My jaw almost hit the floor. I’m not narcissistic by any stretch of the imagination, but when the girls Louise had sent had worked their magic, I’d looked in the mirror and hardly recognised myself. They’d piled my dark hair up into a style which left bouncy ringlets hanging down, and made my face up perfectly. With the manicure and the stunning dress (she hadn’t dressed me in a meringue, much to my relief) to top it off, even I’d thought I looked pretty. Almost princess-like, you could say.
However, my stepmother-to-be’s scathing comment had been quickly forgotten as someone entered the room after her. In fact, I became so distracted I forgot much more than that, including my manners. I’d simply stared.
I really thought that the man who’d followed Louise into the room must have been some kind of god. That was the only explanation for the vision that had been before me. He had blonde hair almost to his shoulders, striking blue eyes and stood well over six feet tall, and probably half as wide. When he’d seen me, his face had transformed into a smile which lit up the room, and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners.
And I never used to believe in love at first sight.
I’d jumped out of my seat as he made his way towards me, holding out my hand to shake. The sex god had crossed the room in big easy strides, grasped my hand and brought it to his sinfully plump lips. I’d blushed painfully as he kissed my hand, his twinkling eyes looking directly into my startled ones.
Then he’d straightened up and said, “Susie. So nice to finally meet you. I’m Scott, Louise’s - “ he paused for a second, “ - employee. I’ll be giving her away today.”
I hadn’t even thought of that. From what I could gather, Louise had no family - or friends for that matter - so it made sense that she had no-one to give her away. Normally, I’d feel sorry for someone so lonely, but if she treated everyone the way she treated me, it was little wonder nobody liked her.
I’d just about managed to pull myself together and answer him before he thought I was a complete and utter moron.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Scott.” By this time, Louise was glaring at us both, probably unhappy about the fact she wasn’t the centre of attention. Like she wouldn’t be for the entire day!
Then my curiosity had gotten the better of me.
“So, Scott, what exactly do you do for Louise?” I’d asked, eager to know more about the woman who disliked me for no reason, and yet was about to join my family. Admittedly, I’d also been desperate to know more about this gorgeous guy who’d just waltzed into my life and left me reeling.
Louise had all but jumped between us before Scott had a chance to reply.
“No time for chat!” she’d barked. “Come on, it’s time for my wedding.”
Her wedding, I’d noted. Not our wedding. Self-centred witch. Then she’d marched out of the doors into the garden, leaving Scott and I to follow.
We’d looked at one another, completely shell-shocked. Then he’d turned to face the bride’s retreating back and stuck out his tongue. I’d stifled a giggle, afraid she’d hear and tear another strip off of us.
“By the way,” Scott had mumbled under his breath as we followed Louise, “you look beautiful, and don’t let that evil bitch tell you any different.”
He’d then squeezed my hand briefly before meeting Louise by the rear of the marquee, ready to begin proceedings. I’d stared after him, or at him to be more precise. I’d had no idea how Scott dressed from day to day, but boy could he wear a suit! The dark grey material was clearly tailor made and fit perfectly on his huge frame. There looked to be some serious muscle on the guy, which made me wonder again what precisely he did for Louise. I didn’t even know what she did, for heaven’s sake! But the more I got to know her, the more I knew it couldn’t be anything good. And Scott certainly didn’t strike me as an office worker.
A touch on my arm had startled me from my reverie.
“Miss White? Your bouquet.” A short, balding man had handed me a posy of flowers. I’d taken them with a smile of thanks, then gone to stand with Louise and Scott. It was time.
***
Half an hour later it had all been over. I’d played my part as the dutiful bridesmaid. My father had had real love and pride in his eyes when he’d seen Louise and I walking up the aisle and later, when we’d had a minute to ourselves, he’d taken me off to one side.
He’d handed me a flute of champagne, which I’d taken with raised eyebrows. Waving a hand at me, my father had said “You’re eighteen in a few weeks, what does it matter?”
I’d almost forgotten with all the hullabaloo of the wedding. In a few short weeks I’d be eighteen, and a few weeks after that, I’d be going to University in Oxford. It was certainly a year of changes. I should have been happier that dad was re-married before I left home, as I always wanted. But part of me no longer wanted to leave him alone with Louise. There was definitely something rotten about her, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Anyway, darling,” my father had put an arm around my waist and given me a little hug, “I just wanted to say you did marvellously today. And you look so beautiful. Your mom would have been proud.”
His eyes took on a faraway look and I’d taken a healthy swig of champagne to prevent my own eyes from tearing up. Then, with wonderful timing as always, my new stepmother had appeared. Taking my father by the hand she’d made some excuse as to why she needed him, and they were gone. I’d watched them walk away and noticed that it didn’t look as though there was anything pressing for them to do. She’d just been out to ruin a perfectly good father-daughter moment because she craved the attention. She’d also barely acknowledged me, her only bridesmaid, all day.
I knew then that things would never get better between us, no matter how hard I tried. So I decided to stop trying. I’d be civil to her, for my dad’s sake, but other than that, forget it.
Luckily, before I could sink too far into my melancholy, Scott had appeared at my elbow.
