Chapter 12 #2
‘Well, you haven’t told me what’s for dinner yet. That might score some more points.’
‘How do hot dogs sound? With freshly baked rolls, and homemade onion marmalade.’
‘Delicious.’
‘But not number one spot worthy?’ he teased.
‘Depends. Did you bring dessert?’
‘What sort of baking witch would I be if I didn’t? What would orange s’mores brownies cooked in the fire embers score me?’
‘I’d say at least top three.’ Her eyes flicked up to his and he felt a rush of emotion that warmed him far more thoroughly than the flames glowing around them.
‘This really is wonderful, Aiden.’ She shuffled closer to him, and he lifted his arm so she could snuggle against him, not caring that it would make it more difficult to cook.
The way she smiled at him, and how she felt pressed against him made it completely worth any awkwardness.
‘I’m sorry I forgot spoons,’ Aiden apologised again.
‘Doesn’t matter.’ Mia tossed the hot orange back and forth between her fingers, trying not to burn herself as she peeled the rind back to uncover the brownie cooked inside the whole skin.
It was too hot to eat, but smelled too good to resist. ‘Oh my God. This might be the best thing I’ve ever tasted! ’
Aiden chuckled as he watched her.
‘Stop looking at me,’ she tried to complain around the very unctuous, wonderfully gooey brownie, but the words were blurred by deliciousness and she had to swallow a couple of times.
‘There’s no way to eat this elegantly or prettily, so you’re just going to have to deal with it and accept the blame when I end up with chocolate everywhere. ’
‘Because I forgot utensils?’
‘Because you made something so delicious that I just don’t care how messy it is! This… the fire, the food, the jars… it’s all amazing. I quite like this magical little world you’ve created.’
‘Shame we can’t stay here.’
‘How long will your spell jars last?’
‘Not sure. I only tested them for three hours and it’s already been longer than that,’ Aiden mused as he sucked brownie off his thumb, and Mia felt a shiver of delight remembering how it felt when he’d paid that sort of attention to her skin.
He noticed and squeezed her briefly against his side.
‘It is getting colder. I guess I should douse all this and take you home.’
Mia reached over and checked his watch. ‘No wonder, it’s gone ten.’
‘Oops. I should probably apologise for that, but I’d be lying. I’m not sorry for a moment of this evening.’
‘Me neither.’ Mia sighed happily, wanting to stretch out the last few moments of the most perfect first date – or possibly any date – she’d ever been on.
She watched as he stood, a bit reluctantly, and set about putting out the fires, leaving the brightest jar still burning as Mia started to clear up the rest. She grinned a few minutes later when Aiden held out the borrowed jacket and slid it up her arms.
It wasn’t until they stepped out from under the willow tree that she spotted the glowing mist hanging just above the water. ‘Do you see that?’
‘Yeah.’ He murmured a word she didn’t understand, but still felt tingle against her skin, and the light from the jar dimmed. Her hand automatically found his. As his fingers tightened around hers, the mist brightened, taking on more colours at the same time.
Slowly, Mia pulled her hand back and stepped away, watching as the light dimmed again.
‘You OK?’
‘Yeah. Just testing a theory.’
‘Want to tell me?’
She reached for him and laughed as the glow brightened again. ‘I was right. You are the magic. I see it more clearly when I’m holding your hand.’
‘Come here.’ He put the spell jar down and folded his arms around her waist, his chest warm against her back. ‘Any different?’
‘Yes.’ Mia sighed, her eyes wide. The colours were brighter, and when she looked around she could see shimmers of it glistening over the trees and tiny bubbles floating through the air like fireflies. ‘It’s everywhere. What is it?’
‘Living magic,’ Aiden murmured back, too awed to speak too loudly. ‘I’ve seen it before, but not so brightly. Maybe it’s growing in strength because we’re nearer Samhain: that’s when the veil between our world and the other world is thinnest. Or maybe it’s you.’
‘It’s so beautiful.’
‘Yeah.’
They stayed there, watching the living magic as it swirled and shimmered, talking softly, until she started to shiver.
‘We should go.’ Aiden reluctantly stepped away, and Mia had to fight the urge to complain as the glow dimmed again and the world became a little bit less magical.
Still, another ride on his bike, with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, wasn’t exactly a hardship.
And this time, she knew what to expect so the nervous butterflies from earlier gave way to an excited fizz as she slid her arms around his waist. She took one last look towards the glowing, shimmering woods and water.
‘Ready, Princess?’ He twisted to look at her, then tapped her helmet. ‘As gorgeous as your eyes are, let’s protect them. Visor down. You do not want to hit a patch of mosquitoes at forty or fifty miles an hour with that up.’
Mia grimaced at the thought and flipped the curved plastic down – but not before one last look. She tightened her grip on his waist, and enjoyed how warm and solid he felt – even through the leather. She relaxed as the bike vibrated and chugged beneath her, and smoothly ate up the miles.
It felt way too soon to her when Aiden brought the bike to a stop and braced it so she could get off safely. She handed him back the gear he’d loaned her bit by bit as he stashed it back into bags.
It wasn’t especially warm without the jacket, so Mia headed up the garden path to open her front door. She was just about to step inside when Aiden caught her wrist gently.
‘Spare me a minute so I can say goodnight to you properly?’
‘You’re not coming in?’
‘On a first date? What sort of dreadful man whore do you think I am?’ She loved the way his eyes sparkled, catching the light from her hallway.
‘Rumour has it you’re trying to reform.’ She smiled at him. ‘And it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve come in.’