Conan shook his head. “You’d better take up mind reading if you’re not going to ask Nadine what she wants. What time is it?” He tugged his phone from his pocket to check.
Magnus plucked the fancy gadget from his brother’s hand and threw it on the bed. “Time to go downstairs. No phones at your wedding.”
Conan scowled but obediently finished dressing. Magnus shoved a boutonniere at him before he escaped.
Magnus was as nervous as the bridegroom as they descended the stairs. He was pretty certain of the future he wanted—even if it scared hell out of him. Nadine was the question mark in the equation.
***
While guests gathered in the folding chairs in the garden, Nadine stayed in the background, thrilled to have the opportunity to talk with Vera. She’d introduced her sister to the few people she knew. Vera had introduced her to Jack’s family.
Without Magnus, the cacophony of this many minds pushing thoughts into the universe soon had Nadine’s head pounding. It was simpler to stand back.
The wedding was the loveliest event she’d ever experienced, and she embraced the love and joy despite the headache. Pippa sang one of her own creations, a paean to love and eternity that brought tears to every eye in the audience. She must have chosen the rest of the music, as well, because the guitars followed the emotional roller coaster of the ceremony to perfection. Even Nadine laughed and wiped tears from her eyes as the flower girls skipped to the music and flung blossoms at the audience instead of the carpet.
Under the brilliant blooms of bougainvillea, the bride and groom radiated love. Dorrie wore a tea-length white gown and carried a bouquet of blue and peach-colored flowers. Her short veil perched in her dark curls with the help of a spray of roses. Golden Conan wore his tux as if born to it. They held hands and beamed at each other throughout the ceremony, ignoring tradition.
Nadine could almost believe that love would last forever—unless parted by tragedy. That had been her experience. She’d never seen happy-forever-after.
So when her phone vibrated just as Oz produced the wedding rings, she stepped out of the crowd and behind the hedge.
“We’ve found Father’s will,” Chang reported without greeting. “His attorney assures us Father was in his right mind when he dictated the terms.”
“That might be a matter of opinion,” Nadine responded without thinking, then bit her tongue. “Sorry. I’m at a wedding. Can we talk later?”
She really didn’t want to be disappointed yet again. She wanted to return to that scene of hope and joy.
“The authorities are raising a stink over that school. We need to do something now. Did you know the papers establishing it were fraudulent?”
“Learned that this past week.” Her stomach sank to her feet. Here it came, the cutting of the one thread of hope she’d been clinging to these last hours.
“The state insists we dissolve the charter. My name and Jin’s are on it. The school district and parents are screaming bloody murder. We’re about to get our pants sued off.”
“I’m sorry, Chang. I don’t know what this has to do with me. My name wasn’t on the charter. I assume Jo-jo left everything to you and your brothers. What am I supposed to do?”
“He made you executor,” Chang said curtly, with obvious displeasure. “The school is part of his estate. It needs to be disposed of before we lose everything.”
He was bullying her. He came by this performance naturally.
She had to develop that backbone she’d been missing. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the explosion. “I’m not doing anything until tomorrow. And if you push me, I’ll make it next week,” she warned.
“I’ll tell the judge you’re not suited to be executor and have a new one appointed,” he retorted.
“Then you’ll have me suing you,” she said without hesitation. “You need to back off and help me work this out, or I’ll get an injunction against you.” She didn’t even know what an injunction was much less how to get one—but she’d figure it out.
Jo-jo had made her executor. Either he’d been seriously demented at the time, or he’d trusted her wisdom. Nadine turned her eyes to the brilliantly blue sky and tried to decide whether to sing hosannas or curses.
“Just do something,” Chang insisted. “I have to run all his damned businesses. I don’t have time for angry parents.”
“I can’t do anything right this minute. I’m not a lawyer.” And then she remembered—the East Coast Oswins were judges and senators. She took a deep breath. “Let me talk to some people. I’ll get back to you.”
Feeling powerful, she hit END. Take that, big brother.
Executor. May all the heavens weep, what did an executor do?
Returning to the guests, she sought Magnus for assurance. He was already scanning the crowd for her. She smiled and waved. He looked relieved. Had he thought she’d run away?
She was confused, but she wasn’t dumb. He was her rock. She wanted him in her life for as long as he would stay. But first, she needed a life.
The wedding photos took forever. Magnus couldn’t get away until the photographer was done.
Complete strangers walked up and started talking to her, as if she were one of the family. Despite the increasing headache from all the thoughts bouncing around the party, she was enjoying herself, but she wasn’t used to any of this.
Overwhelmed, she almost collapsed in exhaustion and relief when Magnus finally reached her. “What do you know about being executor of an estate?” she asked without preliminaries.
“Zilch. The general made you executor?” he asked, bending over to kiss her.
She luxuriated in the connection, and the headache almost receded. “That’s what I love about you—you nail problems so succinctly and dismiss them with a kiss. Yes. I’m executor, and the estate is about to be sued over the school. I hate to ask but . . . help?”
“Zorro, at your service,” he said solemnly. “Good to know you love something about me.”
