Third Time's a Charm

by Michelle M. Pillow

  “Most definitely,” he answered, still breathless. “I’m not sure what I said or did, but if you could please tell me so I can repeat it in the future, that’d be great. Until you showed up tonight, I wasn’t even sure you liked me.”

  “Glad I could clear that up for you,” she teased. “Maybe you can clear something up for me?”

  “What’s that?”

  “When you said you found one, was it really only one?” Vivien grinned and rolled onto her side to better look at him. “Or am I spending the night so we can do that again?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Vivien knew she wasn’t in her own bed before she opened her eyes. It didn’t feel like her mattress or her sheets. She felt a leg stir, and a muscular calf bumped into hers. A hand rested next to her naked hip, the fingers unmoving. The heat of his body and the gentle pressure of his touch against her skin focused her attention.

  Troy.

  She had been tipsy when she came over, but not so much that she’d blame anything on the liquor. This was her decision, and one she did not regret. She shifted her hip so that it pressed more fully into his hand. His fingers twitched against her.

  Vivien smiled. This kind of intimacy was new, and in many ways, better than sex—and she enjoyed sex. For all her experiences in life, waking up with a man hadn’t happened often outside of her two marriages. That meant something.

  What was it that Heather had said to her?

  “You are allowed to love more than one person in your life. You can have two great loves. You can have three, or four, or a dozen. And in doing so, you’re not betraying those who came before. Love isn’t like that. You don’t get a finite amount of it.”

  Is that what this was? Love? It felt like it to her.

  To most people, to say they were in love after such a brief period would be insanity. Vivien wasn’t most people. Whereas others were mired in self-doubt, she trusted her feelings—usually. She wasn’t perfect. She’d made mistakes and terrible decisions. Rex proved that. But she also had the benefit of seeing parts of the bigger picture that were often missed.

  Vivien did not fall in love easily. The torch she carried for Sam proved that. Twenty years was a long time. But, before now, if she hadn’t met the right person, the one who shook her to the core, then her belief that there was only Sam had never been challenged.

  She studied Troy as he slept next to her. His heavy breath came from his parted lips.

  “You are allowed to love more than one person in your life.”

  Another memory countered Heather’s words.

  “Save your heart for me. It’s mine.”

  Vivien suppressed a yawn. It was way too early in the morning for all this reflection.

  Coffee. She needed coffee.

  She eased off the bed, careful not to jar Troy awake. She gathered her clothes off the floor and took them to the hallway where she dressed, except for her shoes, which she carried.

  Her tour of the home had been limited the evening before, but she had been in the house when there had been previous tenants. She knew where the rooms were located.

  “If I was coffee, where would I hide?” she whispered as she entered Troy’s kitchen. Seeing a coffee pot on the countertop, she started for it.

  “Viv?”

  The word was soft. She smiled as she turned to answer Troy. “Hey, I was just…”

  He wasn’t there.

  “Troy?” She walked to the doorway and made her way to the living room. The house was quiet.

  Maybe she’d imagined it.

  She turned to go back to the coffee pot.

  “Viv.”

  The sound came from directly behind her. Her hand tingled from the ring on her forefinger. She slowly turned.

  The living room was empty. The laptop on his coffee table was closed. The television was off.

  She moved toward the door, glancing at the window to see if someone was outside.

  “Viv.”

  The sound was louder than before and came from the couch.

  She froze, her eyes widening as she turned to look. Sam sat on the couch. His transparent body had filled in, and he was more substantial than before. He didn’t look like a ghost, at least none of the versions she’d seen. The difference was subtle, but it was there.

  He lifted his hand, smiling.

  “Sam? How?”

  “Viv.” The word formed by his lips didn’t move. The image of him blipped like the skip of an old movie reel that had been sliced and repaired. He again lifted his hand in the same gesture, smiling.

  The moment felt familiar as if this were some memory she projected onto Troy’s furniture. Was this what a mental break felt like?

  She moved closer to him, lifting her hand as she reached to touch him. “Sam?”

  “Viv.” The image blipped, and he repeated the same actions.

  “What is this?” she asked, sitting next to him on the couch. She let her hand hover near his face but was afraid to make contact.

  “Viv.” He reset himself and smiled toward where she had been standing moments before.

  “I don’t…” She frowned. “I’m not doing anything wrong. This is my subconscious mind working out some weird stress and guilt, but I know logically I have no reason to feel guilty.”

  “Viv.” Sam waved and smiled at nothing.

  “You look so young,” she said. “When I think about you, I always forget just how young we were.”

  “Viv.”

  “This isn’t real.” Vivien finally got up the nerve to touch the figure. Energy poured out of her ring finger the moment she made contact. She tried to pull away, but it was too late.

  Sam dropped his hand and turned to look at her. Awareness filled his eyes. She became frozen in place.

  “Hey, baby.” He grinned. “Want to go down to the beach today?”

  Vivien shook her head in denial. The flow of energy built in her fingertips until she felt the warmth of flesh. His face became solid.

  “What’s the matter, Viv? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Your super senses activating again?” She’d forgotten the exact tone of his voice, and that he’d called her psychic abilities “super senses” like it was some kind of superhuman power.

