by Meg Ripley
“It’s ten.”
“Oh. Well, it would seem early to you if you’d been out all night partying, too.”
“Trying to relive your college days? I hate to break it to you, but we’re not twenty anymore.” Not that Summer could really chastise her; she had stayed up late the past two nights just thinking. While she had started off cleaning the house or writing down ideas for new spells, she would then find herself just staring into space and thinking about Xander. It made for very restless sleep once she finally did go to bed, with his handsome face ever-present in her mind’s eye, telling her that they were meant for each other. It was romantic in a way, the sort of thing that any normal woman would see in a movie and swoon over, wishing her real-life partner would say such things. But it was much more disconcerting when it happened in real life.
“You don’t have to remind me,” Autumn replied, bringing Summer back once again from her fantasies. “Marla doesn’t seem to realize that we’ve gained another decade, though. She can still stay out and drink with the best of them. I was really glad to be living it up like that, at first. I wasn’t thinking about the shop or any of my obligations, and I think I needed that. But I’m sure as hell paying for it now.”
“It’s good for you to unwind every now and then,” Summer assured her as she busied herself with firing up the cash register and checking her list of things to do for the day. She had made the talisman for the woman’s granddaughter, and she would need to call her later to let her know it was in. “You deserve this.”
“I’m glad you think so. I feel bad about leaving you there to run the shop. Damn, I’ve got to find some water or something.”
Summer smiled. “Don’t feel bad. It’s my store, too, and I’m happy to hold down the fort. Things were busy over the weekend, so you’ll probably find a nice little chunk of change when you come back and pull the reports.” At least, Summer hoped so. It had certainly felt busy while she was the only one there to run it, and she didn’t want Autumn to have any excuse not to leave her again.
“I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I’m not sure I care about our profits right now. I’m just ready to get home and sleep in my own bed.”
“When do you plan to come back?” Summer knew that Autumn had left her plane ticket open-ended with the pretense that she could come back early if Summer needed help with the store. Summer didn’t take any offense to this, even though she knew she could run things just fine by herself. It was what made Autumn feel comfortable. But that also meant that a specific return date hadn’t been discussed.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Autumn suddenly sounded much more awake and alert.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Summer hedged. “It’s just that things have been a little…strange around here.”
“Strange how?”
Summer did her best to explain the picnic with Xander, the awkward situation with Joanna, and the bewildering conversation they’d had at her house.
“He actually told you that you’re supposed to be together? As in, destined?”
Summer could close her eyes and relive the moment perfectly. “Yes. Just like that.”
“You know, Summer, I love you. I think you’re a wonderful person, but I think you can also be a bit gullible at times.”
Pulling the phone away from her face to glare at it, Summer asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Autumn sighed. “You just try so hard to see the best in everyone. You like to think that the rest of the world is just as honest as you are, but that’s not the case. Lots of guys will say things like that because they think it’s what you want to hear.”
“No, this is different.” Why was she arguing for Xander? She had called Autumn in the hope of some form of reassurance, but this wasn’t it. “I might not like conflict, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”
“I never said you were stupid…”
“You implied it!” Summer’s voice was loud in the store. Fortunately, no customers had come in yet.
“Listen, that’s not what I meant to say. I just know that you tend to see your own goodness reflected back in other people.”
“Then why is this guy upsetting me so much?” Summer demanded. Heat spread through her chest and stomach as she thought about every tiny irritation she had suffered since she’d met Xander. “Why does it bother me so much that he thinks we’re supposed to be mates or whatever? It’s a nice idea, I guess, but I’m not really ready for something like that. Why am I so disturbed at the idea that he just might be right?” As her own words echoed back to her, she realized the truth in them. That was exactly what was bothering her so much.
Autumn knew it, too. “Is it such a terrible thing to find someone who loves you and wants to be with you?”
“He can’t possibly love me,” Summer argued through gritted teeth. “He doesn’t even know me. And even if he gets to know me, he’s going to discover what I already know.”
“And that is?”
“That we’re two completely different people.” It seemed so obvious to Summer, and it was frustrating that no one else seemed able to pick up on it. “He drives a luxury sedan and wears dress shirts and slacks. I’d be willing to bet that he has a specific schedule he follows every day and that he can’t handle it when someone messes it up. I’m nothing like him, and he would be miserable with me. Wait, why are you laughing?” Summer tightened her grip on the phone. If it wasn’t her twin on the other end, she would have hung up several minutes ago.
“Because you’re being ridiculous. You keep going on about how he doesn’t know you, but you don’t really know him, either. Maybe he’s not as uptight as you think he is. And who gives a shit what he wears? It’s what he’s got underneath his clothes that’s going to matter in the bedroom.”
It was just like Autumn to have sex at the forefront of her mind. “What about the way he interfered at the picnic? I don’t need anyone to handle my business for me.”
There was a pause on the other end. “You and I have always had each other’s backs, right?”
“Of course.” Summer wasn’t sure where Autumn was going with this.
