Essence of the Witch

by Deanna Chase

  Miranda’s eyes danced as she said something to her dinner companion. He was clearly delighted with her as he threw his head back and laughed. It was then he noticed the other man had his hand covering hers. Gideon’s gaze fixated on the connection, and he gritted his teeth but then forced himself to unclench his jaw as he neared the table and turned his attention back to her. She hadn’t yet noticed him, which was a good thing since he was certain his emotions had been lining his face. Get it together, man, he ordered himself and pasted on a smile he’d perfected over his years of business meetings.

  “Miranda?” He gripped the back of an empty chair and smiled down at her.

  She froze for just a moment before jerking her head to stare up at him, shock clouding her lovely dark chocolate-colored eyes. Her voice was barely a whisper as she said, “Gideon?”

  A smile tugged at his lips. “Surprise.”

  She jumped and yanked her hand from the man’s as if she’d been caught by a lover on an illicit date. In her haste, her hand collided with a pillar candle in the middle of the table, and as she reached to steady it, she missed, sending the thing straight at her date. He’d been reaching forward to help her with his head much too close to the flame, and as the candle flew past him, suddenly his hair went up in flames.

  “Oh no!” Miranda reached for her water glass and threw it at him, drenching his face but missing his hair.

  The man let out a shout and patted his head as he jumped up and turned toward the restrooms.

  “Stop!” Gideon demanded, already reaching for the magic tingling in his veins.

  Her date froze as if Gideon’s command had magically compelled him in some way. Gideon knew that was impossible; he didn’t have that type of power. But he could do something about the fire. With just one hand on the man’s head and a snap of his fingers, the fire vanished, leaving the man with charred ends and the rancid scent of burnt hair filling Gideon’s nose.

  The other man sank into a chair, covering his head with both hands and breathing hard. “Holy hell,” he muttered. “That was… crazy.”

  “Oh my goodness, sir. Are you all right?” the waiter asked, crouching down beside the man. “Do we need to call an ambulance?”

  Gideon could’ve told the young waiter that was unnecessary. The fire had been clinging to whatever hair product the man had used, and Gideon had put it out before any real damage occurred.

  “No. No,” the man said, shaking his head. “I’m fine. I just… wow. That was crazy.”

  “Jax!” Miranda finally shook herself out of her shocked state. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that.” She took a good look at him and winced. “Your hair. Oh, man. I can’t apologize enough.”

  Jax ran his hands over his hair again, his eyes going wide with a dawning realization. “I have to go.” He stood quickly. “I can’t believe this. I have a modeling shoot next week. I have to get this fixed.” Jax took off for the door. After a few steps, he paused and glanced over his shoulder. “I’d say it was nice to meet you, Miranda, but this is just… Son of a… dammit. If I show up at my shoot like this, I’m going to be fired. Thanks for nothing.”

  Miranda apologized again, but Jax ran out of the restaurant, muttering to himself about needing a new job and how he was done schmoozing for his boss.

  “That was exciting,” Gideon said, taking Jax’s abandoned seat.

  Miranda blinked at him as if she were trying to decide if he was real or not.

  He smiled at her. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Gideon,” she finally breathed out. Then her expression turned hard and angry as she said, “What are you doing here?”

  Jerking back, it was Gideon’s turn to blink at her. Her anger left him momentarily speechless. She couldn’t still be holding a grudge after all those years, could she? But judging by her narrowed eyes and the sneer claiming her lips, that was exactly what was happening here. “Here at the restaurant or here in Keating Hollow?” he asked just to bide time.

  Her dark eyes turned almost black. “Both.”

  Someone who didn’t know her well might be intimidated by the anger rolling off her, but the Miranda he’d known used anger to mask a whole host of emotions. If he had to guess, he’d say there was a lot of fear lurking under that expression. But fear of what? Him? He was the last person she needed to worry about.

  “Well?” she pressed, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest.

  He cleared his throat. “I’m here in Keating Hollow on vacation, and this is the first restaurant I saw this afternoon when I rolled into town.” Gideon eyed her thoughtfully. “What about you? What brings you to Keating Hollow?”

  She gave him a flat stare. “I live here.”

  His lips curved into a grin. “Well, then. Looks like I might have to extend my trip a few weeks.”

  Chapter Three

  What in the fresh pumpkin spice was happening right now? In addition to being mortified about setting Jax’s hair on fire, Miranda was completely thrown by the sudden appearance of Gideon Alexander.

  The moment she’d laid eyes on him her heart swelled, and pure joy filled all of her empty spaces. He was just as handsome as he’d been in college, with wavy brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a body that looked like it belonged to an athlete. Only he’d gotten his muscles in his workshop instead of a gym. Did that mean he was still sculpting? She hoped so, but she also knew he’d left that part of him behind when he’d gone to work for his father’s company.

  How many times had she imagined running into him again? Hundreds at least. But never once had that vision included her fumbling a candle and nearly sending a guy up in flames. As the embarrassment kicked in, so did the suspicion. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he’d shown up in Keating Hollow at the exact same time that her book was finally being made into a movie… the book that was written about their relationship. It was also the book that had almost never been published because the media company his father owned tried to bury it.

