A Taste of Magic Read Online Free PDF

Brushing my hair only gave me a nestlike style, but at least it was no longer rain-plastered to my head.
    After slipping off my totaled skirt, I grabbed my robe from the hook on the door and slid it on. Opening the door, I went to face the music.
    Nate leaned against the wall outside the bathroom, his legs stretched out in front of him. Silently, he offered me my key.
    “Thank you. For your help and everything. When did you move in?”
    “Yesterday. I’m your next door neighbor.”
    Oh, that was solid information. Maybe things were finally turning around.
    He walked to the front door. “I don’t need to file a report. I found you hanging out the window after my shift ended.”
    “Oh. Good,” I said. Nothing in writing to prove the night ever happened. Couldn’t argue with that.
    The cop stopped in the hallway, the open door between us. “Don’t keep your key outside. It really isn’t safe.”
    I nodded. “I’m sorry to—”
    A small smile and a tip of his head cut me off. “Things happen. Be more careful in the future.”
    Nodding again, I tightened the belt on my robe.
    “Good night, Elizabeth. Happy birthday.”
    Silly, but I stayed in the doorway for probably five minutes or so after he’d let himself in to his own apartment. Nate. I really wished I’d met him under better circumstances.

Chapter Three
    I had cotton in my mouth. Rolling over, I squinted at the clock. The glowing blue numbers read 8:30 A.M. Earlier than I’d intended, but no way would I fall back asleep now. The older I got, the harder it was to sleep in. Even on Saturdays.
    Reaching for the water bottle I kept on my nightstand, I took a hefty swallow. Better . My head seemed a little foggy but not too bad considering the previous night. Other than the complete and utterly embarrassing way I’d encountered my new neighbor.
    “Don’t dwell.” I swung my feet to the floor and stretched my arms wide. My muscles pulled a bit, probably from being stuck in a window, but a hot shower would relax the kinks. After that, I wasn’t sure how I’d spend my day. It wasn’t like I had a pressing schedule to adhere to. I could finish one of the latch-hook rugs I’d started months ago, or I could unpack a few boxes, or I could even go shopping to replace my skirt.
    Yes, my life was exciting.
    It wasn’t until I stood in the shower, rinsing apple-scented shampoo out of my hair, that I remembered it was Marc’s wedding day. Pain sliced through me quick, and the air around me grew heavy, making it difficult to breathe normally. I wished I hadn’t remembered. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the shower wall. Today, the man I’d believed I’d spend the rest of my life with would vow to love and cherish another woman for the rest of her life.
    I didn’t cry, which surprised me. I felt like I should cry, because how could something hurt so much and not bring forth tears? Maybe I’d finally cried myself out. Did a person only get so many tears, and once shed, that was that? I didn’t know, but I didn’t really care, either.
    I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten—well, that it wasn’t the first thing on my mind when I’d woken that morning. But maybe, just maybe, that was the good news?
    Opening my eyes, I grabbed some conditioner. I poured a glop of it into my hand and tried to think of something else. Anything else.
    Nate’s face popped into my head, along with a possible plan. To thank Nate and to (hopefully) alter his first impression of me, I could bake him a thank-you-and-welcome-to the-building treat. It couldn’t hurt, and it gave me something to do. The longer I thought about it, the better I liked the idea. Before I knew it, I breathed easier, and the knot in my shoulders eased. I could do this.
    Thirty minutes later, dressed in jeans and a yellow sweatshirt, hair pulled back, I put on ABBA and went into the kitchen. Maybe it was Marc’s wedding day, but that didn’t mean I had to be miserable, right? Today could be as good or as