“—and practically forced me to go on a date with him.”
“One, I’m pretty sure it was your director who forced you to go on the date. And two, he came up as theEmperor. But either way—the cards never lie.”
“Mmhmm,” Liv said, looking at Daemon adoringly despite his growing scowl. “They told me you were the one for me.”
“That’s funny. I thought the multiple orgasms did that,” Daemon said, the corner of his lips turning up.
Liv rolled her eyes, biting back a smile, and returned her attention to Callie. “But he’s never had a reading of his own.”
“Well, what are we waiting for, Emperor?” Callie dug in her bag for her tarot deck.
She had several decks, truth be told. One that she only used when she was alone and kept in a carved wooden box with a bundle of sage. One that she kept on her person at all times, the deck held together with several rubber bands and moving from purse to purse as her mood changed. And one that was just too pretty to use: a hand-painted deck that Liv had picked up for her in some new age shop in London’s West End that Callie kept in its original packaging until she could figure out how to display them properly.
“We’ll start you off slow with a three-card spread,” Callie said.
Despite Daemon’s grouchy bear routine, he obliged his fiancée—as they all knew he would—shuffling the cards when Callie told him to, cutting the deck and making a gallant effort not to roll his eyes when she tapped the deck to clear the energy. She got lost in the routine of it, the feel of the crisp edges beneath her fingers, the almost meditative repetition of shuffling.
Callie believed in the cards the way some people believed in rosaries or lighting candles. It wasn’t that she thought they told the future, exactly—more that it was easier to hear her own intuition when she looked at the images, like the story they told cut through all the noise around her, pulling truth from within herself. Call it spirit guides or the divine or the universe—it didn’t matter. When there was so little she had control over, when even her own body was unpredictable, she always had the cards.
Callie shifted so she was straddling the lounger, laying the cards out on the black and white fabric emerging from between her thighs. No surprise that the Emperor made an appearance, and the Queen of Cups—the card that had always signified Liv as her best self, at least in Callie’s mind.
She flipped the last card and couldn’t help smiling. “Four of wands.”
“That’s good?” Daemon asked, leaning in to get a better look at the card.
“It’s your wedding.” Callie traced the image with her fingertip. “A celebration, a gathering of family and friends, a peaceful and happy home.”
Daemon’s brow drew low as he looked up at Callie, squinting in the sun. “So, your cards just said Liv and I are getting married?”
“Mmhmm.”
“What the hell did we need the cards for?” he asked, turning to glance back at Liv who could hardly contain her laughter.
Over the next few hours as more of their party joined them on the beach, Callie did more readings—one for Pattie about a role she was considering (it wasn’t a good fit); one for Min to assuage her fears about her new graduate program (no surprise, she was going to be a star); one for Liam about the opera company he hoped to start (he should stay focused on the young artist programs he loved best). She even did a reading for Mrs. Van Aller about her new younger man. The cards were unclear about if there was any real future there, but she would enjoy herself while she found out.
It was nearly noon and Callie was in the middle of doing a reading for Jamie when Noah made an appearance. He jogged down the stone stairs to the beach with a lightness in his step that belied the firm set of his stubbled jaw, the stormy look in his hazel eyes. Callie focused on shuffling the cards.You’re imagining things,she told herself. He certainly seemed to be his usual affable, charming self as he greeted his mother and hers with kisses on the cheeks and helped himself to a bottle of local lemonade from the ice bucket. He flicked the icy water that lingered on his fingers at Liv, laughing when she shrieked as the water hit her sun-heated skin.
“What’s going on here?” Noah asked, dropping onto the lounger next to Callie.
“Callie’s been doing everyone’s cards,” Liam replied. He and Min shared a lounger across the cabana. Min sat between his legs and Liam’s arms were wrapped around her so tightly it was a wonder the girl could breathe.
“I see,” Noah said.
She felt his eyes on her hands as she shuffled and, for the first time in ages, she bungled the movement. Her cards caught on each other instead of smoothly gliding in and out of the deck as they usually did. She handed the deck to Jamie and instructed him on how to cut and put it back together.
“You ready?” she asked Jamie.
“As I’ll ever be,” he said.
She laid out the three cards in front of Jamie, grinning at the clear message. “Ace of Wands,” she said, pointing to the first card. “That’s the card of new beginnings, especially creative projects. Page of Cups is an interesting card to get in conjunction with the Ace of Wands. In this context, it means there is an attractive younger woman with whom you’ll share an intense sexual connection.”
“Where is this attractive younger woman?” Jamie asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Not here,” Noah grumbled.
Callie bit back a smile, her cheeks warming at Noah’s jealous retort. She tapped the last card, The Moon. “I don’t know, but whoever she is, she’ll be helpful to you in some way—if you can learn to cooperate. And you either already know her or whatever event will bring her into your life has already been set in motion.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to keep my eye out for her,” Jamie said with a wink.
