The Pirate Episode
Page 14
Cars splashed past her and headlights reflected off the rainwater pooling on the street. She thought she heard someone call her name. Turning, she saw men and women in business suits thronging the sidewalks, and children in their brightly colored school uniforms walking with their moms and nannies. Cami was sure not one of them would be auditioning for a post at one of the world’s premiere music schools, and the knowledge that she was doing something only a few could do warmed her. She didn’t see anyone she knew.
Then she saw Joel. He looked the same, but different. He was tanned, weathered, thinner, and older. He caught her eye and waved as he weaved through a cluster of children in blue and white school uniforms. He passed by a pair of nuns, his dark hair contrasting sharply with their white habits. Her heart began to race; until that moment, she’d thought she’d never see him again. He started to run through the crowd, and dodged a woman with a standard poodle.
Cami’s light turned green, and everyone around her moved to cross the busy intersection. Cami waited for Joel to catch up with her. She laughed when he bumped into a delivery boy on a bike. The boy pushed Joel and Joel held up his hands in surrender and apology. He caught her eye and grinned.
Seconds later, Joel caught Cami in his arms. She breathed in his scent, ran her hands across his back and tried to capture every fleeting sensation of the moment. Joel kissed her mouth, his hand pushing through her hair.
When he pulled away, she cupped his face. “I thought I’d never see you again. Where’ve you been?”
“The Fountain of Youth.”
“You found it?”
He nodded.
“Are you going to use it to make people immortal?”
“I don’t think it works like that.” His smile dimmed. “I’ve seen it in practice. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ll tell you about it later, but right now I want to hear about you.” He ran his hands up and down her arms as if assuring himself she was really there.
“My grandmother told me you were accepted to St. Martine’s. That’s great. How’s it going?”
“Good. Better than good, actually.”
“Are you on your way to class?”
“Hmm, no.”
“Well, where are you going?”
Cami shrugged. “Wherever you’re going.”
He grinned. “Want to go in search of the twenty-first century Fountain of Youth?”
“I thought you said it doesn’t work.”
“What I meant was I don’t think it can save a person’s life if it’s their time to die. It talks about that in the Bible, how every man’s time is allotted.”
“You’ve been reading the Bible?” Surprise tinted her voice.
“I’ve had a lot of time on my hands. Anyway, back to the Fountain of Youth. Turns out the water makes an amazing skin lotion.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to find it again?”
He shrugged and his smile deepened. “Want to help me? It will mean tramping through jungles, confronting alligators, and sea turtles.”
“You know I do. Even if it means digging under shopping malls.”
Joel pulled her in for another kiss. “I’ve been waiting to do that for fifteen years.”
The light changed, and once again the people standing on the curb surged around them to cross the busy street. Joel scooped her up, carrying her as if she were a babe in his arms. “Where do you really want to go, Mrs. Cami Flage?”
Cami thought of the position at St. Marie’s. Suddenly, it sounded boring and predictable. “I just want to be with you.”
Setting her down on the sidewalk, he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers. “And I want to be with you, but…”
“But?” She stepped away from him, stung and surprised.
“You can’t give up on everything you worked for just to be with me.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll stay with you until your schooling is finished.”
“Will you go with me to Paris?”
He grinned. “Absolutely. I’d go with you anywhere. The Fountain of Youth can wait. It’s been there for a long time. Presumably, it will be there for a long time in the future.”
“The future…” Cami smiled.
“My future is you,” Joel said, right before he drew her in for another kiss.
Thanks so much for spending time with Cami and Joel in the eighteenth-century. If you are interested in my other books, I always offer a free book in exchange for an honest, Amazon review. Just post the review and send the link to kristyswords@yahoo.com
Other Books by Kristy Tate
Witch Ways Series
Witch Ways Every day each of us must decide whether or not to be a witch, for Evie Marston that decision is becoming increasingly difficult.
Witch Winter
The Witching Well Series
The Highwayman Incident When Celia travels to Regency England via the water from the witching well, only her nemesis , Jason West, can save her.
The Cowboy Encounter
The Pirate Episode
The Beyond Series
Beyond the Fortuneteller’s Tent Petra walks into the fortuneteller’s tent at the Renaissance fair and walks out into Elizabethan England where she meets and falls in love with Emory Ravenswood.
Beyond the Hollow
Beyond the Pale
Rose Arbor Books
Contemporary romance
A Ghost of a Second Chance
The Rhyme’s Library
Losing Penny
Love at the Apple Blossom Inn
The Seattle Fire
Historical Romance
Stealing Mercy
Rescuing Rita
Other
Hailey’s Comments
A Light at the Christmas Café
Stuck With You