“You’re right. It is a very niche set of criteria. We did think we were going to have to wait until our children grew up to get any new members, but then Clementine found all of those gems in the lake and put them in the candles, and well, now you’re here.” She smiles through a happy sigh, and I stuff a croissant in my mouth so I don’t start freaking out.This is way too niche for me!
“I can see you don’t quite understand what I’m talking about,” Jade adds. And I nod, because I don’t understand. I don’t understand at all.
“Are you trying to say I qualify because I bought some of Clementine’s candles?”
Jade laughs. “Oh no. But also yes.”
“I’m lost.”
“It’s more about what happenedafteryou bought the candles.”
“Hitting Duke’s car?”
“Kind of. Tell me what happened when you met?”
“He scared me, and I tried to defend myself with his broken windshield wiper.”
She laughs again, and I guess I understand that because my actions were pretty comical. Problem is, she’s laughing like I’m not getting it instead of laughing like she finds me funny. I’m so confused.
“What did you feel in your body?” she asks. “When you looked him in the eyes the first time, was there something that happened to make you look a little closer?”
My brow tightens. “You mean, like, the way my chest got tight, and my stomach fluttered because…well, I’m not gonna lie here, the man isstunning.I wanted to throw myself at him and promise to have all his babies.”
A serene smile crosses Jade’s face as she nods. “I like to call that feeling a soulwink,” she says.
“A soulwink?”
“Yes. It’s a suddenknowingthat hits you the moment you meet your one true soulmate—or your twin flame as you understand it. That one perfect person who’ll love you for all you are, and all you’ll ever be, warts and all. You complete each other.”
“You think that’s what happened when I met Duke?”
“I do.”
“Even though our date was a disaster, and he probably doesn’t ever want to speak to me again?”
“It wasn’t a disaster. And he will want to see you again. He felt it too. I saw the way he was looking at you last night.”
“I thought he was thinking, ‘will someone please get this bitch to shut up for a second’ the entire night,” I snort, popping a small piece of donut in my mouth this time. It’s delicious.
“Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t. But what I know for sure is that he couldn’t keep his eyes off you. He knows without being told that there’s something special about you. He won’t be able to resist seeking you out again.”
“How do you know all this? Do you do readings too?”
“Not really. I’m just a hopeful soul who’s seen this happen time and time again. Eight to be exact. With all the Valentine men and their wives. When I met my husband, Kellen who you met last night, it was like my soul woke up and said, ‘that’s him. That’s the man you belong with.’ And he felt it too. So strongly that we married the next day and we’ve been together ever since, watching all of his brothers and cousins fall hard and fast toward their happily ever afters. I’d thought it was only Valentines who could experience it, but then we learned that the lake on their property is the only place on the mountain where those stones inside your candles exist. Clementine had a theory that they were the key to unlocking the soulwink for others, and well…she was right. Because here you are. Here because you bought a candle and recognized itssmell.”
There’s way more donut in my mouth than space. I have no idea what to say back to this, so I just nod.Don’t call the crazy lady crazy to her face.
“I can see you’re having trouble believing me,” she says, still smiling.
I shake my head and try to say, ‘Not at all. It makesperfectsense.’ But all I come out with is, “Noshemalll. Ferfe-ens,” around my mouthful of dough.
“It’s fine,” Jade says, picking up her bag and maintaining that serene composure of hers as she readies herself to leave. “Most of the family didn’t believe it at first either. But you’ll see. And when you do, I’ll have your jacket waiting for you and Remy will add your special cocktail to the list.”
Jacket? Cocktail?I try to swallow, but my mouth has gone dry, so I need to slurp some coffee to soften the dough. Jade has made it to the door by the time I’ve made enough space for sound to come out. “Wait. You don’t have to go. I’m sorry if I came across rude.”
“Not at all,” she says as she reaches the door. “You’ll come to understand the soulwink in your own time.”
“I didn’t want to chase you away though.”
