Page 11 of Hallows End

The answering smile is immediate and lights up her entire beautiful face.

“Thank you. I do, too. But my favorite place is the garden. Would you like to see it?”

“What if you get a customer?”

“I’ll know,” she says simply and precedes me through a set of doors that lead through the kitchen of her private residence and out the back door to the garden. Nera follows and runs off to chase after a butterfly. “I come out here every chance I get. If I’m happy or sad, or if I’m scared…this is where I come.”

“I can see why,” I murmur and feel the power of Lucy’s magic pulsing all around me. It’s as strong as the pull I have to her. “I didn’t know that bluebells grew in New England.”

“With the right touch, they do,” she says and tickles her fingertips over the blue blossoms. “Ninety-nine percent of what I sell in the shop comes from either this garden or my greenhouse.”

“That’s impressive.”

“I can control the product,” she says with a shrug. “I know the plants were grown with the right intention and energy. I don’t want any of my customers taking home something sinister or tainted by bad energy.”

Her thoughtfulness soothes me.

“I’m sure your customers appreciate that very much.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” she replies and turns to me, propping her hands on her hips as if she’s still trying not to reach for me. “Why do I feel like I’ve met you before last night, Jonas?”

The sound of my name on her tongue is a jolt to my system. It’s familiar and surprising all at the same time.

“I don’t know.”

She narrows her eyes and studies me for a long moment. “I think that was the truth.”

“I have no reason to lie to you about that. I don’t know why. But I can say that I feel the same. You’re…familiar to me.”

I step toward her, unable to stay away any longer. Lucy swipes at something on her cheek, leaving a smudge of dirt behind.

Without thinking, I reach up, press my fingertips to her cheek near her ear, and use my thumb to wipe away the dirt.

To my surprise, she leans into my touch, pressing her cheek against my palm, and I feel the shift inside me.

From the look in her green eyes, she feels it, too.

“It can’t be,” I whisper as she closes her eyes and wraps her hand around my wrist. “It’s impossible.”

Nera whimpers from his spot at Lucy’s knee, and she opens her eyes.

“I have customers.”

“And I have to go,” I reply but don’t pull my hand away quite yet. “I’d like to see you tonight.”

Her smile spreads, and I swear the flowers around us open wider in response.

“I’ll be around. You’ll find me.”

And with that, she leads Nera back inside, and I’m left standing in the garden, wondering if what I feel is even possible.

Goddess, I hope so.

ChapterThree

Lucy

“You need selenite wands above the doorframes,” Breena says. Her hands are planted on her hips as she looks around Lorelei’s beach cottage, making a mental list. “And we’ll smudge the whole house before the day is through.”

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