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"A few what?" I said.
My voice had taken on a deep contralto pitch, and an accent I'd lost a decade ago. In front of me was a half-finished e-mail message.
"Holy shit," I muttered.
As I spoke, there was an odd catch to my words, a vibration in my chest. It took a second to realize what it was, and when I did, I couldn't stifle a laugh. I was breathing. I looked down at my hands, still resting on the keyboard, awaiting commands. I saw fingers decorated with silver rings and a white-gold wedding band. Each nail was a quarter-moon sliver, kept practical--short and unpolished.
A car started in the drive below. I jumped up and almost tripped as my knees caught the fabric of a skirt. I looked down. A casual A-line dress, beautifully tailored from soft cotton, and oh-so-feminine. I laughed again. For Paige's third birthday, I'd bought her the cutest little pair of jean overalls...and the horror on her face had been priceless. After the party, I'd slipped the overalls from the neatly folded pile of gifts, taken them to the store, and exchanged them for a red wool coat with a fake-fur collar and matching muff, and earned myself a heartfelt hug and a grin I'd never forget.
I hurried to the window and looked down just in time to see Paige's car pull from the driveway. I couldn't see the driver--presumably Lucas--but when the passenger glanced back toward the house, my heart skipped--and for the first time in three years, I felt it skip.
"Hi, baby," I whispered.
I pressed my fingertips to the cool windowpane. Savannah glanced up, attention caught by the motion or the figure in the window. She squinted up through the car window, then smiled and waved.
"Alone at last," said a voice behind me.
Arms wrapped around my waist and swung me in the air. I twisted, right hook at the ready, then saw my attacker.
"Lucas," I said. "What--uh--" I wriggled out of his grasp and stepped backward. "I thought you were--Good to see you."
He arched one brow. "Good to see you, too."
"Sorry," I said with a tiny laugh. "You just caught me off guard. I was thinking."
He eased back against the file cabinet. "About what?"
"Er, things. Work. Boring stuff."
My God, I was short. Of all the things I should have been thinking at that moment, this probably ranked near the bottom, but I couldn't help it. Lucas wasn't any taller than I was--the real me--but he was a damned sight taller than Paige, who barely hit five foot two. The sensation of having to look up at someone was so disorienting that my brain snagged on it and wouldn't let go. And while I was thinking this, Lucas was giving me a look that told me I had to do something--something Paige-like--fast.
I slid forward, smiled, and grabbed his hand, then leaned up against the file cabinet beside him, my side touching his.
"So," I said...and then couldn't think of anything to go with it.
"About that gift."
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"Gift?"
He smiled down at me. "The one you are trying very hard to pretend you've forgotten about."
"Ah...that gift. The one from...your trip."
He nodded, and I mentally high-fived myself. Lucas always brought Paige something home from his trips.
"So what is it?" I asked.
He arched a brow again, a clear "You have to ask?" and I knew I was losing ground fast.
"Now, let me see." I grinned and stepped away, letting his hand fall. "What could it be? A fur coat? Noooo. A Lamborghini? Noooo."
He shook his head, but didn't smile. Okay, joking wasn't going to get me out of this. Think harder--what would Lucas bring Paige as a gift...?
"Magic!" I said. "You brought me a, uh, a spell or a spellbook. Right?"
His brow furrowed. I knew I'd got the answer right, but I think my delivery had been a bit off. I grabbed his hand again and grinned at him.