  “You can’t be here, Sam. You have to go.” Vivien glanced toward Troy’s bedroom, not wanting to wake him. How could she explain this? “We said goodbye. I should never have tried to bring you back to me. I wanted to recapture that feeling I had when I was with you. When we were young and stupid and so in love. I know what we had is in the past. It was tough to let go. I will always love you. And I know you will always love me. Maybe someday we will see each other again, but this can’t happen now. I can’t go to the beach with you.”

  Sam began humming softly. It wasn’t lost on her that a week ago she would have given anything for this moment, but now she knew she needed to move on. It had been too long. She wasn’t the same girl Sam had fallen in love with. She’d been holding on to a dream.

  “There is only us,” he sang, his voice nearly a whisper. “Only our hearts. I’ll be watching you.”

  “Sam, stop,” Vivien insisted.

  Sam’s image blipped.

  “Viv.” He again waved and smiled at nothing.

  “Vivien? Are you still here?” Troy called, his sleepy voice coming from the direction of his bedroom.

  Sam turned to her and winked. “See you later, baby.”

  “Vivien?” Troy inquired.

  “Save your heart for me. It’s mine.”

  “Uh, yeah, here.” She rubbed her eyes even though tears didn’t fall. Sam’s presence had left her feeling drained.

  Troy appeared in a pair of loose pajama pants and nothing else. Seeing her, he smiled. “Did I catch you trying to sneak out?”

  Vivien stood from the couch. “I was about to get coffee.”

  “I have coffee.” He eagerly went toward the kitchen. She heard him rummaging around.

  Vivien had the impression he wanted to
please her. The psychic intuition wasn’t as detailed as she was used to, but it was more than she had been getting around him.

  She went to the kitchen door, focusing on picking up anything she could. Thoughts of Sam lingered. His appearance confused her. At first he’d looked like a projection of her subconscious, but then he’d spoken, and that felt more like his spirit. Was he real or a manifestation of guilt?

  Troy scooped coffee into a filter. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Strong or very strong or heart-exploding?”

  “Strong and lots of sugar,” she answered, feeling like her blood sugar was low. That was another sign her new magic had been used.

  Troy dumped some of the grounds back into the container to lessen the strength before starting the brewing process. “Would you like eggs?”

  “No, thank you. Just the coffee.”

  Troy pulled mugs out of a cabinet before grabbing a small bag of sugar. “Are you sure? I’m pretty good at cooking eggs. It’s kind of my specialty.”

  “I’m not sure I have time this morning, but maybe next time?”

  At that he smiled. The look reached all the way into his eyes. He came across the kitchen to stand in front of her. “I like that there will be a next time. I’m still not sure how there was a first time. I didn’t think you liked me much, but I’m not complaining. I’m happy to be wrong.”

  “We women are mysterious creatures,” Vivien said. “Don’t try to figure us out.”

  “I wouldn’t dare.” Troy leaned over to kiss the corner of her mouth. His lips stayed closed, and the contact was brief.

  He went to pour the coffee from the pot before it was down brewing. He put one of the coffee mugs under the brewing stream as he filled the other with the pot.

  “There you go,” he said. “Coffee as promised. I’ll let you do the sugar this first time.”

  Vivien joined him by the coffee pot and poured sugar from the bag directly into her cup.

  Troy chuckled. “You do like sugar.”

  “Not normally this much,” she said. “I need a little extra kick today.”

  That was an understatement.

  She took a sip of the coffee and tried not to think of Sam showing up in Troy’s living room. “What are your plans for the day?”

  “Actually, I have to put on a suit and go pretend to be a movie star.” He pulled the coffee mug out from under the hot stream of brewing coffee and replaced it with the pot.

  Vivien laughed. “Tell me you’re not talking about the indie film down at the beach with all those women in bikinis. You’re in that?”

  Troy shook his head. “Wrong kind of suit.” He suddenly chuckled. “And very wrong kind of film. I found a high school kid with a camera, and he’s going to record a series of lectures for me on your favorite author.”

  “John Grisham?”

  “Proust,” Troy corrected.

  “Ah, yes, good ole Proust.” Sarcastically, she added in a playful voice, “I am so sorry I will miss that. If I could be there, I would.”

  “You weren’t invited.” He made a show of drinking his coffee. “I need the students listening to me, not daydreaming about the hot chick at my side hanging on my every word.”

  She gave a dramatic sigh. “I guess I’ll have to go see if the beach movie has any room for a hot chick.”

  Troy gave a small moan and bit his lip. He pretended to look her over. “If you will be running around in a bikini all day, I might have to blow off the Audio-Visual Club’s president and come watch you work instead.”

  “Ah, poor AV club guy.” She started to laugh, but a feeling came over her and she added, “He’ll need this for his college resume. Be sure to give him an excellent letter of recommendation for his file.”

  “I didn’t think to offer that. Good idea. Thanks,” he said. “Now, if I can’t get you to watch me get my Proust on, I will try to tempt you with the beginner’s algebra class tomorrow.”

  “Oh, algebra.” She pretended to shiver. “You sure do know how to show a girl a good time.”