“Hey,” he’d said, tipping his glass at me, “nice job today.”
“I didn’t really do anything. I think I was just there to flesh out the wedding party.”
“So was I. But I meant nice job in not flying off the handle at Louise. Does she always speak to you like that?”
“Pretty much. But I have no idea why. I’ve never done anything to deserve it.”
“Oh, you have,” replied Scott, resulting in a frown from me.
“You’re female, that’s the problem.”
“Huh?” I didn’t get it.
“Louise doesn’t like women, particularly ones more attractive than her. If you’d been a boy, she’d probably have adored you and made a fuss of you, and lapped up all your attention. But because you’re a girl - and a gorgeous one at that - she sees you as a threat. Doesn’t matter how nice you are to her, it won’t change a thing. Unless you suddenly become ugly, and that mirror of hers suddenly states that she’s the most beautiful of all again, you’ll be public enemy number one. She’s a fucking witch.”
I’d laughed at his crack about her being a witch and having a mirror, like Snow White’s stepmother, but underneath it, my mind had been reeling. I’d struggled to process what Scott had said. Both the stuff about my stepmother disliking other females, and the fact he found me “attractive” and “gorgeous.” I’d looked at him then, curious as to why this supposedly nice guy was working for such a witch. Perhaps he wasn’t so great, after all. I’d resolved to find out.
I’d snagged a couple of bottles of champagne from the nearest table and inclined my head at Scott, indicating he should follow me. Kicking off my uncomfortable heeled shoes, I’d made my way across the grounds to the grotto, a rocky sitting place hidden within a huge thicket of rhododendrons. Squeezing carefully through the gap in the fragrant bushes, I’d giggled as I’d glanced behind me and seen Scott’s expression of utter bewilder
ment. I was much smaller than him, of course, so I’d slipped through the gap without too much trouble. But that clearly wasn’t the case for him.
“Come on. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”
He’d shaken his head then, and a good-natured grin had spread across his lips, showing off his dimples. Honestly, the guy had had me hooked the moment he walked in the parlour door, but he just seemed to grow more attractive with every passing second. It was like he’d bewitched me. I’d made my mind up to find out everything I could about him before I got in any deeper. After all, I didn’t want to end up falling in love with the guy, only to find out he was a puppy killer, or something.
He’d shoved his way into the thicket, making quite the mess of his beautiful suit, and joined me in the grotto.
By the time dusk had started to approach, I knew enough about him to make up my own mind.
***
I’d finally found a plus side to my dad marrying Louise. Now she was living with us, it meant Scott was around at ours a lot. Turned out he’s her right-hand man. Her business was dealing in illicit and illegal goods, mainly of the magical kind. The woman I’d referred to as a witch on several occasions was in fact, a bona-fide witch. Her wealth came from the ridiculous prices she charged people to buy all kinds of contraband paraphernalia, not to mention casting various spells and using dark magic. I’m not sure what, exactly, as Scott wouldn’t tell me any more than that. At first, I’d been confused as to why Scott would choose to work for such a woman, particularly when he disliked her as much as he claimed to. But when he explained, I understood. If I could have exchanged my mom’s death for a lifetime of servitude, I would have done it in an instant.
Not that my dad had any idea about any of it. Scott had made me promise not to say anything and because I didn’t want him to be turned into a frog, I’d agreed. We’d shared our first toe-curling kiss secreted away in the gardens on the day of the wedding, and had been sneaking around ever since. Of course, now I was eighteen, there wasn’t a lot anyone could do if they disapproved, but I’d be out of the house and off to Oxford soon enough, so it seemed pointless to rock the boat. Plus, if Louise didn’t know about us, she couldn’t do anything to try and come between us.
When the time came for me to start packing for Uni, Scott was sent to help me. Of course, I should have realised Louise wouldn’t be helping me herself. Duh. I’d expected that Scott and I would have a good laugh at her expense when he came up to my room. But when he arrived, he looked like a man in complete turmoil. I yanked him into the room by his arm - no mean feat with a man of his size - then slammed the door behind him.
“What’s the matter?”
He sat heavily down on my bed, head in his hands. I dropped to my knees in front of him and tried to pull his arms away so I could see his face.
“Scott!” I urged. “What is it?”
“I can’t - I can’t do it!”
After some gentle coaxing, I’d finally gotten the story out of him.
Turns out Louise had planned to have me killed. She wanted to get rid of me once and for all. That way, she’d not only have my father all to herself, she’d remove the person that her damn mirror - yes, Scott assured me it was real - claimed was the most beautiful. On top of that, because there are no other relatives in our family, she’d bag herself a claim to the business in one fell swoop. She was a clever bitch, all right. But naturally she hadn’t betted on Scott and I falling in love and conspiring against her. She was so self-centred that the fact Scott and I got on so well hadn’t even registered on her radar.
The witch’s idea was to have us pack up all my belongings ready to be transported to Oxford. Then I’d say all my goodbyes and Scott and I would go on our way. But I’d never make it to University. The van Scott was driving would be involved in a horrific accident on the motorway which would cut my life tragically short. Scott would walk away with minor injuries - due to the protection spell she’d placed on him. She’d threatened Scott with all kinds of horrific things if he didn’t go through with it, including revoking the spell which saved his mother from certain -and painful - death.
