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Sarah spoke slowly. “I. Am. Loved.You see, your mother told me she was having a hard time connecting with her husband after a recent bout of illness. I never asked what was wrong, but it was clear she was lacking in her own self-love. She simply needed a reminder to love herself—because if you don’t love yourself first, how can you let others love you?”
Taking a few more steps away, Matt shook his head. “That’s all it was?”
Folding her arms across her chest again, Sarah glared at him. “I believe that in all of us is the power to connect with the earth and the stars. I have a gift, and I use it to help others find that power. Whether you believe in it or not, I’m not here to play God. I’m here to help those who seek my help. If you don’t like the way I do it, then you don’t have to partake in it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a customer.”
Matt glanced around the store, but no one besides me and Lucas were standing there. I wasn’t even sure Matt saw us. He looked so confused, almost conflicted. There was something in his eyes, but I couldn’t read it, which was odd. I was usually good at reading people.
Five seconds later, the bell above the door rang, and without taking her eyes off of Matt, Sarah said, “Good afternoon, Lori!”
Turning to follow Sarah as she approached Lori, Matt looked even more dazed and confused.
“Hello, Sarah. Do you have any of that amazing cream Lucy makes for eczema? It works better than anything I’ve tried before.”
Sarah smiled at Lori and led her away from Matt to the other side of the store. Matt shook his head, glanced around the store, and then made his way to the front door and quietly slipped out. I turned to see Sarah watching him make his escape. As soon as the door to the shop closed, she visibly relaxed.
Lucas took my elbow and led us back to the office. I shut the door then leaned against it while Lucas gave me a questioning look.
“Did you see Matt? He almost looked…”
“Confused?”
Lucas shook his head to correct himself. “No. He almost looked as if he’d had a revelation of some sort.”
I drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “The only thing I noticed was how the two of them looked at one another. For a hot second, I swore they were about to kiss!”
Lucas’s brows shot up. “That would interesting.”
Smiling, I agreed, “It most certainly would be.”
“Oh no, Hollie. No. I am not going to let you put a spell on Matt or Sarah.”
Putting my hand to my chest as if hurt by his words, I fought back a smile. “Me? I would never do such a thing!”
He rolled his eyes. “Right. And I’m a witch.”
I couldn’t help but grin.
Lucas
A week since we’d gotten back from Ireland, Hollie and I stood in the middle of the living room of a house we were looking at. We had both decided to sell our places and buy something big enough to raise a family in, but for the time being, we were living at Hollie’s house.
Finding a single-family home in Salem big enough to even think about raising more than two kids in was a task in and of itself.
“Lucas, this place is amazing!” Hollie said, making a turn in the living room for the third time.
Smiling, I nodded.
“Now, you’re in the heart of historic Salem,” our real estate agent said, “so that’s why the price is higher. But this Queen Anne single is so precious that I had to show it to you both.”
“JulieAnne, I’m so glad you did! I want to see more!” Hollie exclaimed.
“Let me give you the run-down. The house was built in 1890, and it has four bedrooms, two full baths and two half baths. There’s an eat-kitchen, a large family room, and a spacious dining room for hosting dinners. There’s also a formal living room, two fireplaces, and the house has the original hardwood floors throughout. It even has a seasonal screened-in porch and a beautiful fenced-in yard—which, I might add, is a rare find this close to downtown Salem.”
“You said there was more parking besides the two-car garage?” I asked.
JulieAnne nodded. “Two additional spaces in the driveway, so you have enough parking for a total of four cars.”
“It’s such a great location, and it ticks off all the things we wanted, besides the three full baths,” Hollie said as she looked at me with anticipation in her eyes.
