“You ready to go inside?” Ethan hooks his arm around mine after Mom takes her picture, kisses us both on the cheek, and then leaves.
The doors officially opened at five. We’re late, which means most people are inside. I can see a few people standing by the doors to the gym, though, and do feel relieved that we aren’t the only ones dressed up like this. Abby not only agreed to let all grades come to the dance, nixing her terrible seniors-only idea, but she also took Ethan’s suggestion to go retro with an ’80s theme.
I’m definitely seeing a lot of big poufy hairdos happening and a whole lot of shoulder pads. But I think Mom is right—Ethan and I look totally rad.
“I’m ready.” It took some convincing to come in the first place. I’m a little gun-shy when it comes to hanging out in places that I know Luca will be. Especially places I think he’ll be with another girl. I haven’t heard any rumors about him dating anyone, but come on—the guy is an incredible human. Any girl would be lucky to have him so I don’t think he’s single. No way.
The dance music is booming and thumping. The gym is decorated just as you would expect for a throwback party. Bright colors are everywhere, pink, yellow, electric blue, all looking a little like a neon-loaded cannon splattered paint bombs everywhere. There are Rubik’s Cube designs and Troll dolls with gnarly looking hair everywhere. Beams of light are shooting every which way and it all looks a little chaotic.
“I love it!” Ethan shouts. “You want something to drink?”
There’s too much to look at that I’m doing my best impression of a squirrel right now. People are dancing, laughing, trying to talk over the music. “I’m okay.”
“I’m dying of thirst. I’ll be back in a sec.” Ethan kisses my cheek. “Stay put.”
I nod and watch him move through the crowd. I see Abby off in the distance dancing with Mel. They’re wearing matching pink neon leggings with leg warmers and ankle boots. The shirts they have on are super long and they both have huge belts hanging on their tiny waists. They’ve teased their hair so it’s huge as well. Totally retro.
“Hey, I like your outfit.”
I jump nearly out of my skin when I realize it’s Luca who’s sidled up next to me. My cheeks heat super quick and any words I might want to say, if my brain was working, seem to get stuck in my throat.
“I saw you walk in with Ethan and thought I’d come over and say hi.”
He looks good in his jean jacket and tapered pants. His shirt is pastel yellow and partially unbuttoned. Going for the casual cool look. I like it.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “I promised him I’d come.” I want to say, I wish I’d come with you, but instead I clamp my mouth shut and hope he’s not about to introduce me to some other girl he’s with.
“I was hoping I’d see you here.”
That surprises me. “You were?”
“Well, yeah.” He rubs his hand over the back of his neck. “I wanted to see what the outfit choice would be this year.”
Oh right, because last year was also extravagant when it came to what Ethan made me wear. I think back on what Luca said to me about seeing me at last year’s Spring Fling, how much he liked that I was daring with my clothing choice.
“I also wanted to see you again.” He laughs and it sounds a little awkward. “I’ve been meaning to text for a while.”
Hope blooms in my chest and my heart starts beating wildly. Cool it, girl, cool it. “You have?”
“I wanted to thank you.”
“For what?”
Luca taps my arm. It isn’t a romantic touch but I feel the familiar jolt even with such little contact. “Hey, you think we could go outside for a minute? It’s loud in here.” And that’s when I realize that we’ve been shouting at each other.
“Uh…” I look over to where Ethan is and see him dancing away with a group of his new friends. “Sure.”
Luca nods, then motions toward the side door that will take us to the back field where the bleachers are. The noise falls away as soon as we’re outside. It’s dusk so everything is blanketed in the dying light of the day. The sun has just dropped below the horizon and the air is starting to get chilly. Not cold exactly, but I do kind of wish I had a sweater or something. I follow Luca to the bleachers and wrap my arms around myself.
“Oh hey, you cold?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond—he just takes his jacket off and wraps it around my shoulders.
I stagger a bit because his smell invades my lungs in an instant and I’m immediately reminded of how very much and very deeply I miss him. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over this heartbreak.
“Better?”
I stifle a shiver that has nothing to do with being cold and nod. “Yes, thank you.”
He takes my hand to help me get onto the bleachers. We sit side by side, our knees angled but not touching. I so badly want him to hold my hand but keep mine on my lap.
We sit there in silence for a minute and I have so many things going through my head. So many apologies. So many questions. For all of my acts of kindness, I didn’t really know how to help Luca.
“So yeah, I wanted to thank you.” He chuckles a bit. “All those things you’ve done. Helping people, tutoring, being kind…it inspired me.”
“It did?” He noticed what I’ve been doing?
