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I remember sucking in a painful gulp of air the second I laid eyes on her, knowing at long last I’d found my butterfly garden again.
As I watched her now, I wondered, not for the first time, if she was in fact my hope and my guide. Because wherever she went, I helplessly followed.
He was moving too slowly, and I had no patience, so like Jules had advised me several months ago, I was taking matters into my own hands.
I hadn’t realized until this moment that, apparently, I was aroused by arching eyebrows. Henry’s at least.
That’s when the devil took me. It happened from time to time. Vi said I had a demon inside me that liked to come out and play on occasion. I lifted a cupcake out of the box and took another step closer, holding it out to him. “It’s sweet and creamy, Henry. I promise. Don’t you want to lick my cupcake?”
Martha narrowed her eyes and pointed her teaspoon at me. “You sure don’t look like a guy who would like to read romance.” Now I was getting the shakedown from intimidating grandmas. This was new.
So here she was sitting in my car, reminding me of that day she’d made a suggestion that sounded very much like an invitation to kiss her one day. Swallowing hard, I confirmed what she knew. “I did quit.” For you.
I’m just glad you’re getting this ball rolling finally. The rest of us are tired of watching y’all stare at each other with heart-eyes all the damn time.” I gasped. “He stares at me that way?” She snorted and rolled her eyes. “You two are truly clueless, aren’t you?”
“I’m wet from the rain. I’m sorry,” I protested weakly. “I don’t care. Please hold me.” For fuck’s sake. Hold her? I’d burn the world for her.
She didn’t look a mess. She looked like a fucking goddess, like a dream in pink satin with long blond waves caressing her shoulders, breasts, and hips. Hell, she was an angel born solely to torment me. And I was the demon who craved nothing more than to mark her with sin.
The rolling clouds reflected my constant melancholic mood. I wondered what it would be like to live in the sunshine of Clara’s world.
“You didn’t answer my question. Will it hurt you to try and summon her?” His gaze roved my face. “I’ll do it for you.” Suddenly angry, I stood up. “No. You won’t.” He was up at my side, wrapping his hand around my forearm. “Yes. Let me. Please, Clara.”
“I’d say I’m sorry I keep throwing myself into your arms, but I’m not sorry.” His arms held me tighter, drawing me into his warmth. His mouth was at my temple when he whispered, “You can throw yourself into my arms any time you want, Clara.” Laughing, I tilted my head up, “Any time?”
“I’m no Prince Charming.” He clamped his jaw as if trying not to say something, but he did anyway, his face dropping an inch closer to mine. “But if your Prince Charming ever did come, Clara, I’d have to fucking kill him.”
“You’re not broken,” he growled. “You’re scarred. And I’ve told you time and again you can control your magic and use it at will without hurting anyone.”
I squeezed his hand, pushing my magic into him, giving him a hit of my calming essence. His smile was instant. “You don’t have to do that, Clara.” He laced his fingers with mine. “Just being near you soothes my soul.” He brought the back of my hand to his mouth. “It has from the moment I met you.”
He pressed his lips to the crown of my head. “What on earth did I do to deserve you?” He wasn’t asking me, but I answered anyway. “Everyone deserves another soul who matches them, to walk beside them through this world, to be their best friend and true lover.”
His pulse throbbed faster against my palm where I had it pressed to the side of his neck. He heaved a shaky sigh. “Do you mean soulmates?” “Yes.” Hesitantly, cautiously, he then asked, “Are you my soulmate, Clara?” “Of course I am, silly.” I sat up, meeting an astonished dark-eyed gaze. “I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up and realize it.”
We sat on that bench for a long time—holding each other, kissing softly, reveling in the fact that we were in the arms of the one person on this earth we belonged to, and neither of us were ever letting go.
I had a hot boyfriend who loved books and cooking and butterflies. Someone kill me now. Life couldn’t get better than this.
“Like you?” he seemed to whisper to himself rather than to me. “God, Clara. It’s so far beyond that now.” I cupped my hand over the back of his. “Yes. I suppose it is.”
“You’re going to be my first everything, angel.” His head angled in a way that screamed confidence. “And you’ll be my last.”
“Gareth’s got a spy in the spy company?” “Yep.” She grinned and arched a brow at me. “You grims are so cool.”
I’d experienced her joy spells and her calming spells before, but this one was different. It was altogether more intense, wrapped in her own essence. It wasn’t simple happiness she sent but a bone-deep euphoric sensation that felt like warm sunshine on my soul. There was only one name I could give this spell she poured into me now. Clara’s love.
“Does it hurt?” Clara asked as Violet’s needle worked close to my breastbone. “Nah. I’m used to it.” “I could hold your hand if you needed me to.” Staring at her sweet face, I said, “I always need you to hold my hand.”
Gosh they are just so precious
“I thought you might be mad.” Her voice cracked, which broke my heart a little. “You might think I was trying to trap you or something.” “Please trap me.” Brushing my mouth against hers, I whispered low, “I’m already your slave, Clara. I’d do anything to be tied to you forever. But I didn’t do this on purpose.”
“Look at me, Clara,” I whispered. Ocean-blue eyes met mine. “I’m never leaving you.” I cupped her face. “I’ll never let you go.”
We’d all missed Jules terribly and had gravitated to her like planets around their sun. She’d always been our grounding force. Without her, an important part of our world had been missing. Now, everything felt right.
“What is this?” snapped Violet. “The pregnancy edition of Oprah? You get a baby, and you get a baby, and you get a baby.”
Henry sighed dramatically. “I can see our future now. You’re not going to break our bank with clothes and shoes. It’s going to be books, isn’t it?” “You know me so well.”
