She makes a noise, like a soft, tiny sob. “You’re going to make me cry again.”
“It’s okay if you cry, baby. Don’t ever be afraid to cry in front of me.”
“Oh God. Here we go.” She sniffles.
I press her head to my chest and hold her snug.
Moments later, she mumbles, “I did some shadow work.”
“Yeah? Was it hard?”
“It was. But it was worth it to figure out what’s been holding me back in my witchcraft. I realized I’ve been feeling guilty about doing something my mom would have disapproved of. And all my life, all I wanted was her approval.”
I caress her back and shoulder. “Makes sense.”
“It was hard remembering some of the times I felt I let her down. Or wasn’t good enough.” She hesitates. “And I hate feeling like that, so I was terrified of letting you down. And Dad and Cassie. Everyone.”
I note that she calls Joe “Dad,” and a spark of warm happiness flares in my chest. “And I totally understand that, because I was terrified of that too.”
“I know.” She smooths her palm over my biceps. “Dad talked to me. We had a deep, what-is-the-meaning-of-life conversation.”
“Jesus.”
I feel her smile and she traces her fingertips over my shoulder. “Yeah. So I thought about what kind of person I want to be. What kind of witch I want to be. And I guess nobody has all the answers to why we’re here and what our purpose is, but figuring out who and what is important to me is a start.”
“Yeah.”
She lifts her head. “You’re important to me.”
That heat in my chest glows again. I love hearing that from her. “And you’re important to me. The most important.” I lay a soft smooch on her lips. “You’re not giving up your powers.”
“No. I’m going to keep working on them. I’m going to accept them as part of who I am and do the best things I can with them.”
“Don’t just accept them. Embrace them.”
After a beat, she says, “Yes. You’re right. I’m embracing them. And… you are too.”
“Yeah.” I close my eyes briefly. “Working with you was the best thing for me. Thanks to Joe. He knew.”
“I hate that you felt so discouraged with magic that you gave it up. At first I thought it was me you were angry with.”
“I’m sorry.” I clasp her fingers and bring them to my lips. “Another way I was an asshole. Your unique way of thinking about things aggravated me at first, but you made me think. You made me see things differently. You reawakened the magic in me. So thank you.” I kiss her fingers again.
Her eyes shine. “I love you.”
“I love you too. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that you would send me back in time so I could be with my family again.” My voice cracks on the word family. “Although I did wonder if it was because you were pissed at me and wanted to get rid of me.”
She snort-laughs. “Oh my god, Trace.”
“I know, I’m a fuckwit. Anyway, the fact that Felise and Magan would do it too, and Joe had the idea, it made me realize… how much love I have in my life. How I already have family. And home.”
“I know how important those things are to you. So important you spend your life making homes for other people.”
I nod, my throat sealed shut.
“Joe told me that even if I decided not to be a witch, I’d still have unique talents. Magic, just a different kind. And I thought about it. And I thought about how I feel for you and how I could make you happy and… I realized the greatest magic of all is love.”
The next morning, waking up in Romy’s bed, I lay there and reflect on how at peace I feel. Now that I know what real happiness is, I realize how heavy the load of guilt I kept on my shoulders was.
Romy knows what happened. And she loves me anyway.
I feel like I’m home.
She stirs next to me, and I reach for her, and well, we can’t keep our hands off each other even though we’re probably both going to be late for work.
When we finally drag ourselves out of bed, I look around for my clothes. I was a little distracted when I got rid of my clothes with psychokinesis, and I’m not sure where they ended up. Hopefully somewhere here in Romy’s condo.
“They’re over here,” Romy says from across the room. She bends to pick up my jeans. “Oh, your talisman fell out.” She stoops again. When she straightens, she’s holding the small raven skull in her hand.
“You shouldn’t be able to pick that up,” I say slowly.
She looks down at her hand. “Oh. What does this mean?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. I have a spell on it so I won’t lose it. Last time we tried this you almost were able to take it from me.” I walk closer to her. Her gaze moves from the object in her hand to me, tracking over my naked body. I stop in front of her.
She smiles. “Maybe it’s because you love me?”
I close my hand around hers and the talisman, feeling the heat of the object between us. A sense of wonder and rightness unfurls in my chest. I smile into her eyes. “It could definitely be that.”
28
Romy
“No family drama lately?” I ask as Kesha, Hannah, and I relax with glasses of Moscato in my living room.
“My family drama can’t compare to yours lately.” Kesha grins.
I laugh. “True.”
“You seem to be handling things pretty well,” Hannah says. “Who would have thought this is how things would turn out? Not only did you gain a family—and they’re all witches—you found a man!”
“Yes.” I give a little sigh of contentment. “Who would’ve thought?”
“Your whole life is different.” Kesha waves a hand. “Look at this place.”
I nod, sweeping my glance around the room at all the bright watercolor paintings on the walls, the new decor, the vase of fresh sunflowers. “It feels… like home.”
Like Trace told me the night we met. Home is more than shelter. It’s my sanctuary. It’s my gathering place for friends and family. It’s a center for my life.
“Like your home,” Kesha adds.
Trace’s love of home and family has definitely inspired me to make this place my own. I come home from work at Dream Homes, these days tired but in a good way because my day has been challenging and creative and fun, and walk into my safe haven. My comfort zone. And even more so when I’m joined by people I love—Trace. My family. And my best friends.
“I was afraid we would lose you as a friend because of your new family,” Hannah says.
My attention snaps to her. “What?”
She makes a face. “Your family is huge. Consuming. Plus they’re witches and I know there’s secrecy around it and we’re not part of that.”
“Oh no!” I stare at her in dismay, pressing my hand to my chest. “Don’t ever think that! I love you both! And I still need you!”
“Really?” Hannah tilts her head and looks at Kesha.