  Was he in Keating Hollow to try to stop the movie? She wasn’t sure how he could since she’d sold the rights to Witching Hour Productions, a rival media company, but there was a reason people always said that everyone and everything had a price.

  Miranda hadn’t actually thought he’d been involved in trying to bury her book. She’d always assumed that honor went to Gideon’s father, whom she’d always known was no fan of hers. But considering there was talk of Witching Hour moving forward with her movie, why else would he suddenly show up after all these years? All of the joy she’d felt earlier vanished, and all she saw was red as she grilled him. “You just happened to choose Keating Hollow for a vacation? Really? The town is out-of-the-way and tiny. Don’t you vacation in places like Hawaii or something?”

  Gideon placed his elbows on the table and leaned in. “Miranda, I don’t vacation.”

  She raised one eyebrow. He didn’t know it, but he’d just given a piece of evidence to support her theory. If he didn’t vacation, why else was he in her town? “You’re here, aren’t you?”

  His lips twitched before he said, “It seems so.”

  Why was he so effing smug? Miranda wanted to wipe that tiny smile right off his face while also wanting to lean in and… what? Kiss him? That’s what flashed through her mind, and she hated herself for it. He left her fifteen years ago. His company tried to stop the publication of her first book. He’d not only crushed her heart, but someone in his orbit had tried to crush her dreams, too. She stood. “I can’t do this.”

  A flicker of something that looked an awful lot like alarm flashed through his eyes. He jumped up and reached out to place a hand on her arm. “Miranda, wait.”

  “For what? For you to rip my heart out again?” she spat out. Then she closed her eyes, hating how bitter and lovesick that sounded. It had been years. She was over him. She had to be. “You know what? Never mind.” Embarrassed and completely mortified, Miranda grabbed her wrap and rushed to the hostess stand. “I need to pay the
check for my table, please.”

  “I’ve got it.” Gideon’s voice sounded from right behind her.

  Miranda whirled around. “I can’t let you do that.”

  He handed the hostess his credit card. “Sure, you can. It’s the least I can do after ruining your evening. I’m really sorry, Miranda. All I wanted to do was say hello. I can see that was a mistake. Don’t worry. I’ll stay out of your hair while I’m here in town.”

  “I bet,” she muttered and stalked out of the restaurant. But as soon as she got outside, she started to feel like a complete jerk. She’d totally bitten his head off and hadn’t even thanked him for paying for the meals neither she nor Jax had eaten.

  A gust of wind blew, chilling her to the bone, and she took a minute to cloak herself in her wrap. She had to go back in there and apologize. She’d made a bunch of assumptions, but the man hadn’t done anything but try to be friendly.

  “Crap,” she said under her breath and reached for the door. But before she could wrap her hand around the handle, the door swung open and Gideon stepped out onto the cobbled sidewalk.

  “Miranda. You’re still here,” he said, sounding surprised.

  “Um. Yeah.” She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm in the early December evening. “I was headed back in to find you.”

  He frowned and actually took a step back.

  She couldn’t blame him. She’d likely do the same thing if he’d treated her the way she’d treated him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have barked at you, and you certainly didn’t deserve to have your head bitten off. I didn’t mean it. I think I was just taken by surprise and a little out of my mind after what happened to Jax.”

  Gideon didn’t say anything for a few beats, but then he held out the plastic bag he was holding. “Here. This is the dinner you and Jax didn’t get to eat.”

  She stared at the plastic bag and then shook her head. “Thanks, but you paid for it. You should take it with you for a late dinner or lunch tomorrow.”

  He chuckled and placed the bag in her hand. “I’m good, Miranda. Please take your dinner home. I’ve done enough to disrupt your evening.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he held a hand up and said, “Why don’t we just leave it here tonight. We’ve both apologized. No hard feelings, huh?”

  Miranda just nodded because she didn’t know what else to do. She still had her suspicions about why he might be in town, but that’s all they were… suspicions. Maybe he had come to town for a short vacation. Keating Hollow had been put on the map a few months ago when the paparazzi had followed Silas Ansell back to his hometown. It wasn’t exactly that far-fetched that a fire witch would seek some R & R in a magical village. It was time to shake off her paranoia.

  “Thanks, Gideon. That was kind of you,” she said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. But Gideon moved at the last second, and she ended up brushing a light kiss over his lips. A shiver ghosted over her skin as tiny bells went off in her head, proving once and for all that she hadn’t gotten over him. It had been fifteen years, and he still had the same effect on her that he did in college.

  “Goodnight, Miranda,” he said softly. And then he turned and strode away.

  Miranda watched him until he climbed into a black SUV and disappeared down Main Street.

  “The end!” Miranda called out and raised her arms over her head in a victory motion.

  “The end?” Shannon asked, her voice skeptical. “What did you do? Cut off five thousand words from your wordcount goal?”

  Miranda glanced over at her friend behind the counter at A Spoonful of Magic and flashed what she assumed was a manic smile. What else could it be? She’d just written over twelve thousand words in one day while she sat at a table inside the confectionary shop. “Nope. I even went over a couple thousand.”

