Page 32 of Charmed, I’m Sure (Witches of Bellevue #1)

I’d been to The Windchime for brunch before, but I’d always opted for the Eggs Benedict. Magnolia, on the other hand, had gone for the Boudin Omelet—something I had never even considered.

“No, I’m alright.”

“Oh, come on, cowboy. Live a little.” Magnolia stabbed the bite she’d just cut with her fork and held it out to me. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, the fork swaying slightly as her hand moved closer to my side of the table.

Challenge accepted, sunshine.

Shock widened her eyes as I wrapped my hand around hers and guided the fork to my lips.

Her mouth popped open in a surprised little o as I held her gaze and took the bite.

Flavor exploded on my tongue—creamy cheese, spicy sausage and rice, peppers, and seasoning, the pillowy texture of the eggs.

Who would have thought eggs, boudin, and pepper jack cheese would work so well together?

Magnolia and the chef apparently, but who’s keeping track?

A knowing smile spread across her lips as she watched me chew, her brows rising as she asked, “It’s good, right?” Swallowing, I reached for her plate, but she swatted my hand away. “Dream on, cowboy. This is mine.”

“Oh, come on!”

“Nope. Sorry, big boy. Maybe next time you’ll listen to the person with superior culinary knowledge.” She gave me a saucy smile as her fork slipped between her lips, doing a little happy wiggle in her chair.

The rest of our meal passed with laughter and easy conversation. The more time I spent with her away from Bellevue, the more her walls came down, and the smiles she gave me came easier.

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked, snatching the bill from the tabletop and cutting her a disapproving glance when her hand hovered above it.

She narrowed her eyes at me, but there was an upward tilt to her lips as she said, “Didn’t you just?”

“Hardy, har, har.”

I watched as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin and placed it on the table, folding her hands beneath her chin as she looked at me expectantly.

“What’s the connection between your family and the town?”

Her lips turned inward as she adjusted in her seat. “What do you mean?”

“Well, your last name is Bellevue—”

“It is.”

“And we live in Bellevue—”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” she sniped, her gaze shifting out the window as her arms crossed defensively on the table.

Closing the bill fold, I set it on the edge of the table for our waitress to grab, then reached across to take her hand. “Hey.” When her eyes cut to me, they were wary. Something about this subject made her uncomfortable. “We don’t have to talk about it, Mags. I was just curious.”

She watched as I rubbed my thumb across the back of her wrist, blowing out a breath through her nose.

Her eyes closed briefly before finding mine again.

“It’s not that. It’s just—” Her gaze shifted back down to where my hand wrapped around her wrist. “It’s the reason everyone in town calls us witches. ”

I sat in silence, letting her work through whatever was running through her mind, but I couldn’t deny the anxiety curdling in my stomach as the seconds ticked by.

“My family came here from England a long, long, long time ago and settled around Salem. Generations came and went as the colonies grew around them. Throughout those years, they were known for their use of herbs and natural remedies. But when people began accusing women of being witches for doing precisely that, they fled to the South and settled here. The town of Bellevue was already established, and my however-many-great grandmother married into the founding family. Since then, we’ve just kept the name—regardless of marriage. ”

Her gaze grew distant as she spoke, as if she were reliving a history drilled into her brain her whole life, and for all I knew, it might have been.

“My family never stopped doing what they did best, but as the accusations of witches traveled further South, the name was once again assigned to the women in my family. Only down here, they were revered for their abilities… until they weren’t.”

She paused when the waitress came by the table to grab the bill, then began again once she walked away.

“To this day, it doesn’t matter what my aunt, my sisters, or I do. That brand has been attached to our family name. It’s one of the reasons my mom moved out of Bellevue as soon as she could and just… never came back.”

Even though she wasn’t looking at me, I didn’t miss the tears she blinked away as she cleared her throat and continued.

“Anyway, depending on who you ask, it’s either a miracle or a curse. Unfortunately for me, ‘curse’ seems to be the favored term.”

“Mags, I’m so—”

“Please don’t. I don’t want your pity. I just want you to understand why I’m so hesitant about this.

That town will never accept me or my family as we are.

All they see is what they want to see, and screw the people affected by it.

” There was a silver sheen to her eyes as they met mine, and it gutted me.

When the waitress returned with my card, I signed the receipt and stood, extending my hand.

