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Prologue
Genevieve
With the book next to me on the bench long forgotten, I watch an adorable little girl—probably five or six, wearing a pale-pink frilly dress that matches the bows tied around two poofy buns in her hair—with a smile on my face.
For the last ten minutes, she’s sat on the edge of the sandbox the other kids are playing in, with a stick in her hand and a mask of concentration on her cute little face, as she placed a magical spell on a rock she found in the grass. I’m not close enough to hear the words she’s been saying, but she’s had a very determined look on her face each time she’s tapped the stone with the tip of the stick.
“Indigo, it’s time to go,” a woman calls, and I look to my right as a stunning woman with skin so dark it seems to glow with hues of gold walks toward the little girl, the skirt flowing around her ankles making it seem like she’s floating.
“Coming, Mommy.” Indigo smiles at her mother. Then, with her little tongue poking out from between her lips, she taps the stone with the stick three times in a row, then picks it up and looks around. Curious about what she’s up to, I watch her scan the park. Then her eyes hit mine, and she stands and straightens out the frills of her dress before she begins skipping in my direction.
“Hi.” She holds her hands behind her back as she shifts on her feet, and I bite back a laugh.
“Hi.”
“I’m Indigo. What’s your name?”
“Genevieve.”
“I like that name.”
“I like your name too,” I tell her, and she pulls out the rock from behind her back.
“This is for you.”
“Is it?” I take the odd, almost heart-shaped rock, which is gray but seems to glitter in the light shining down on us from between the leaves of the trees we are sitting under.
“It has magic,” she whispers, and I take my focus off the rock to look at her.
“What kind of magic?” I whisper back.
“Love magic.”
“Love magic?” I smile, and she nods.
“It will help you find your true love.”
“Wow.” I run my thumb over the rough surface of the stone. “What if I’ve already found my true love?” I ask, as my engagement ring sparkles on my finger.
“It will know.” She shrugs, then looks to her mom when she calls her name again. “I have to go.”
“It was nice meeting you.” I smile.
“You too.” She starts to skip away, tossing the stick she was using as a wand into the grass. “I hope you find your prince.”
Laughing, I shake my head, then check the time on my watch and see that I have about thirty minutes to get home to surprise Johnathan for his birthday. I begin to throw the stone into the sandbox, but instead I place it inside my purse. After gathering up my things, I head home, having no idea that my whole life is going to change.
Chapter 1:
Welcome Home
Genevieve
I have never been one to second-guess my decisions, but as the sign a few hundred yards up the highway comes into view, I start to question every decision I’ve made in the last year.
Like ending things with Johnathan after I found out that he was cheating. Like quitting my job because we worked for the same firm and I couldn’t stand seeing his stupid face every day. And like telling him that I would keep the apartment we once shared. An apartment I knew I couldn’t afford on my own, but really couldn’t afford on my own after I quit my job and struggled to find another real estate office to work for that he wasn’t connected to in some way or another.
And my final decision, moving home to my parents’ after my previous choices left me single, jobless, and broke.