“Yep. I’ve been playing with some ideas to start a business and after seeing you do such great things at the school for people, I realized that I want to use my skills to help people, too. I found out about these grants that are available to anyone who’s currently in school. It offers seed money for starting a business and I thought that I could use if for a not-for-profit idea I have. So, I got the grant and started helping people who need it for free. My clients so far have been a lot of elderly people who need help fixing things up in their houses but word is getting around and I’ve been getting calls to go out to help some people with disabilities or mobility issues.”
My heart swells so much that I think it might burst. “That is so incredibly selfless.”
“They’re giving me fabulous reviews so it’s not totally selfless.” He chuckles again. “You set a good example for me to follow.”
I lower my eyes and stare at my lap. “I thought it might help to make things right again.”
“I think it worked.”
I nod. “Luca, I’m really, really so sorry for what I did. I’ve been trying to think of something I could do for you, to make it up to you, but I didn’t want to bug you, either. I know I wasn’t exactly the first person you wanted to talk to after what I did.”
“Hey.” He tilts my chin up with his finger so that he can look me in the eyes. “People make mistakes. I know that you didn’t mean to hurt anyone. You’re a good person, Rowan. Your heart is so big. Just look at what you’ve done already to make things right.”
I try for a smile but I know it falls short. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
He looks away, turning toward the empty field. “You did hurt me.” He gulps and then turns back to look at me. “But I’ve had a lot of time to think about things and I know that I liked you way before this spell stuff started. I’ve always been intrigued by you, ever since I saw you last year, remember?”
I nod.
“I knew you were special then, just like I know you’re special now.”
There’s something in his eyes that makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance Luca doesn’t want things to end. I reach out and touch his hand. It’s bold, I know, but I just need to touch him. “You’re special, too. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever known. Someone I want in my life, even if it’s just as friends.”
He smiles slyly. “Just friends?”
My heart pounds wildly. That look in his eyes, it’s saying things. “Well…” I’m staring at his lips now, wondering if he’d tolerate me kissing him. I look up, into his ey
es again, and remember how easy it is to get lost in there.
“The spell is done now, right?” He looks so serious that it snaps me out of my dreamy thoughts.
“Yes. I reversed them completely. I only practice safe spell casting these days.”
He tilts his head a bit. “So maybe we should give it a try.”
I’m looking at his lips again. “What?”
He leans closer. “A kiss.”
I lean closer, too.
He snakes his arms around me and I shift my legs so that I’m practically in his lap.
“You know, just to see how it feels.” His eyes do that sexy hooded thing that drives me wild and all I can do is nod.
His lips touch mine, tenderly at first, just a little press of flesh to flesh. So soft. So sweet. But our chemistry ignites and I can’t help but open my mouth and let him in. Our tongues touch and it’s a whirlwind all over again. I run my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer to me. His hands are on my hips, pulling me into him. We kiss without a care of who might be watching. It’s just him and me, together, like nothing ever parted us in the first place.
Our kiss goes on forever and I never want it to end.
“Yep, still got it,” he says on an explosion of breath once we do pull apart.
I burst out laughing. His hair is a mess, his lips are red and puffy, and I know I look the same. I can’t keep the crazy smile off of my face.
Now, everything is just as it should be.
Epilogue
It’s the end of June and it’s hot already. Sweltering hot, actually—especially when you’re working in an attic.
“Lift that side a little higher for me, ’kay?”
I’m too caught up staring at Luca’s nearly naked body as he lifts his side of the beam, his back flexing, his arm muscles popping, and his whole body sleek with a glorious sheen of sweat.
I blink. Close my mouth. “Um, sorry.” Then we both laugh because it’s no secret that I’m drooling over him.
He said we were going to work on the attic this summer. He’s a man of his word. My mom thinks that’s awesome. She’s also totally cool about us being together now and only hovers a little bit when we’re alone in my room together. She likes to remind me that Dad is probably watching, which is enough to have me second thinking our make-out sessions for like, thirty seconds. If Dad wants to spy on his daughter getting it on with her boyfriend, that’s his problem I guess. Personally, I’d like to believe that Dad would respect my choices and give me space.
All the same, we spend much more time at Luca’s place.
I hoist my side higher, then watch as he expertly brackets the wood with a heavy-duty metal band, screwing it into place in a matter of seconds.
He bends to grab the level, then checks the beam as he moves closer to me. And the closer he comes, the more my heart races.
“You got it still?” He’s so close, moving steadily closer with his level.
My arms are straining to keep the beam up and I’m stretched about as far as I can be without being on my tiptoes. I’m kind of wondering why he isn’t going faster. “It’s heavy.”
“Just one more second.” He lays the level just at my fingertips, then turns his head so he’s looking straight at me, no more than a few inches from me now.
He’s so close that I could kiss him, which is why I’m staring at his lips.
