Page 14 of Charmed, I’m Sure (Witches of Bellevue #1)

“Would you if it were Adam?” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth, the hurt on my sister’s face striking like a knife to the heart. “Maddie, I—”

“It’s fine.” She cleared her throat, wiped her hands on her joggers, and stood, heading for the door.

Pausing at the threshold, her sigh was audible even from across the room.

“Two things, Mags,” she said, looking back at me.

“One: our scenarios are completely different, and you know that. Two,” a small smile graced her lips but didn’t reach her eyes, “let your heart lead for once, okay?”

“Okay. But Maddie?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

Nodding sagely, she said, “Text me if you need a family emergency, okay?”

Anytime my sisters or I had a date or went out with friends and needed an excuse to leave, we’d text a random phrase to each other.

Within minutes, our phones would ring, giving us an out.

It never mattered what time it was, what we were doing, or if we were in a fight. We always had that—each other.

I chuckled lightly and asked, “What’s the code phrase this time?”

Her brows drew together for a moment before she rolled her lips inward, mischief lighting her eyes. “Inconceivable.”

“Clearly, the only logical option,” I said with a laugh.

Taylor

I’d been waiting outside for approximately thirty minutes when the teal-blue door swung open, and my breath lodged itself in my throat.

Mags, covered in frosting and flour, was adorable, but the woman walking down the porch steps was something else entirely.

Black jeans hugged her curves and cinched her waist. Delicate lace peeked out from her off-the-shoulder dark green sweater, and her hair was twisted into a bun atop her head.

Every inch of her radiated comfort and an effortless sensuality that most women worked far too hard to achieve.

She was stunning, and how I’d missed that all those years ago was beyond me.

Scrambling from the front of the car to the passenger-side door, I somehow managed a simple, “Hi,” as I pulled it open.

“Hi, yourself,” she replied, sliding into my Bronco. Her eyes widened as she looked around, and I closed the door behind her.

Deep breaths, Taylor. It’s just house shopping… with a gorgeous girl… who probably still hates your guts and is helping you out of pity.

When I slid into my seat, her eyes locked onto me. “So, what’s the plan? Do you have a list of properties or open houses?”

“I, uh… just thought we’d drive around and see what we could find?”

“You’re joking, right?” she deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest.

A nervous laugh slipped from my lips as I pushed the ignition button. “My realtor should be sending me a list of properties, but it hasn’t come through yet.”

“Ah.” She chuckled as she buckled her seatbelt. “Someone’s super prepared.” Mirth sparked in her eyes as her lips curved into a delicate smile.

Thankfully, the email from my realtor pinged on my phone just as I pulled out of her driveway and onto the main road.

“You mind checking that for me?” I asked, glancing her way before returning my focus to the road.

“You want me to check your phone?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Uh, maybe because you barely know me?”

‘I know what your body feels like beneath my hands and what your lips taste like. I know the sounds you make when I kiss your neck,’ was what I wanted to say, but now was not the time or place—regardless of how much I wanted to relive our Halloween encounter.

Instead, I opted for something simpler… and a lot less intimate.

“Magnolia, it’s just an email. But feel free to snoop if that’s what you want to do. ”

Her eyes widened, like saucers, as she hesitantly grabbed my phone from the dashboard. “You’re sure about this?”

“Yes, Mags. Just click the first link so the address loads into the GPS.”

Quirking a single brow, she did as I instructed, then promptly placed the phone back in its holder.

“What? No snooping?” I chuckled.

“I prefer to get to know people organically, thank you very much,” she replied matter-of-factly, pulling one leg up into the seat and resting it against the door.

Silence filled the cab as Magnolia stared out the window, watching the trees roll by.

Gone was the levity and joking; in its place was a heavy awkwardness that I didn’t know how to dispel.

The radio played faintly in the background, Jon Pardi’s Heartbreak on the Dance Floor filling the spaces where I’d hoped conversation would thrive.

It wasn’t her fault. I knew this would be awkward or weird; I just hadn’t expected complete silence and didn’t know where to start.

As we pulled into the first driveway, Magnolia scoffed into her palm, her lips turning inward as she dropped her hand back to her lap.

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as I glanced her way.

“This is an apartment, Taylor. I thought you said no apartments?”

“It’s technically a townhome.”

Her deadpan expression left no room for argument, but I pushed anyway. “Would you just get out of the car?”

The first place had been a bust right from the start because there was a yard—if you could even call it that—no bigger than a postage stamp.

We didn’t even make it out of the car at the second stop because it was, indeed, an apartment complex.

By the third, I was questioning why I wanted to buy a house in the first place.

Evidently no longer trusting the listings my realtor had sent me, Magnolia pulled my phone from its holder and began scrolling through random listings to find something she deemed “appropriate.”

“Oh! This one is cute!” she exclaimed, turning the screen my way.

“It looks a little small, don’t you think?”

Pulling the phone away, she scrolled through the pictures. “Unless you have a wife and kids I don’t know about, I think it’s a good size.” She shot me a sideways glance, a brow arched. “You don’t, do you? Because this would be hella awkward if you did.”

“No, Magnolia. I don’t have some secret family stashed away in another state,” I chuckled.

“Okay, good.”

“Why, exactly, is that a good thing?” I asked, braking at a stop sign, a smirk tugging at my lips as hers rolled inward.

“Because,” she drew out the word, a faint pink coloring her cheeks, “I’m no homewrecker, Taylor Hallows.”

“This would have to be a date for you to be a homewrecker, Mags. Is this a date?” I couldn’t help the smile that crept onto my lips as her mouth popped open and then promptly closed.

“So, this house has three bedrooms and two and a half baths…” I shook my head as she ignored the question and rattled off the key items on the listing. When she finally finished, her big blue eyes landed on mine. “Do you want to go see it?”

“Sure.”