  “Then an introductory segment for beginning psychology, some troubleshooting tutorials on using the new system, and a lesson on beach geography for an Earth science chapter.”

  “And here I thought I lived on the wild side.” She ran her finger along the edge of her mug before tapping her finger on the coffee’s surface to watch it ripple. “I thought you professors usually stuck to one department.”

  “Normally, yes, but I’m special.”

  “Ah, I see. Of course.”

  “What about you? Any crazy plans for the day?”

  “I need to head out of town for work,” she answered. “It will be incredibly boring.”

  “What do you do? I don’t think you ever said. I would have asked about that out on the first date, but we skipped ahead.”

  “I don’t do much,” she said.

  He set his mug down. “Are you really not going to tell me?”

  “I own a few fast food restaurants in the area,” she said.

  “What’s a few?”

  “Twenty-seven.”

  “You own twenty-seven restaurants?” he repeated in disbelief.

  “And some commercial properties,” she admitted. This wasn’t something she typically talked about. It was no one’s business how she made her money. Some people in town had an inkling she owned a few franchises or managed them for a group of investors. Others assumed she lived off Rex’s alimony payments. “I have a gift for sensing if a location will be profitable or not. I also have a knack for hiring the right people to manage them.”

  “Wait, so the taco truck that you showed me? Is that you?”

  “Oh, I wish.” She put her mug down on the counter next to his. “I have been trying to convince Maria to franchise. She won’t come off her secrets.”

  “I had absolutely no idea I was living next door to a restaurateur.” He let his finger dance along her arm in light caresses.

  “I’m glad you’re impressed by my quarter pound hamburgers and chicken nuggets.” She placed her hand on his chest. “I should get going.”

  “Will I see you later?” he asked. “I’d really like to.”

  “Maybe. Have a pen? I’ll leave you my cell, and you can text me after you’re done with your filming. I’m not sure where I’ll be or how long it will take.” Her hand dropped from him as he moved to a drawer. He placed a pen and paper on the counter for her. As she scrolled down her number, she said, “And don’t play coy and wait forty-eight hours or whatever time allotment is considered cool to call me. I hate that.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of being cool before.” He cupped her cheek. “But I promise. No games. There is something about you, Vivien Stone. I want this to work between us.”

  “I know.” She nodded. That fact was one of the few things she’d picked up from him the first time they’d met. He was a man of commitment.

  “You know?”

  “I’m psychic, remember.” She leaned forward to kiss him. “Thank you for the coffee.”

  “Thank you for the…” He grinned as if stopping himself from saying something inappropriate.

  “You’re welcome.” She winked at him, gave him another quick kiss, and then turned to go. She leaned over to pick up her shoes from the living room floor and glanced at the empty couch before leaving.

  Chapter Twelve

  Vivien didn’t technically have to spend the day visiting properties, but she wanted to get away from Freewild Cove and could think of nothing better than being alone in her car. Music played, muted by the sound of wind whipping through her windows. Heather had wanted to come with her. Vivien had refused the company but promised to stay in contact. She needed to contemplate her current feelings, and she couldn’t do that when she kept absorbing her friends’ emotions each time they bumped into each other.

  Besides, Lorna was starting back at work. Vivien preferred Heather to be near Lorna if anything happened. Not that she thought anything would happe
n. The feeling of dread she’d picked up in the theater before the smudging had disappeared. Lorna would be safe. The best thing was for life to get back to normal for all three of them. Magic was fun, but they still had jobs to do. For Vivien, that meant a lot of employees who depended on her.

  Her cell phone rang, and Vivien pushed the button on the steering wheel to answer it without bothering to look to see who it was.

  “Hello, you got Vivien.”

  “Vivien?” Rex’s voice was the last one she expected to hear, though she realized she shouldn’t have been surprised. When she didn’t bother to call him after that day in his office, he would have started to panic. In truth, she barely thought about it. Her mind had been focused elsewhere.

  She frowned. “Hello, Rex.”

  “How are you?” His words were cheery, too cheery.

  “I’m busy,” she answered between clenched teeth. “What’s up?”

  “I wanted to apologize for Harry’s behavior the other day,” he said. “I understand why you were upset. He didn’t present himself very well.”

  Harry’s behavior?

  Yeah, right. Harry. It was all Harry.

  “All right,” she said. The green countryside rolled past her, but she kept her eyes on the road. Rex made her tired. Ever since their divorce, he was like talking to a psychic vampire. He always wanted something and acted like she should want to give it to him.

  “He thought he was doing what I wanted, but I never wanted him to insult you. I don’t think he explained himself well though.” Rex tried to keep his tone light. “Next time, it will be just you and me talking.”

  “Will it? I don’t know. Harry made it sound like I needed to get my lawyer involved. I don’t feel comfortable renegotiating legally binding contracts without my council. I’m sure you understand.” She toyed with the idea of just hanging up on him. Knowing Rex, he’d just keep calling back. She might as well let him get to whatever point he was moving toward.

  “That’s why I called. I don’t think there is any reason to get the courts involved. We’re both reasonable adults. I think we can work this out between us.”