“And there are times when we’ve really needed to rely on each other, when we couldn’t quite handle things on our own, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, what’s wrong with having someone else on your side? Just because he didn’t handle it the way you wanted him to doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. You should give him a chance, Summer. Just the way you’re acting tells me that.”
Summer felt as though her sister could look through time and space and see her standing there in the middle of the shop with her fingers raking through her hair, looking frazzled. “How’s that?”
“You don’t get like this. You’re calm and quiet, letting the peace of the universe be your light. But right now, you’re angry and loud. This guy has gotten under your skin, and that’s got to mean something. I can’t say if you’re destined to be together or not, but you are at least destined to figure out what this man will mean to your life.”
Summer felt weak and defeated. She had thought a conversation with her sister would replenish her energy and help her focus, but that hadn’t been the case. And she still had an entire day of work ahead of her. “I guess Leah must think so, too,” she admitted. “She’s the one who told him where I live.”
Autumn laughed. “Leave it up to the psychic! I’ve got to go, hun, but just think about what I said. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way home, okay? Love you.” She hung up with a click.
Puffing up her cheeks and blowing her breath out through her lips, Summer knew that her sister was probably right. But she didn’t have to like it, and she didn’t have to accept that there was any possibility of a relationship just yet. After all, the only thing she had agreed to do was to get to know Xander, and right now she had a store to run.
The bell over the door rang with perfect timing, admitting the first customer of the day. Summer plastered on a smile that s
he didn’t feel and came around the counter. “Good morning. Is there something I can help you find?”
The young woman smiled shyly. “I’m just looking around at the moment, but thanks.”
“Okay. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.” Summer was almost disappointed. If the customer had questions or wanted to know what a certain herb was for, then she would have an excuse to think about something other than Xander. Damn him for being so charismatic. The way he had come up to her, towering over her without making her feel trapped, explaining how desperate he was to have her…It had sent a certain sensation through her that she wouldn’t have expected to feel for a man like him. Briefly, she wondered just what he looked like when he shifted…
“Excuse me.” A customer stood in front of the counter, looking at her expectantly. It was an older woman with dyed hair, and she must have come in without Summer even noticing. “I heard you have herbal remedies here.”
“What? Oh, yes. Of course. Right over here.”
The flow of customers was steady that morning. The warm weather had made more people take time off from work, and they were choosing to spend that time coming in. Granted, Autumn and Summer had recently renewed the spell of welcoming around the front door, but it had never worked quite as well as it had been that day.
She was just getting into the routine of things when an unexpected figure came through the door. He wore his usual attire that seemed just a tad too formal for everyday wear; that day, he chose charcoal slacks and a polo. He looked around the store with interest as he held a tiny girl on his hip.
“Let me know if you have any more questions,” Summer said distractedly to a customer who had asked her about white sage smudge sticks. She threaded her way through the store until she stood in front of Xander, suddenly self-conscious about the way she had dressed that day. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled at her confidently. “I hadn’t been in your store before, so Nora and I thought we would stop in.”
“Oh. Um, okay.” She shifted her weight uncomfortably on her feet. She’d never worried about what anyone thought about the store, other than the time that Joanna had harassed them on her blog.
“Is that alright? I thought it would be a nice step in getting to know you.” His voice was so smooth; his eyes, so entrancing.
She swallowed. “Sure. Of course.”
The little girl on his hip babbled nonsensically, calling Summer’s attention to her. She was an absolute doll, with curly brown hair that rested like a halo around her head. Her chocolate eyes were innocent and curious, and she reached out to Summer with a pudgy hand.
“Well, hi there, sweetheart.” Summer felt much more comfortable with the little girl than she did with Xander. She, at least, wasn’t expecting anything from her. “How are you this morning?”
“This is my daughter, Nora,” Xander said proudly.
Summer couldn’t help but notice just how much he beamed when he spoke of her, and it sent a little thrill of electricity through her chest. She reached out to take the hand Nora offered to her, and the child gave her a very similar smile. Summer knew they weren’t related biologically, but they might as well have been. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
Nora pointed eagerly at a nearby shelf, and Summer turned to see what she was interested in. “Oh, you like the stones? Come and see.” Summer stepped over and picked one from the basket. It was a dark brown swirled with green, almost the same color as Xander’s eyes. She put it in Nora’s outstretched palm. “This one is called jade.”
“Jay?” Nora asked.
Summer was tickled at the tot’s attempt at the name. “Yes, you’re a quick study, aren’t you?”
“Careful with it,” Xander warned his daughter as she examined the stone.
“She can’t hurt it,” Summer assured him. “In fact, she can keep it. Put it up on a shelf in her room. It attracts abundance and wellbeing.”
Xander raised an eyebrow as well as the corners of his mouth. “That can’t hurt. What do the other stones do?”
Easily diving into her area of expertise, Summer took more from the basket and explained what kind of energies they attracted. She paused as she thought about the pretty gems. “What’s your birthstone?”
