A Stroke Of Magic Read Online Free PDF Page B

and, for a minute, the entire room swirled around me. I thought I might faint. I bent over and splashed my face with cold water, which helped. After another minute passed, everything settled and I took another shaky breath.
    I didn’t get, at first, what had happened. Seeing as I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I assumed my body wanted some calories, and that was that. But after I dried my face off, when I turned to leave the restroom I caught sight of my reflection out of the corner of my eye and stopped. I forced the air out of my lungs and then back in. I wanted to freak, truly I did, but I think I was in shock.
    Holy shit.
    Turning orange juice into grape had apparently been too difficult, but somehow, changing the color of my blouse wasn’t? Again I tugged at my shirt, now a bright peacock blue. Seriously, the fabric itself had changed color. How was that even remotely possible?
    Most women would probably think this was cool, but not me. I preferred ginger ale to stay ginger ale and green garments to stay green. Besides, I was about to meet Ethan, and he’d just seen me, so unless he was color-blind, he’d notice. How the hell would I explain a chameleonic shirt?
    My mind jumped around all the possible things I could say, and nothing I came up with seemed realistic. If I wished it blue, maybe I could wish it back? “I wish this shirt was its original color,” I whispered. Nothing happened, so I tried again. “Please, please, please be green.”
    Zip. Zilch. Nada.
    With shaking hands, I whisked out my cell phone and dialed Chloe. Only she didn’t answer. Maybe I’d just stay in the bathroom and hide? No. He’d eventually come to find me, and that would be so much worse. Which meant I needed to figure this out. And fast.
    I was about to try wishing the color back again when the restroom door opened and Missy entered. The woman wore a constant frown, though maybe that was only when she dealt with me. She glared as she crossed to the row of sinks. “I just saw Ethan in the lobby. He wanted me to check on you.”
    “Oh. I should go then,” I said.
    She didn’t respond, so I left. Whatever her beef with me was, it would come out sooner or later. Right now, I had more important things to think about.
    Ethan’s gaze skimmed over me when I met up with him in the lobby. “I was beginning to worry.” Cupping my elbow with his hand, he led me toward the door. “Everything okay?”
    “Yes. Sorry it took me so long.” Hey, if he didn’t mention my shirt, I wasn’t going to.
    “Not a problem. I thought we’d go to Roméo’s, since it’s within walking distance and it’s a beautiful day. Do you like Italian?”
    “Love it.”
    Fifteen minutes later, we were seated in the restaurant. We’d already placed our orders, and now I didn’t know what to say. After the sketch incident and the magically changing shirt, I pretty much had nothing. Besides, he’d likely invited me to lunch for a reason, so I assumed he’d take control of the conversation at some point. Until then, I was content to nibble on a roll and drink my water.
    “How are you finding Enchanted Expressions?” His tone held nothing more than interest and mild curiosity, but a knotted ball of tension curled between my shoulders.
    “What do you mean?”
    “You’re not very happy, are you?”
    Oh, no. Was this one of those take the lousy employee out to a public place to fire her so she wouldn’t make a scene type of things? “Why would you say that? I’m thrilled. I can’t wait to get to work every day!” So I exaggerated a little. It didn’t hurt anything.
    His smoky eyes met mine, and again, my instincts told me he saw straight through me. “A little overkill on the excitement, don’t you think?”
    I fiddled with my water glass. “I don’t want you to fire me,” I admitted softly. “It’s a good job, and I’m grateful to have it. There are a lot of things I like about it. I’m still adjusting, that’s all.” I shrugged. “I