Christmas Magic

by Lucy McConnell

  “You just said you wanted the black hole gone and that I was the cause of it.”

  “Oh.” She placed her hand on Harmony’s knee. “I should have explained. I don’t believe the black hole is your creation—only that it has attached to you.”

  What the …? Ambia personified an invisible force hovering over the workroom. This woman was either way more connected with the universe than Harmony could hope to be, or she was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

  “Should we ask it to leave, then?” Harmony offered.

  Matching worry lines appeared on the inside of each eyebrow. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

  “Nothing ever is,” Harmony lamented. She was three-quarters sarcastic and one-quarter true to life.

  “Exactly! In this case, you’re going to have to be proactive about moving the black hole off your aura.”

  Aaaand we’re back to my aura? “How does one go about doing that?” Harmony wasn’t opposed to spending time on an extra project—no matter how far in left field it landed her—as long as her paycheck reflected the additional time spent.

  “You need to have fun.” Ambia leaned back with a satisfied quirk to her lips.

  “Fun. Really?”

  “Yes. When was the last time you had fun?”

  “Two days ago.” She answered so fast that there was no question of her honesty. Breck’s magic show had been entertaining and taken her out of her haze.

  “And what were you doing?”

  Ambia was going to love this. “I was an assistant for a street magician.” Harmony dropped her knees to the sides and crossed her ankles, settling in.

  “Then you have to do it again.” Ambia clapped her hands excitedly. “You need to get your happy back.”

  Harmony blinked in surprise. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. How weird is that?”

  “It’s not weird. It’s the universe bringing together the elements that will set you on the path you were meant to follow.”

  “I had a plan, and it blew up.” Harmony rested her hands on her knees.

  “Because that was your plan. Our lives are not our own—there are things we must accomplish, people we must love, and events we are to witness. If you step off the path, then heartache follows.”

  Harmony squeezed her eyes shut. Was that what she’d done? Her parents had warned her away from Sam. Heck, Jenny hadn’t liked to double-date with him, though she’d never said why. A dozen other small signs popped into her head that she should have left Sam in her traveling dust and moved on long before he proposed.

  If that was the case, then maybe she had been led to Breck. She hadn’t even been watching where she was going that day; she’d just followed the man in the black boots. She thought back to the video and couldn’t remember seeing him in it. Weird. “The magician offered me a part-time gig,” she said absently, still trying to remember where the man in the boots had disappeared to.

  Ambia nodded sagely. “Of course he did. Because this is what you were meant to do.”

  Okay, the whole conversation was making too much sense—especially coming from Ambia. “I need to think about this.”

  “No.” Ambia covered Harmony’s hands with her own. “Listen to your heart. What does it want to do?”

  Harmony paused, searching her feelings. “It wants to laugh again, to trust, to believe in something.”

  Ambia lifted her hands, a look of triumph on her face. “There! You’ve communicated with your true self and received an answer.”

  “I did?” She couldn’t remember having come to an actual conclusion.

  Ambia stood and pulled Harmony to her feet. “You’ll call the magician and tell him yes.”

  “I will?” The words settled into her heart like whipped cream on hot chocolate, warm and melty with goodness. “I will.”

  “Wonderful. I feel very good about our performance review.”

  So that’s what this was. Harmony bit back her snicker. Even as she mentally recoiled at the idea that anything that had happened in the last fifteen minutes was professional, she had to admit she felt better, clearer, and grounded. “Thanks, Ambia.”

  Ambia pressed her palms together and bowed slightly.

  Harmony left her standing in her doorway in that pose. She made her way to the break room and hit redial on her phone, needing to make this commitment now, while courage filled her veins. The sense of calm and understanding that came from Ambia’s confidence that this was the right path still flooded her system, and she didn’t want to chicken out.

  “Hello?” Breck’s voice was so deep, it turned her insides to Christmas pudding.

  “Breck, hey. This is Harmony.”

  “Hi.”

  She paused for a moment, her mind bringing up his handsome face and picturing a smile. Perhaps she’d even heard it in his greeting. Hurrying forward now, she said, “Listen, I’d like to change my mind—about helping you. I mean, I’d like to help you—with your show. If you still want me to.”

  “That would be awesome.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. His easy acceptance and obvious excitement could be a sign that she really was stepping onto the path she was meant to follow. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Well, I have a couple of ideas, but I need a day to work them out. Can we meet somewhere on Thursday?”

  Harmony’s neck relaxed. She hadn’t realized how worried she’d been that he’d say no—or that he’d ask about the “place” she’d been in only thirty minutes before that had her turning down his offer. He didn’t ask the uncomfortable question, and she didn’t volunteer the strange answer including colorful rocks. Which made her feel safe, like maybe Breck wasn’t out to score a date with her. “That would be great.”

  They set up a time and place, and she hung up the phone. The peaceful feeling was still there, but the butterflies in her stomach didn’t listen. They were all aflutter. Meeting at a coffee shop felt an awful lot like a first date—the kind people do when they meet online. If everything goes well, then they agree to dinner.

