Мишель Роуэн - Hot Spell

Of course that’s what it was.

Jacob gritted his teeth. Amanda only dated so-called normal guys so she could feel normal. She’d never dated anyone at the office before, at least, that’s what he’d heard. Maybe if she had, she would have realized a lot sooner that she didn’t have to work so damn hard to be accepted.

David was silent for a moment, deep in thought. Jacob expected him to get angry at the news that his girlfriend was a closet ghost-whisperer.

But he didn’t.

“This must be why she wants to move away and quit her job,” he said softly. “So she can leave this bizarre life behind her.”

“You’re very insightful.” Jacob tasted the acid on his tongue.

“If she’s kept this from me, it’s for a very good reason. I trust her. Even though it disturbs me, I’ll keep this discussion we’ve had between us.”

“Great.”

“I’m just so glad she’s had friends like you to help ease her way,” David said. “Quite honestly, when I saw you last night, I was a bit intimidated.”

“Oh, yeah?”

David nodded. “I thought you’d become a rival for her affections. But obviously there’s nothing like that between you.” His previously tense face now held a smile. “If there was, you’re certainly not giving me much of a fight, are you?”

If Jacob hadn’t felt true emotion coming from David toward Amanda when he’d shaken his hand and gotten a mild empathic read on him, he’d probably have punched him in the nose.

“I only want what’s best for her,” Jacob said after a moment. “And if moving to New York and forgetting about her psychic abilities is going to make her happy, then I support her decision a hundred percent.”

And it was true; despite Amanda being incredibly stubborn and frustrating, he did want her to be happy. If being “normal” was going to do that, then more power to her. Jacob would stay behind with the freaks in Mystic Ridge where he belonged.

David pulled a small blue box out of his jacket pocket and opened it up to reveal a diamond solitaire ring. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

A wave of nausea swept through Jacob. It was an engagement ring. David was going to propose to Amanda.

“You’re going to ask her tonight?” he asked weakly.

David nodded and put the ring back into his pocket. “I am. Even after learning she’s kept secrets from me, I want us to be together.”

Jacob’s jaw tightened. “Well, then, if you’re really the best man for her, I wish you every happiness in the world.”

David shook his hand. “Thank you.”

The empathic read Jacob got gave him the impression that David was filled with confidence and certainty.

Two things Jacob wasn’t feeling at that moment, that was for damn sure.

SINCE Amanda had entered the pub, she’d been hugged about two dozen times. Tightly. The outpouring of emotion from her friends who’d come out tonight to say goodbye to her was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

“We’re going to miss you,” Lauren, a psychic who specialized in palmistry, said.

“Thanks,” Amanda said, accepting yet another tight hug. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

She was then shuffled off to Ben, tarot card reader extraordinaire, who actually lifted her off the ground with his bear hug and then gave her a hard kiss on her cheek.

Then somebody shoved a chocolate martini in her hand and the entire place made a collective toast in her honor.

And here she’d thought the night would be awkward. Her chest felt tight with emotion from the outpouring of best wishes for her future.

She was on her second martini when she saw Jacob and David come into the bar. Had they been talking for that long? And about what? The thought made her nervous.

Truthfully, she’d been nervous ever since she’d gotten home that day, had a shower, and started to get ready for the night. It had taken her an eternity to pick out her outfit and accessories. Then she’d burned her finger on her curling iron. Obviously she was distracted.

When David had arrived in his Volvo to take them to the party she’d only half-heartedly kissed him. She felt horrible that the spark she’d felt between them had been all but extinguished. She wondered, frankly, if there had ever been a spark there in the first place.

Jacob sidled up next to her at the bar when her head was turned in the opposite direction. She tried to ignore his thoughts. It was easy to do at the moment. It was very noisy in the pub.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked.

She swiveled around on her stool. “Talk.”

“In private.”

She tensed. “Not sure that’s such a good idea.”

He slipped off his seat and took her hand. “Come on. I promise I won’t bite.” He grinned. “Not hard , anyhow.”

She tried not to smile, but couldn’t help herself. “You know Patrick has given the okay for the exorcism and destroying the clock.”

“He told me.”

“I’m going with you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You want to make sure there are no rocks left unturned? No clocks left unburned?”

“I didn’t know you were a poet.”

“You bring out my inner Shakespeare.”

She felt his hand then at the small of her back. The heat from his touch sank into her and she was very glad she was sitting down because it made her legs feel very weak and wobbly. She felt like a teenager around this guy, all awkward and vulnerable. All he had to do was touch her to make her want him. It really wasn’t fair at all.

“Just five minutes of your time.” He leaned closer and she felt his warm breath brush against her ear. “Before it’s too late.”

“Too late for what?” she replied, dismayed by how breathy her voice sounded and how good Jacob smelled.

“Amanda!” Vicky ran up to her and pulled her right off her bar stool and into a fierce hug. “You look great! I love that dress! Very New York chic, I must say.”

“Thanks.” She glanced at Jacob who looked unhappy that they’d been interrupted. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Sure,” he said stiffly.

Patrick moved toward her in his wheelchair and instructed the bartender to open up a case of champagne so everyone got a glass.

“To Amanda,” he toasted ten minutes later. “Who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it, no matter what the price.”

She cringed at the knowing edge to his words as he clinked his glass against hers. “I do know what I want.”

He raised his eyebrows. “That’s exactly what I just said.”

“You are a troublemaker, Patrick McKay.”

He grinned. “Am I that transparent?”

“Yes, you are.”

She turned to her left to see that Jacob was gone and David now stood next to her.

“Can I have your attention please?” David said, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

She was surprised. She’d expected her very normal boyfriend to keep a low profile in the middle of a crowd of psychics, even if he wasn’t a true believer. She knew it made him feel uncomfortable. He’d told her as much on the drive over.

“Are you going to toast me, too?” she asked.

He smiled. “I am.”

She scanned the bar to see that everyone was now paying attention to them. Even Jacob, now at the back of the crowd, looked at her. While everyone else had a smile on their face as they raised their champagne glasses, Jacob didn’t look happy at all.

“From the very first moment I met Amanda,” David began, “I knew that this beautiful woman was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I knew that at heart we were the same and wanted the same things—such as security and acceptance—that we had the same solid and steadfast view on the world. I was pleased when she made the decision to come work with me at my advertising company. I think she’s going to fit in very well there.”