“I love everything about you,” Nadine admitted in her weariness, “but I don’t think I’m supposed to say that. So pretend you didn’t hear it and steer me in the right direction.”
Right in front of everyone, Magnus swept her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. Breathless once he put her down, Nadine stared at him wide-eyed. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate another burden. You’ll give people ideas if you keep doing that.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Let’s go find the judge.”
“Don’t even kid me about that,” she warned as he took her arm. “I could be standing in front of a court any minute now.” Nadine let Magnus steer her through the crowd.
He hadn’t run in the opposite direction, screaming, when she’d told him she loved him. He hadn’t returned the sentiment, but her confidence grew another notch, and she felt a little less shaky.
“Considering what we’ve been doing lately, we both could be in front of a judge. Would you do anything differently?” he said in unconcern.
“Is that a rhetorical question, I hope? I can’t answer anything else at this minute. You looked splendid up there in your fancy clothes.” Nadine tried to see past the crowd of people to where he was taking her, but her heels weren’t high enough. His family was tall.
Luckily, most of Dorrie’s family was her size. She caught a glimpse of the stately older woman she’d been introduced to earlier talking to Pippa. Their hostess looked gorgeous in a peachy-colored silk gown with a full skirt that looked good on her slender figure and with her red hair. The judge in her gray, business-like suit . . . looked intimidating.
“Aunt Helena.” Magnus intruded on their conversation. “We have a small problem. Pippa.” He nodded at his sister-in-law. “We’re about to steal a school. Keep Conan occupied or he’ll abandon the honeymoon.”
Pippa’s generous mouth spread into a smile. “I like the way you think. You’ll tell me what they’re up to later, won’t you, Helena?”
The judge tried to l
ook stern, but one corner of her mouth lifted. “It’s a good thing these boys are finally marrying. They’d all end up in jail otherwise. And don’t think I was kidding you—you really ought to be on stage with that voice of yours. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I thought you were the sensible Oswin,” Helena said, strolling toward the library. “Don’t disappoint me.”
“It’s me, ma’am. I’m the one in trouble.” Nadine hurried to keep up with her long strides. “Magnus keeps pulling me out. I have felons on my family tree, not judges.”
Magnus made a rude noise. “That’s the general’s family tree, not yours. Just ask Grandmother Ling.”
“Well, then, I was raised with felons. I don’t think like a judge,” Nadine retorted. “After what I’ve been through, I have a need to be perfectly honest.”
“Honesty has its shortcomings.” The judge entered Oz’s library and closed the door after them. “Now, what is this all about that it couldn’t wait until a better time?”
Nadine explained. Magnus and Helena listened.
“And this school . . . It’s special because?” Helena finally asked, unerringly hitting the crux of the problem.
Nadine bit her lip, trying to think of some way a staid, east coast matron with a legal mind might accept the inexplicable. Unperturbed, Magnus leaned his hip against the library table, crossed his arms, and left the problem to her. That miraculously cleared her head.
“Have you met Mikala?” Nadine asked. “Have you had time to talk to Dorrie and her brother? How well do you really know Pippa?”
The judge frowned. With her immaculate salt-and-pepper coiffeur and designer suit, she could fit into any corporate boardroom. “I’ve not had time to really talk to anyone except Philippa. Why?”
“Because it makes it really hard to explain why the school is special unless you understand the children’s difficulties. I can tell you, but you won’t understand.” Frustrated, Nadine tried to think of an example that might convince a no-nonsense legal type. It wasn’t as if she was about to read a judge’s mind.
“This doesn’t go beyond this room,” Magnus intervened with a warning. “Pippa has reason to believe she can kill people with her voice. We’ve seen and heard her do things that are implausible in the world as we know it. This is the reason she doesn’t sing in public anymore. She tried to commit suicide at one point. She’s been in mental institutions.”
Nadine glanced at him in surprise. Pippa had seemed immensely sane and grounded to her. Magnus stayed focused on his aunt.
“Dorrie’s mother was murdered for her ability to manipulate what Dorrie calls chi energy,” he continued. “Dorrie insists she killed Nadine’s step-uncle with her ability to manipulate chi. I’ve seen her knock down grown men with nothing but a small rock and a mean look. Talk to Grandmother Ling if you don’t believe me. I’m an engineer and know what Nadine tells me she can do is scientifically impossible. Yet she does it anyway. She found Mikala with her mind, by talking to her without need of phones or computers.”
“I can see that you believe this,” Helena said slowly. “Even if I accept what you say, what does this have to do with the school?”
Magnus turned to Nadine, leaving the floor open for her again. She loved his trust in her abilities.
“The children attending that school exhibit similar odd abilities,” Nadine said carefully, finding her way. “It’s impossible to explain how difficult it is for a mind-reader to fit into a general population. For one thing, people who scream their thoughts produce pounding migraines. And children are never quiet.”
Nadine gestured at the door. “I’m having difficulty dealing with the wonderful crowd of guests out there. They’re all highly intelligent, fascinating people, but one is terrified she’s pregnant. Another has a bet on a ball game and is impatient to find a TV. Most of them are just thinking about the buffet or sex or they’re picturing how to hang tin cans on Conan’s car. If I’m having difficulty coping with this jumble at a party where I don’t really have to do anything, just think what it does to a child who is trying to learn her alphabet and pay attention to a teacher.”