  It’s just business, she told herself. I’m getting my happy back.

  “What’s with that smile?” asked Jenny as she breezed in from a late lunch.

  Harmony clapped her hands together. “I’m going to do the magic shows.”

  “I knew the hot magician would change your mind.” Jenny shook her hips.

  “It wasn’t that,” Harmony protested.

  “Then what was it?”

  The last twenty minutes ran through Harmony’s head on fast forward. There was no way she could explain how much sense Ambia made without sounding like a cuckoo bird. “Never mind.” She turned to go.

  “Tell the hottie hello from me. I’m his new biggest fan.”

  Harmony rolled her eyes as she left the cubicle. So Breck was hot—er, cute. So what? She could work with a handsome man and not develop a crush on him. It was totally possible. She’d just have to keep her guard up and maintain a professional distance. She could do this.

  But do you want to? asked her inner voice, just to be a pain. Harmony didn’t dare answer that question, because she wasn’t sure she was ready for the answer.

  Chapter Five

  December 5

  Breck

  The small coffee shop wasn’t anything special as far as a meeting place, and Breck couldn’t shake the feeling that he should have tried harder, should have picked a spot that would impress Harmony. The brown paper napkins slumped pathetically over the edge of the dispenser, and there was a ring on the chipped tabletop.

  He pulled out his phone, ready to change their meeting spot. His mind was blank. Where did a guy take a woman like Harmony? Stop it. He mentally chastised himself. This isn’t a date.

  If it wasn’t a date, then why did his throat feel tight and his shirt too small?

  The bell on the door dinged, and Harmony breezed in like a warm summer wind in the middle of December. He instinctively turned his face to her warmth and basked in her general sense of goo
dness.

  “You’re not going to saw me in half, are you?” she asked as she pulled off her gloves. A moment later, she unwrapped her scarf and pulled the cute gray knit hat with a giant pom-pom off her head before sitting down.

  “Depends on what kind of an assistant you turn out to be,” he joked.

  “Ha ha. What are you staring at?” She glanced down at the big curls hanging over her shoulder.

  “I’m trying to figure out why women never have hat hair.” He scrubbed the top of his head, where he found his hair standing on end from when he’d removed his knit hat.

  She ran her hands over the crown of her head, smoothing the two hairs that dared get out of place. “It’s a gift.”

  It shouldn’t have been possible, but she was even prettier today than she had been the day they’d met. Her dark brown hair was curled, the shorter layers framing her face. Her eyes were clear of the sorrow that had boxed them in, and her skin was bright, allowing her inner light to shine for all the world to see.

  “So, how’d you get into magic?”

  A server stopped by the table. “Can I get you two anything?”

  They both ordered herbal teas. Breck could use some warm water to loosen up his vocal cords. Thankfully, talking about magic was something he could do with just about anyone, and he started in as soon as the server was gone. “My grandpa. He was always pulling quarters out of my ears, my nose, my finger.”

  “How in the world …?” Harmon held out her fingers.

  Breck gently took her hand between both of his. The current that buzzed between them almost made him lose his focus and mess up the illusion. As he slid his fingers along her palm, she shivered. Did that mean she felt this too?

  He focused so as not to mess up; he wanted to see her response so badly. He slid his fingers along hers, and a blink later, three quarters hit the tabletop. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled wide—tilting his world. She scooped up the quarters and checked them out, focusing intently. He got the feeling she was trying not to make eye contact with him.

  That was fine. He needed a reprieve from the connection he felt for her too. It was strong, much stronger than it should be for a first real conversation. There was just a sense about Harmony that stirred his desire to slay dragons.

  He continued his story. “When I was seven, Gramps bought me a magic set. It had the disappearing ball trick, a deck of cards, and a magic wand. He’d practice with me for hours on end until I could do them all with ease. And then, the day after my eighth birthday, he passed away.”

  She stopped running her fingers along the coins and looked up. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I still miss him, but doing magic makes me feel like we’re still connected.” Breck fell back in his seat, shocked that he’d said those words out loud. He’d never even thought them before, and yet he knew they were the truth. The sense of deep honesty spread all the way down to his toes.

  “I’m sure he’s proud of you.”

  He lifted a shoulder.

  “Why are you down on yourself? If you love what you do, then you should be proud of it.” She reached out to pat his forearm and pulled back at the last second.

  He didn’t comment on her move. She was obviously a generous and kind spirit who had been wounded. Something inside told him to tread carefully. Maybe one day she’d open up to him about those wounds, but pushing her would do no good. Sharing with her might build some trust. There would have to be a whole lot of trust between them if they were going to work together as a team. “Let’s just say that there are expectations on the shoulders of an only son of a couple who started their own business.”

  Her lips formed a perfect O. “That stinks.”

  “It’s not like they’ve disowned me or anything. It’s more like they like to pretend I’m not trying to be a magician.” He ran his hand down his cheek. “I know it sounds childish and silly, but have you ever wanted something so bad that you have to give it your all or you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering if you could have made it?”

  She rubbed her lips together and her eyes fell to the tabletop. “I can’t say that I have.”

