my throat. It seemed this family was determined to screw with what was left of my day.
“I’ll be their adviser,” I said by way of greeting.
Karen made a disapproving noise, and I did my best not to shrink before the woman. “That’s not what Kenny said.”
I shrugged, biting back the retort on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t think she wanted me insulting her gossiping son, who’d only overheard the news a short time ago.
“Any who, was that the McCune boy I just saw leaving?” Karen asked.
Tingles of unease ran up my spine as I stood taller. “Yes, that was Grayson.”
Karen tsked and shook her head. “The way he left town and his poor mother… My Kenny would never run off with his tail tucked between his legs like that one.”
Anger heated me from the inside. My fingers curled, but it was Cami who spoke first. “Grayson had his reasons, and you are right, he’snothinglike Kenny.”
The pointed look Cami shot Karen Brenton made it clear which of the two men she respected more.
I curled my lips inward to prevent a smile—or worse, laughter.
Karen glared at Cami and then me before she turned on a huff and rushed out of the bakery.
Laughter burst from my closed lips as I shook my head. “Are you sure you should have poked that old crone?”
Cami waved a hand away. “She’s got a sweet tooth a mile wide, and I’m the only bakery in town. Plus, that’s what she gets for trying to be nosey about Gray.”
One of my brows quirked upward at the old nickname. “Gray?”
Cami shrugged. “He was our friend. Him running away, to Goddess only knows where, didn’t change that.”
“He left…”