Mags gave me a hesitant smile as she slipped her hand into mine, and I pulled her to her feet and into my embrace.

I didn’t care that we were in the middle of a restaurant, didn’t care that countless eyes turned our way.

Lifting her face to mine, I gently swiped my thumb along her cheekbone. “I see you, Magnolia Bellevue. I see your kind and fierce heart. I see your stubborn determination and the love you hold for those around you. You’re so much more than those town clowns give you credit for.”

Before she had a chance to argue, I pressed my lips lightly against hers. When I pulled away, her eyes were softer than I’d ever seen them, and it made my heart skip. “Come on, let’s walk around a bit before we have to head back home.”

A sea of purple and gold flowed around us, the warring music from tailgates blaring around campus as we walked through the throngs of people. None of that mattered, though, not when Magnolia clung to my arm, one hand wrapped in mine as the other gripped my bicep.

We meandered in and out of shops, stopped to grab tea from a food truck, and soaked in the electric atmosphere around us. I hadn’t been home during football season in years, let alone on campus during a home game, and just being around all the hype sent adrenaline coursing through my veins.

A slight tug on my arm had me following Magnolia into a store called Geaux Time, my eyes drifting appreciatively down her frame before snapping back up.

“Hey, y’all. Welcome in. Let me know if I can help with anything,” the sales clerk hollered.

“Thanks,” Mags replied cheerily as she dragged me across the small store.

I followed like a lost puppy as she wove her way through the racks until a small squeal erupted, and she released my hand. Picking up a baseball cap from a table, she placed it on her head and turned back toward me. “What do you think?”

She struck a pose, her head turning from side to side to give me the full effect, and all I could do was smile. She looked downright edible. How something as simple as a baseball cap could flip a switch and send blood rushing south, I had no idea, but it did, and I sure as hell wasn’t complaining.

Okay, I was complaining a little because, once again, there was nowhere to make good on the promises we’d been dancing around whenever we were together.

Something in my expression must have shifted because she straightened and sauntered the few feet between us, running her hands up my chest. “Like it?”

“You have no idea, sunshine.” My voice came out gravelly even to my own ears.

She pushed up onto her toes and whispered, “How’s house hunting going?”

Fuck me sideways. My eyes rolled back, and I had to suppress a groan as she nipped lightly at my ear, then sank back to her heels.

“I’m going to get it.” She tapped me twice on my pec, then walked toward the checkout.

Escrow was going to be the death of me… or my balls. Probably both. Dragging in a ragged breath, I thought of things that could quell the swelling in my pants.

Colonoscopies.

Severed fingers.

Mom.

It helped—until it didn’t. When I turned around, Magnolia was leaning on the counter, her pert ass sticking out and just begging to be slapped.

She was chatting animatedly with the sales clerk as the woman scanned the tag and then cut it off.

But before Magnolia could pull her wallet from her bag, I slapped my card down on the counter and leaned down until my lips were next to her ear.

“Don’t argue, cher. Let me buy the damn hat.

” When she opened her mouth to protest, I whispered so low that only she could hear, “It’s more for me than it is for you anyway. ”

My lips brushed against her cheek as I pressed my hips into hers, and her sharp inhale was music to my ears. But apparently, two could play that game because I had to suppress a groan when she pushed her hips back.

The sales clerk—Alyssa, if her tag was correct—didn’t seem to notice the rise in tension. She swiped my card, handed it back to me, then handed Magnolia her hat with a cheerful smile and a chirpy, “Y’all come back and see us.”

Wrapping my arm around Magnolia’s waist, I slipped my hand into her back pocket as we walked toward the door. Once we were outside, I pulled us out of the flow of foot traffic and pried the hat from her grasp.

“Hey!” she protested, reaching out to steal it back.

I placed the cap on her head, then tugged her toward me, my arms encircling her waist, hands slipping back into her pockets as her arms wrapped around my neck. “Ya know, I’m starting to understand the hat appeal.”

She giggled and pushed up on her toes to press her lips against mine.

It was short and sweet, but her whole demeanor shifted when we pulled apart.

All the lightness that had surrounded her died away like someone snuffing out a candle.

Her eyes grew wide, and she jolted out of my grip, pulling the cap further down on her brow.

What the fuck?

“Mags?”

I watched the color drain from her face as her eyes locked onto something across the street. With one word, one name, every wall I’d torn down was built back up.

“Sophie.”