“You just described Jo-lynn and George with the pregnancy and gambling,” Helena said with a sniff. “Not that I believe you actually read their simple minds, but I understand what you’re saying to some extent. The children in this school are more sensitive than others, the kind of children that are often bullied and misunderstood. Is that close enough?”
“Yes, if that’s the description it takes to make you understand,” Nadine agreed.
“So you want to keep the school open, but if you do, you’re likely to be sued for fraud or by parents whose children were terrified by your stepfather’s depredations?”
“Simply put, yes.” Nadine clenched her hands together, realizing how desperately she wanted this. “My stepbrothers want to close the school and remove any possibility of further suit. Mostly, I think they want me to give them control of the estate as soon as possible.”
“I have no jurisdiction here,” Helena reminded her. “I’ll need to talk with your estate lawyer and then with local authorities. If I’m right, there may be a way for you to set up the school anew, taking it outside the estate. Will that work for you?”
“If I can find financing,” Nadine said cautiously. “Right now, Jo-jo’s wealth is supporting it. I can’t imagine tuition covers the cost.”
“That will be your job, then,” Helena said. “Let’s return to the reception before they cut the cake.”
Magnus squeezed Nadine’s hand and kissed her forehead. “Courage. We’ll do it.”
He made her feel as if she could do anything. Holding his hand helped clear her head, though, so she wasn’t about to let him go.
Thirty-five
Under the twinkle lights around the pool, the band played a sexy salsa number and the crowd danced.
Magnus thought his heart might thud right out of his chest as Nadine swung her hips and swept back her flirty skirt and stepped in time to his every gesture. She moved with him as if she were part of him—or read his mind.
She’d taken off the hated suit jacket. The cleavage revealed had him sweating despite the cool night air. He discarded his tux jacket, cummerbund, and tie. He spun her around just so he could bring those lush curves back into his arms again. Her hips rocked against his before she stepped back. Her eyes taunted him, laughingly, and he felt as if he’d been jolted with a thousand volts.
And then she flicked her gaze to the side, and Magnus realized they’d cleared the floor. Everyone had stepped aside to let them dance.
“Damn,” he breathed into her ear, dipping her in one last move as the song reached its end. “I want you to myself, not as a spectacle for these clowns.”
“I’ve never been a spectacle before— Oh, wait, yeah, the aluminum foil hat and Tweety-bird, but I meant a good spectacle. I kind of enjoyed this.” She leaned against him as he escorted her to the darkest corner of the garden.
Magnus touched the healing cut on her temple. “People should make good spectacles of themselves more often, I guess. I just don’t like sharing.”
She laughed softly. “We’ll see how long it takes before I wear out your patience. Until then, the crowd is breaking up. Conan and Dorrie are off to their butler-assisted hide-out. Do we need to slip away?”
Magnus closed his arms around her and swayed with the slow song the band struck up. Friends and family spilled out on the dance floor. Oz and Pippa had taken over center place. He smiled at their professional moves, and contented himself with the way Nadine melted into him.
“Yeah, let’s call it a day to remember. How’s your head?” He led her from the dance floor, down the garden path.
“Better. The music and you seem to block out the low roar. It’s like having constant traffic in my head sometimes. I don’t think I’ll do well in a busy environment,” she said sadly.
“It’s the reason you clung to the safety of computers for so long, understoo
d. I’m glad I can help, although I’m not sure what I’m doing right.”
“You exist,” she said with a happy sigh. “If you need scientific explanations, let the psychologist explain your Zorro complex. Maybe the answer is there.”
He chuckled. “Okay, no explanations, but you’re still young and have lots of time to explore options.”
He just prayed those options continued to include him. He didn’t know how people formed long term relationships, but he wanted what Oz and Conan had.
He knew how to work for what he wanted. And he wanted Nadine.
She had his shirt studs out by the time they reached the bottom of the hill. He yanked off her silk top the instant the studio door closed behind them. Nadine made love with the same uninhibited fervor with which she danced. He didn’t have to restrain his needs—she encouraged them.
“For someone who turned herself into a machine, you sure know how to make a man feel wanted,” Magnus declared, throwing her onto the bed.
Nadine yanked his shirt from his half-fastened trousers. “Once you take the top off the boiling pot, you get steam,” she reminded him. “Just think of me as steam expanding your horizons like a hot air balloon.”
He laughed. Her lack of restraint was what he’d been missing all these years. With utter fascination, Magnus stripped her of her finery. She pushed him over and climbed on top of him, claiming dominance. Her mouth was a sin in itself, teasing, taunting, caressing, and sucking until he had no choice but to flip her on her back and drive into her with a teenager’s lack of finesse. And she laughed with the joy of the climax they reached.
He could handle her tears as long as he knew he’d eventually be rewarded with her laughter. Tucking her against his side, feeling her breathe, he accepted that he hadn’t been whole until now.
He loved La Loca. Which made him as crazy as she was. He was good with that.
***
THE RISK OF LOVE AND MAGIC Page 29
