Мишель Роуэн - Hot Spell

But the fury faded quickly until there was only sadness.

“It’s true,” Catherine said shakily. “I’ve denied it for all this time, but it must be true. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t feel like this.” She looked at Amanda. “My aunt was right, wasn’t she? She was right about everything. I loved him . I tried to deny it. I tried to push it away, but I couldn’t. And now he’s gone forever.”

“You loved him,” Amanda repeated. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes.”

The very next moment, Catherine gasped loudly and a strange ripple of blinding white light spread over her ghostly form before disappearing. She looked at her hands. “What just happened?”

Nathan took form across the room. “What happened is that we’re free. Finally.”

Catherine stared at Nathan, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. “But…you’re gone. I…I don’t understand. She said she exorcised you.”

He moved closer to her. “She told you what you had to hear to finally make you admit the truth to yourself.”

“The truth.”

He nodded. “That you love me as much as I love you. I knew you did. All this time, I knew .” He reached out and stroked her cheek. “See? I can touch you again. The spell is finally broken.”

Catherine tentatively touched him, as well. “I can’t believe this.”

“It’s true.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to see that. I was afraid.”

His grin widened. “Better late than never.”

She smiled back at him. “I love you, Nathan. Forever.”

“I love you, too.” He bent toward her to give her their first kiss in a hundred years. When they parted, Catherine looked over at Amanda and Jacob, her eyes glowing with happiness.

“Thank you,” she said. “Both of you. So much.”

Amanda smiled at her and felt a warmth fill her. She was so happy she wouldn’t have to perform any exorcisms tonight. “You’re very welcome.”

The next moment, the two ghosts vanished from the room in a soft pulse of light. Amanda turned to Jacob, her eyes shiny with tears.

“What in the hell?” he said after a moment. “I feel like I was just forced to watch about eight chick flicks in a row. I seriously need a shower.”

She laughed. “That can be arranged.”

“Where’d they go?”

“I’m assuming wherever people go when they die. The afterlife.”

“They’re not trapped here anymore?”

She shook her head. “She broke the spell.”

“Damn well took her long enough.”

“Some people are pretty thick in the head when it comes to this sort of thing.”

Ain’t that the truth , he thought. “Here I was expecting to see my first exorcism live and in person.”

“We can always rent The Exorcist .” She smiled. “But, like I said before, it’s a little different in real life. Not nearly as dramatic.”

“We can, can we?”

“Definitely.”

I don’t know , he thought, looking into her eyes. I’m trying to figure out how this is going to work. You and me. This spell. Are you absolutely sure this is how you want to play it? Are you sure you don’t want to destroy the clock now while we’re still here?

She blinked. “What?”

“What do you mean, what? Are you going to answer the question or not?”

“What question?” She looked confused for a moment. “Oh, are you thinking at me again?”

He eyed her warily. “What’s going on here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Now you’re answering my questions with more questions?”

She looked way too amused. “Ask me something. Anything.”

He frowned. “Is the sky blue?”

“Right now it’s black. It’s almost midnight.”

“But is it blue during the day?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m thinking it’s more of a magenta. With glitter.”

Definitely not the truth, unless in Amanda’s world the sky looked like something out of a children’s coloring book. “You can’t lie to me.”

“Sure I can. And just for the record, I can’t hear your thoughts anymore. Luckily, what you’re thinking is written all over your face.”

“It is?” His frown deepened. “Then what am I thinking right now?”

“You’re thinking that mind-reading and truth-telling are both part of our curse, and now those things have disappeared. You’re thinking that maybe the spell has been broken, but you’re not exactly sure how or why.”

“That is what I’m thinking.”

“And now you’re starting to think that the only way to break the spell, which as evidenced by what just happened between Catherine and Nathan, is for the more stubborn and annoying partner to admit she’s in love with the other.”

“That does sound like what’s going on in my head right now. Are you sure you can’t read my mind anymore?”

“Quite sure. And now you’re thinking that the stubborn person can’t just say that they love the other out loud, they need to admit it inside themselves as well to know that it’s the truth. They can’t lie to themselves even though they may have tried really, really hard.”

He swallowed. “And what happens then?”

“Then the spell is broken because the enchanted clock’s purpose was to make two people realize that they’re in love with each other no matter how much they try to deny it to each other or themselves.”

“The clock is very strict.”

“It is.”

“Okay, so I’ll admit it, that is what I am thinking right now. The only question is, what are you thinking?”

Amanda placed her hands on Jacob’s chest and slid them up over his shoulders. “I’m thinking that I’ve been kind of stupid.”

“No comment.”

She smiled at that. “I’m thinking that I’ve been denying the exact thing that I’ve wanted more than anything because I didn’t think I deserved it.”

“And that thing is?”

“You, of course.”

Jacob’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute—”

She shook her head and pressed her index finger against his lips. “I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t really in love with you, but I was. I am . The clock knew it. I guess I’ve been in love with you since the night I first met you.”

He raised one eyebrow, not wanting to believe his own ears. Maybe he’d been knocked unconscious and this was only a dream. “The night at the bar? When I first started at PARA?”

“You called me Amanda the Strange.”

“It’s a cute nickname.”

She grimaced. “Not to me it isn’t.”

“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry about that, then. Sometimes when I’m nervous I say stupid things.”

She laughed. “You’re forgiven.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Believe it.” She looked up at him then and a sliver of doubt crept into her expression. “Do you feel any differently now that the spell is broken?”

“Considering I actually had to be told that it was broken, I’m thinking that I don’t feel any differently.”

“Just checking.”

He shook his head. “I still can’t believe this.”

“Obviously I’m going to have to convince you that I’m in love with you.”

“It might take a lot of convincing.”

“I have time.”

He looked at her very seriously. “What about your big move?”

“Right. That.”

“You have a brand-new life waiting for you in New York. If you stay here you’ll never feel normal, and isn’t that what you want? This mega race to be the most normal woman in North America?”

She shrugged. “I am starting to think that maybe being normal is overrated.”

“I could have told you that. In fact, I’m pretty sure I did tell you that a few billion times.”