Xander gave her a blank look. “I’m afraid I don’t know what that means.”
“Oh, well there’s a stone linked to every birth month. Garnet for January, amethyst for February, and so on.” She had always enjoyed helping people find beautiful versions of their birthstones, and not the lab-created, fancy-cut ones they could find in a jewelry store.
He pursed his lips and scratched the back of his head with his free hand. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I don’t have a birthday, in the normal sense of the word.”
Summer instantly understood her mistake. Of course he didn’t have a birthday. If they kept track of such things where he was from, then they undoubtedly used a different calendar than everyone on Earth did. “Of course. I’m sorry.”
“That’s alright.” And she could tell that he meant it. “Nora does, though. She was hatched—I mean, born—in June. What birthstone does she have?”
“Ah. Come with me.” She led them to a glass case on the other side of the shop floor, unlocked the door, and picked up a stone of dark purple. “Alexandrite. It brings joy and hope, and it’s very rare. That’s why I have to keep it locked up. One of the neatest things about this stone is that it looks purple because we’re under incandescent lights, but when you go outside, it appears a greenish-blue. It’s different depending on how you look at it.”
“That seems very appropriate,” Xander commented, admiring the stone. “How much is it?”
Summer’s heart fluttered. She wanted to just give it to him. Nora was clearly fascinated by the stone, holding it tightly in her fist and examining it through her fingers. But this was an expensive item, and one that Summer would balk at being given away for free. Reluctantly, she showed him the price tag.
Xander nodded. “We’ll take it.”
“Miss? Miss! I’ve got a question for you about these essential oils over here.”
Summer handed the stone to Xander and gently closed the cabinet. “Excuse me for just a second.” She helped the woman, who wanted to know what kind of oil was best for keeping her sinuses clear. Then she had to dash across the store to help a different customer who knew she had seen a beautiful journal in there before and wanted to buy it for her niece’s birthday, but she could no longer remember exactly what it looked like. A delivery driver arrived with a pallet full of boxes, and Summer had to make a pathway for his dolly so he could place it in the back room for her. There was no time to go through the boxes right then.
Several customers later, she finally returned to Xander. “I’m so sorry about all of that. I swear, we’ve been doing more business this week than we usually do, and of course it would happen when my sister is out of town.”
And, of course, it would also happen when she had Xander standing there waiting for her. As much as she had tried to convince herself that the two of them shouldn’t have anything to do with each other, she found herself wanting to get back to him and Nora far more than she wanted to help her customers.
“Don’t apologize,” he said gently. “You have a business to run, and I completely understand that. Besides, Nora and I have been very entertained looking at all the different candles.”
As if to demonstrate, Nora reached out towards a pink candle, and then touched her nose. Her father did as he was asked, lifting the candle from the display and holding it up so she could smell it. She sniffed dutifully and then grinned.
Summer couldn’t help but be enchanted. Nora was of the age when most children simply couldn’t be controlled. “You know, I can’t even count on all my fingers and toes the number of times someone has come in here with a child her age that was running wild. Touching everything, grabbing delicate items from the display cases, screaming. It’s a delight to have someone
like her in here.” The connection she felt with Nora was a deep one that wrapped around her heart and squeezed gently.
The little girl reached out to Summer with both hands, opening and closing her fists.
“I think she wants you to hold her,” Xander said with a knowing smile.
Summer wanted to scowl at him, but she simply couldn’t. Instead, she held her arms out for Nora, who practically leaped to her. The child felt warm and soft against her, and Summer noticed the way her own body reacted. It seemed there was no greater privilege than having the baby close and feeling her little fingers and they reached out to gently caress Summer’s earrings.
“Nay?” Nora asked.
“My name? I’m Summer, sweetie,” she replied happily.
“I Nora,” the girl replied matter-of-factly.
Giggling, Summer held her a little tighter. “Yes, I know. And it’s a beautiful name. Do you like my store?”
Nora’s eyes widened. “You?”
Summer didn’t need to ask Xander for an interpretation. “Yes, this is my store. My sister and I own it. Do you like it?”
The child nodded so enthusiastically that her entire body bobbed in Summer’s grip. “Pretty!”
Unfortunately, a short line of customers was once again forming at the counter. Summer turned to Xander, prepared to hand the child back, but then she had another idea. “Nora, would you like to come back here and help me with the cash register?”
Nora might or might not have known what she was talking about, but she nodded again.
“Okay, come on. We’ve got to go back here.” Summer carried Nora back behind the counter. “Now, this lady wants to buy a pretty crystal. I’ll type in the price, and then you push this big green button for me, okay?”
“Green!” Nora did as she was asked, clapping her hands with pride when she was done.
“Good job! Now we have to put it in a bag for her. Can you do that?” Summer reached under the counter for a small paper sack, flicking it open with one hand.
Nora very delicately picked up the crystal and set it gently down into the bottom of the bag.