  He slouched at her confession. “Well, maybe I’m weird, then.”

  Her chin lifted. “Then be weird, because you’re good at it.”

  He wrinkled his brow.

  “That didn’t come out right.” She half chuckled. “You’re good at magic, so you should own it. Confidence breeds success. Besides, someone recently told me that when you step off your path in life, heartache surely follows.” This time, her hand did touch his arm. “If magic is your path, you have to stay on it.”

  “Wow. That’s deep.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That’s my boss for you. She’s … different. But—” Harmony cocked her head. “—she’s starting to grow on me. In fact, she was the reason I called you back.”

  “Then she’s growing on me too.” His hand covered hers of its own accord, and the attraction was back, humming across his skin like the D-train at maximum speed. They locked gazes, and the air grew thick.

  “Here we go!” The perky waitress set down two mugs of steaming tea. “If you need something sweet, let me know. We have excellent peanut butter bars today.”

  Harmony pulled her hand away, leaving his feeling lonely and lost. “Thank you.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, lifted the cup, and blew across the steam. When their server was gone, she set her cup down, speaking more to it than to him. “I should let you know that I’m going home for Christmas and I’m not coming back.”

  “Oh?” He gulped down his tea, burning his tongue in the process.

  “If I can get the money for a train ticket. It’s all up in the air right now.”

  Payment. Of course! “I’m so sorry. I should have told you right off.” He grabbed a folded contract from the inside pocket of his coat. “I don’t have money to pay you by the hour, but I thought a royalty split would work?” He flattened the pages on the table.

  She leaned forward as he explained.

  “When a video hits a certain number of views, MyHeartChannel will use it for advertising. I’m not sure how advertisers do things on their end, but what that means is that for every thirty-second commercial someone views attached to my—our—video, we get seventy-five cents.”

  She wrinkled her nose in the most adorable way. “That doesn’t seem like very much.”

  “Well, it’s not if you only have ten or twenty views, but if you have ten thousand …”

  “That’s seven thousand five hundred dollars,” she filled in.

  “Yeah. And if you have two videos …”

  She held up a palm. “I get it. What’s the catch?”

  “The catch is there are thousands of channels to compete with, and getting your videos seen by enough people to get a commercial is a major effort.”

  Her nose crinkled up again. “But the one I watched yesterday had a commercial.”

  He grinned. “It’s my first. And it’s why I called you. I think you’re the ticket.”

  “You mean the golden ticket,” she said with some sass.

  He liked her confidence. “Exactly. So, a royalty split. Are you in?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What you aren’t telling me is that if this bombs, then I get nothing.”

  He nodded slowly. “It’s a possibility.”

  She picked up her tea again. The steam no longer rose from the cup, and she wrapped her hands around it as if needing to warm them up. After a moment, and a sip, she said, “I’m not usually one to gamble, but I feel good about this. Better than I’ve felt about anything for a long time.” She hurried to drain the cup and set it down. With a flourish, she signed her name and reached for her scarf. She had the wool around her neck and her hat on her head in a blink. It was like she had to move quickly or she’d talk herself out of her decision.

  Breck stood, gathering her purple coat off the back of the chair. He held it out for her, and she slid her arms inside.

  “Thank
s.”

  He placed his hands on her upper arms, stilling her movements for a moment. She quieted, and he leaned in. “Welcome to the world of magic.” He used the closeness to slip a gold coin into her pocket. Hopefully, when she found it, she’d smile.

  She stepped forward and buttoned up. “Text me where and when you’d like to start, and I’ll be there.” She was out the door before he could say “jingle bells.”

  “And people say I have a disappearing act,” he muttered. He sat back down to enjoy the rest of his drink. Harmony was a tough nut to crack. Even so, she’d agreed to be his assistant—until she left town. Why did her moving away feel so wrong?

  He shook off the feeling. What Harmony did with her life was none of his concern. What he needed to focus on was creating a fantastic Christmas magic trick that would delight audiences and viewers of all ages. His mind sparked to life, and an idea took hold. He’d need a couple of days to bring it together … in the meantime, he could do the card tricks with Harmony that he’d planned to do alone.

  Then, he’d up his game. With any luck, not only would he gain more subscribers, but Harmony would open up a little more. Yes, he should keep it professional, but there was so much chemistry between them that ignoring it was impossible. At least, it was for him. He wasn’t so sure about her.

  Chapter Six

  December 7

  Harmony

  Harmony fingered the gold coin in her pocket, as had become her habit over the last two days. She’d found it upon returning to work after meeting with Breck. She’d pulled it out of her pocket and grinned at the bunny on one side and the top hat on the other. Knowing Breck had slipped it in her pocket made her feel special. The fact that he’d taken time to leave her a little surprise was sweet.

  Sam had never done anything of the sort. Ever.

  She glanced at her reflection in a store window as she made her way to the entrance to the park where Breck had said to meet for their show today. He was going to arrive early to set up the cameras. She would get there just a few minutes before the show started, because she had to do this on her lunch hour.