Good thing there were only two minutes left and still no sign of Leo.Three ghosts of Christmas, here I come. I’ll bring the popcorn, you bring the spooky epiphanies.Maybe I’d figure out the snow curse through film osmosis.
“That's some dress.” The smooth sound of Leo's voice made me jolt. My gaze darted around the room, but I didn't see him. Taking a step forward, I leaned around the Christmas tree and found him holding up the wall.
He wore a dark suit and an even darker expression as his eyes roamed over me.
“Have you been there the whole time? What are you doing hiding behind the Christmas tree?”
“I was watching you. I didn't think you'd come.”
I rounded the tree to face him and injected an unhealthy amount of sarcasm in my tone. “I like to finish what I started. I don't discard people just because I achieve my agenda.”
One more minute, then I’d walk.
“You think you know everything about me,” he muttered. “The truth would shock you.”
He pushed away from the wall, stalking closer until he towered over me, and I had to tilt my head to hold his gaze.
“Are you wearing that dress to drive me crazy?” His fingers slid across my hip, thumb caressing the soft velvet. “Because it's working.”
A rush of heat joined the venom in my veins. “Good. I’d hate to think you weren’t attracted to me, that you kiss every girl you bring up to your private overlook.”
His hand flexed, tensing around my waist. I'd hit a nerve.
My time was up. But I didn't move. Every second that ticked by made the party around us grow hazier. The music faded—or maybe it screeched to a halt like a scratched record. I couldn’t hear anything over the hammering in my chest.
“Hey, Sage! Leo!” The sound of our names startled me out of my trance. Mrs. Avery stood near one of the banquet tables, pointing to a spot above our heads. “Look. The two of you are under the mistletoe.” She gestured to Leo with an encouraging smile. “Go ahead, kiss her.”
Looking up, I spotted the infernal plant hanging from the top of the window. I would have laughed at the irony if Leo's interest hadn't dropped to my mouth and lingered there. His hand still claimed my hip, and with the barest tug, I fell against him, his suit jacket brushing against my collarbone.
The air lodged in my throat. I cursed myself for wanting to go through with it, telling my love-starved brain the bliss would outweigh the heartbreak.Just one more kiss.
People had stopped to watch, waiting until Leo made his move. But as indecision flipped to a risky resolution in his gaze, I knew I couldn’t go through with it.
I sliced a finger through the air, casting a bolt of magic, and held out my palm. The mistletoe snapped from its string and fell into my hand. With a hardened smile, I stuffed it into his jacket pocket and spun on my heel.
Leo's fingers wrapped around my wrist, stopping me from running away. I still had my back to him as he leaned over me, his mouth skimming my ear.
“Well played.” His voice dropped low, becoming thick. “Merry Christmas, Bennett.”
Leo’s touch fell away. I drew in an aching breath, feeling the weight of other people’s stares. That was about as close to an epic power move as I could have hoped for, and when I looked over my shoulder, Leo was gone.
I stayed a few minutes more, putting on a brave face, then slipped out into the night. The snow fell softly and the icy air was invigorating. I indulged in it, letting it cool my head. On paper, my mistletoe rejection was a success, but it left me feeling unsteady. Leo's raw sincerity as he wished me Merry Christmas rattled the glass shards in my heart.
Huddling inside my jacket, I waited for my ride, and then asked the driver to drop me off a few blocks from home. I needed to walk. My emotions were too fresh to settle in for a movie.
My heels clicked over the cobblestone; the sound echoing through the quiet street. I passed shops and homes closed and dark for the night; their lit Christmas decorations were a fake sign of life.
I found myself lost on the streets where I’d spent half of my life. The familiar surroundings appeared warped as if I were viewing things through a carnival mirror. I didn't know what to do or what I wanted next. Thanks to my weather curse, I felt snowed in, stuck somewhere between the life I’d worked toward, and the one I had secretly wished to resume. Now neither seemed available to me.
The glow from a colorful fluorescent light caught my attention, and I paused on the sidewalk, not recognizing the shop. Peering through the frost-covered window, I spotted a woman sitting alone at a table. She shuffled a deck of cards, then dealt them one at a time in a tarot reading.
My hand hovered over the doorknob as I debated if my life was really such a disaster that I needed to visit another fortune teller. Delia would be proud. She'd also never let me live it down. But she wasn't here, and I'd run through all my options. Time to consider a dose of mystical wisdom before we were all buried in ice and snow like woolly mammoths in the last Ice Age.
I pushed open the shop door and walked through a silken curtain. The woman collected her cards and gestured to the empty chair at the table like she’d predicted my arrival. She extended her hand after I sat, rings clinking together as we shook.
“My name is Marcy. Welcome to my shop. What brings you here tonight?”
“Guidance?” I said, elongating the word and framing it as a question instead of a request.