We needed a plan - and fast. Obviously I didn’t want to die, but I didn’t want anything to happen to Scott or his mom either. We needed to outwit the witch, in spectacular fashion.
Racking our brains, we continued to pack boxes. We stole the odd chaste kiss here and there, but as time ticked on the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach grew stronger.
“What are we going to do?!” I moaned, dropping to the carpet. This time it was my turn to put my head in my hands. “We can’t let her win, and ruin the lives of people we love.”
Rather than trying to comfort me, Scott was silent. Then he simply said, “I’ve got it!”
Next thing, my bedroom door slammed shut behind him. I gazed at it, confused and bewildered. How could he have possibly come up with something? Every scenario that had passed through my head ended with Louise finding out what we’d done and wreaking havoc.
Minutes later, Scott was back. He was holding an old, leather-bound book, and his eyes shone. He was smiling, and those adorable dimples went some way to soothing my roiling stomach.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before!” He said excitedly, before I had chance to ask what on earth he was doing. “We fight fire with fire.”
With that, he held the book up so I could read the cover. It was a grimoire - a spell book. I felt a glimmer of hope inside me. I knew that Scott had spent so much time around Louise that he’d picked up enough knowledge to cast a spell himself. He never had; not wanting to get involved with what he called that “evil shit.” But these were extenuating circumstances.
He sat next to me on the floor and flicked through the ancient book until he found the page he wanted. It was close to the very end of the book, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it the spells were structured in order of difficulty, or danger. I hoped not.
“Yes!” He turned the book so I could read the pages. Blood Sacrifice was the name of the spell. I didn’t like the sound of that one bit and told Scott as much. He took my hand, looked into my eyes, and gently as possible uttered one sentence.
“Susie, you’re a virgin, right?”
The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. I immediately knew what Scott was getting at. What’s more, I didn’t mind. We’d never gone any further than kissing before now, but more because we were afraid of being caught than any reluctance or hesitation on my part. I wanted Scott more than anything, and the fact we were going to consummate our feelings for one another and defeat my evil witch of a stepmother at the same time just made it even better.
I nodded. Somehow, Scott realised I was both answering the question and agreeing to his proposal at the same time.
“OK,” he said, running his finger down the page of the grimoire, “we need candles and...” he paused for a moment, “lipstick.”
I quirked an eyebrow at him, and he grinned. “I’m improvising.”
Shrugging, I grabbed what he needed. Luckily I hadn’t packed any of that stuff yet, or the matches. I dropped everything in a heap at Scott’s feet. He picked up the lipstick and began to draw on the white carpet as I read through the spell. It seemed straightforward, and actually pretty humane, particularly the way we were doing it. Suddenly, though, I caught sight of something which made my heart leap.
“Scott! We need something of hers, too!”
He smiled at me. “Look in the back of the book.”
I flicked to the last page and there, in a slot in the back cover, was a mirror. Of course. Louise was her own biggest fan, so it made perfect sense that she’d even want to look at herself when casting spells.
“So,” I said, lighting each candle and placing them in the correct places in the pattern on the carpet, “this spell will basically render Louise powerless? Permanently? What
’s the catch?”
“Unless she finds a spell powerful enough to break this one, we’re home free. Though I propose that we don’t goad her. We do the ritual and be on our way so she won’t be any the wiser. But rather than Oxford, how do you feel about Edinburgh University? The further away from her, the better.”
I laughed. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t care. She won’t hurt my dad. Despite the way she feels about me, I’m sure she genuinely has feelings for him. Though of course not as strong as the ones she has for herself!”
And that was that. Our plans made, we began the ritual. Scott chanted the words in the book then nodded to me at a convenient point. I placed Louise’s mirror at the top of the pattern and Scott crushed it beneath the heel of his boot. Then he put the book down and reached for me.
I had no fear, no hesitation. This man was willing to risk everything for me, and I him. He cupped my face in his hands and leaned down to kiss me. I opened my mouth to admit his hot tongue and it slipped sensuously against mine, sending jolts of arousal throughout my inexperienced yet eager body.
We kissed until I was almost dizzy with lust, then Scott gently disentangled from me. He looked mildly embarrassed when he said, “Ready?”
I nodded and his big, beautiful hands made short work of removing my clothes. I stood naked and entranced as he removed his own shoes, socks, shirt and jeans. He then took a deep breath before taking off his boxer shorts. A little nervous now, I purposely didn’t let my gaze stray any lower than his face. I may not have done it before, but I knew exactly how things worked. I just prayed it wouldn’t hurt too much.
Scott guided me to the centre of the lipstick etchings, making sure I was nowhere near the broken mirror. He then helped me to lie down. Nudging my thighs apart, he knelt between them and leaned down to kiss me once more. He was careful not to crush me with his considerable weight, but I could still feel his hardness pressing insistently against my thigh.
We Love Lucy Page 3