“I like seeing you like this. Working so hard to keep that wood up when you don’t need to.”
I see the playfulness in his eyes before he glances up at my hands and laughs.
A rush of heat washes through me, partly because clearly I’m a silly girl and partly because he’s so close to me right now that I can’t help but feel a whoosh of giddiness.
“You sure?”
He nods.
I let my hands drop and the beam stays put. “Oh.” And then I start laughing because my arms are numb and I have no idea what I’m doing up here but it feels so good to joke with Luca again that I could cry. Since the fiasco with the spells, I’ve learned to appreciate my time with the people I care about. Every minute we get to spend together is a gift and I will never squander again.
He puts another bracket up and starts to screw it into place but I don’t move away. I can’t. I so badly want to touch him right now that I stand too close, crowding him.
“You want to help?” Before I can respond, or even think about what he’s asking, he’s got me positioned in front of him, his body pressed up against mine, his hands guiding my hands, helping me position the drill.
My brain short circuits. I’m not too sure I should be using tools right now. But somehow, even with shaky hands, I get the screw in and the bracket tightens and the beam holds.
Instead of letting me go, Luca leans even closer and I can feel his breath on my neck. It makes me shiver and that squishy, gooey love feeling seeps all through my body. His other hand drops to my waist. “You feel that?”
For a second I don’t know if he’s talking about the tool and the bracket or something else, so I just stand there.
“That’s chemistry, Rowan, and it’s something we’ve got with or without a love spell.”
He does this often, reminds me that we are meant to be together. It’s unnecessary because I know, truly, Luca and I are together for a reason.
I manage to turn without losing contact with him and he leans and before I know it our lips are touching and everything feels so damn right.
You don’t need a love spell when things are meant to be.
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Acknowledgments
There is no way that this book would be in the shape that it is without my genius editor, Heather Howland. Heather, you are a gifted creative and every suggestion you’ve ever made is pure gold. Thank you for believing that I could do this and for giving me the tools to get it done.
So many people have cheered me on from the very first time I thought, hey, wouldn’t it be weird if a girl wrote a love spell and it came true? My daughter and son have both been sounding boards throughout the creation of this book. They roll their eyes when I’m off track and grin when I’m not. They give me time to write and never complain when I’m on a tight deadline and have to order fast food for dinner. My husband is my best friend, my very own Luca, and he always makes sure that I have what I need when I need it. My parents always remind me that I’ve made them proud no matter what I do but I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have a YA book that is sweet and funny and totally appropriate for them (and the rest of my family) to read. Thanks for always supporting me, Mom and Dad! And thank you as well to my cousins, aunts and uncles who come to my events and encourage me to keep going.
Thank you to: Michelle von Enckevort (her kids and her cats), Linda Farnes-Copan, Dianne Waye, Tammy Crosby, Leslie Leamen Denier, Anna Sotiropoulos, Leianne Hamilton, Kate Riddell, Bev Woodfine, Laura MacGillivray, and Jen Chu for being cheerleaders the whole way through.
I’d also like to thank Donna for always saying she loves my YA voice. Sometimes that’s all you need to hear on a dreary writing day. And special thanks to Ted Anderton for taking some awesome author photos for me and to his assistant, Michelle Anderton, for keeping me smiling the entire time.
I’d like to thank the folks who read this book in its early stages and gave me invaluable feedback that shaped this story into what it needed to be. Thank you to my Curriculum family who always check in to see how my writing is going and to my friends and former co-workers at Mulock who remind me where my home is and will forever be. A lot of this story was inspired by my time spent walking the halls of my former workplace and by the students who gifted me with rich teaching experiences that I will cherish forever. My book cover is not only perfect but gorgeous beyond belief. Thank you, LJ for capturing the vision of this book so artfully.
And finally, I’d like to thank the incredible team at Entangled who have made this book look and be so awesome.
I couldn’t have done all of this without all of you.
About the Author
Author Angie Barrett lives in a small town in Ontario, Canada in an old century home that is also known as the “cat house” because, well, Angie likes cats. A lot. She also likes shopping for books, or for anything really, and spending time RVing in the summer with her family. She has worked for sixteen years as a high school English teacher and Librarian and is currently a Curriculum Consultant for new teachers. Angie has always dreamed of being a published author and strives to create worlds where there are strong, relatable characters who maybe are not always perfect but who understand the meaning of friendship and loyalty and who will use their collective strengths to overcome adversity.
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In a move that other Asian American girls know all too well, six months after the older Tech twins got to college, their parents asked, “Why aren’t you engaged yet?” The sisters retaliated by vowing that they won’t marry for ten (maybe even twenty!) years, not until they’ve had lots of the dating practice that they didn’t get in high school.
Love Spells and Other Disasters Page 27