  “Dang, girl. This calls for a celebration.” Shannon strode out from behind the counter and held her hand out to Miranda. “Get out of that chair before you develop a blood clot and let’s go to Incantation Café for some of Hanna’s gingerbread cookies and Irish coffees.”

  “Wait. The Incantation Café has started serving alcohol?” Miranda asked after the mention of Irish coffees perked her up.

  “Nope.” Shannon laughed. “But I happen to know Hanna keeps a bottle of Irish cream in the fridge.”

  “I knew I liked her.” Miranda took Shannon’s hand and let the other woman pull her out of the chair. Her back and legs were so stiff that she had trouble just standing up straight. “Hold on. I think I need a minute.”

  Shannon shook her head. “I told you your butt was gonna grow roots. I think you only got up once to go to the bathroom. Good thing you didn’t have your regular six cups of coffee today, or your bladder would’ve given out on you.”

  Miranda laughed. “I was on a roll. You don’t mess with that.”

  “I guess not.”

  After taking a moment to stretch her achy limbs, Miranda packed up her laptop and followed Shannon to the door. When she flicked the lights off and locked the door behind them, Miranda glanced at her phone. “It’s closing time already?”

  Shannon gave her a patient smile. “Closing time was an hour ago.”

  “What?” Miranda pulled her wool coat around her tighter and gaped at Shannon. “Why didn’t you kick me out?”

  “I tried, but you wouldn’t budge.” She winked at Miranda. “Just kidding. I did mention it was closing time. You were so engrossed in what you were writing that you didn’t even look at me. I had some paperwork to do, so I just decided to leave you be while I finished up.”

  Miranda slipped her arm through Shannon’s and leaned her head against the other woman’s shoulder. “You’re the best. You know that, right?”

  “Yep.” She brushed imaginary dust from her shoulders, and they both laughed as they made their way into Incantation Café.

  When they were seated near the fireplace with their secret Irish coffee’s, Shannon fixed her gaze on Miranda and said, “Okay, spill. And I want all the dirty details. How do you know Gideon Alexander, and what is he doing here in Keating Hollow?”

  Miranda put her coffee mug down and tilted her head. “I, uh, was going to ask you the same thing. About what he’s doing here, I mean.”

  “I have no idea,” Shannon said, appearing sincere as she leaned back and pursed her lips. “Honestly, I’ve met with producers before, and even some from his media company, but not him.”

  Miranda let her gaze drop to her coffee mug as she said, “I kind of thought he might be here about Witching for You.”

  “You did?”

  When Miranda glanced back up at her, Shannon’s expression was confused. “Well, yeah. Why else would he be here? He said he came for vacation, but why would he come here? His family has more money than the Queen of England. Gideon could literally go anywhere.”

  “Ace Media isn’t involved with Witching for You,” Shannon said. “Witching Hour doesn’t partner with them. Did you hear something?”

  That sinking feeling Miranda had the night before when she’d jumped to conclusions about Gideon came rushing back. She’d had all night to think it through, and she’d still come to the tentative conclusion that he must’ve been in town to derail her movie. “No. Nothing like that. I just…” She blew out a breath and met Shannon’s eyes. “About those dirty details you wanted…”

  “Yes?” Shannon said when Miranda didn’t elaborate.

  “Witching for You is about me and Gideon. He was my college boyfriend. I thought maybe… Well, I guess I thought he was trying to get the movie stopped or something in case anyone realizes the male lead is based on him.”

  “Whoa.”

  “Yeah. Whoa.” Miranda took a big gulp of her Irish coffee, already contemplating a second cup.

  “Do you really think he’d do that?” Shannon asked. “I haven’t heard of any complications. In fact, Silas and I are anticipating a contract later this week. The initial negotiations are already hammered out.”
>
  “Really?” Miranda’s stomach flipped with nerves and anticipation. “That sounds like things are really happening.”

  Shannon gave her a gentle smile. “It does. Anything could happen of course, even once they start filming, but if contracts are being handed out, that means the production company is serious. They’ll have to pay either way once they’re signed. They don’t like to pay out on projects that go nowhere. Especially Witching Hour. They have a good track record of follow-through.”

  “That’s good to hear.” That ball of unease returned to Miranda’s gut as she thought of the night before and how she’d behaved with Gideon. She’d been a complete idiot in more ways than one. “I should probably find him and apologize again. I was kind of rude.”

  “You, rude?” Shannon asked with a chuckle. “I find that hard to believe. A little forward or blunt maybe, but rude isn’t how I would describe you.”

  Miranda winced. “You might’ve seen us there, but you didn’t hear what I said. There’s a lot of unresolved history there.”

  “I bet.” She shifted her gaze over Miranda’s shoulder and then nodded toward the door. “Here’s your chance. Looks like we’re not the only ones who needed a late afternoon shot of caffeine.”

  Miranda quickly glanced over her shoulder and spotted Gideon making his way toward the front counter. Her body tensed, and those damned butterflies were back in her gut. Shannon was right. This was her chance to talk to him. The only problem was that she wasn’t sure she could do it without being a bumbling idiot.

  “I need to get going,” Shannon said. “Brian and Silas will be waiting on me for dinner.”