“Your turn, big brother,” Liv said, smirking, as Jamie got to his feet and moved away to the other side of the cabana.
“Hard pass,” Noah said.
“Surely Calandria’s read your cards before now?” Callie’s mother lowered her sunglasses to cast an assessing look at Noah and her daughter. Her mother had never been fond of Callie’s tendency to read other people’s cards wherever they went. But her mother was right—there was no plausible way that Callie and Noah were dating and she didn’t regularly read his cards. She read everyone’s cards.
“It’s okay, Mom. Not everyone likes having a reading in front of other people. I’ll just do one for Noah later in private, like we usually do,” Callie lied.
“I think you should do it now,” Min said, her lips spreading into a grin. “It’s only fair. The rest of us already did.” Liam planted a kiss on the place where Min’s shoulder met her neck, his lips pressed together to suppress his smile.
“I agree,” Mrs. Van Aller said. “Don’t be a party pooper.”
Callie saw the moment Noah caved with a twitch of his lip. He stuck his bottle of lemonade in the sand at his feet and braced his elbows on his knees, leaning in closer. His eyes danced, his eyebrow quirking up. “Let it never be said that I pooped on any party. Do your worst, Calico.”
She held his eyes, the nickname he’d given her six years ago—and rarely used since—seeping into her skin, making her shiny and new.
“You need to ask a question,” Liv prompted.
“What?”
“A question. Something you’d like to know.”
“Yes, I know what a question is.” Noah shot his sister a long-suffering look. “I don’t have a question.”
Liv rolled her eyes. “Right. Because you already know everything?”
“What should I ask about then?”
“Your relationship, of course,” Mrs. Van Aller chimed in. Callie’s hands stilled mid-shuffle.
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Mom.” Noah watched Callie with a wariness that set her teeth on edge.
“That’s a marvelous idea, Shira!” Callie’s mom said, sitting up straighter in her lounger. “This is, after all, such a new development. Perhaps the cards can shed some light on your future together.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in the cards,” Callie said.
“It doesn’t matter whatIbelieve, darling,” her mother said. “It’s about whatyoubelieve.”
“It’s Noah’s reading,” Callie insisted. “He has to decide on the question.”
She locked eyes with Noah for a moment, trying to read his expression, and found she was unable to. After several long seconds, he gave a slight nod of his head. “Our relationship then.”
Callie held his gaze as she tapped the deck, clearing the energy from the last reading. Then she handed the cards to Noah and talked him through shuffling and cutting the deck. When he handed the cards back to her, his fingers lingered against her hand—or did she imagine that?Focus, Callie.
For the others, Callie had done a simple three card spread, but for a relationship reading, she preferred five cards. Still a fairly basic reading, the five-card spread was her go-to for quick guidance on matters of the heart.
As she set the last card down, her heart fluttered in her throat. She scanned the cards, then glanced at Noah. He looked at her expectantly, and she forced her gaze back to the five images arranged in front of her.
“Well? What does it say?” Liv asked.
Callie pointed to the first card on the left. “This is you,” she told Noah, “The Knight of Cups. He’s a dreamer, a romantic at heart, but…he’s still learning. He knows how to love—”
“Islovea euphemism?” Liam asked. Callie ignored him, but heat rushed to her cheeks.
“—but he doesn’t yet know how to be a partner. It’s a card that says you need to examine how you really feel, not how you think youshouldfeel. What’s really deep down in your heart.”
“Always good advice,” Mrs. Van Aller said.
“And this card,” Callie said, moving on to the card on the far right, before she could let her own thoughts dwell on what Noah might feel deep down, “this one represents the other person in the relationship.”
