Page 66 of Kiss and Spell
A soft voice interrupted his musings. “Do you know what you want, hon?” she asked.
He peered at the tired-eyed but welcoming waitress who stood by his table, holding a pad, and read the shell-shaped nametag pinned to her T-shirt. “Could you give me more time to think, Ms. Mimi?”
Mimi watched him for a beat, then nodded. “I’ll get you a slice of cheesecake while you think.”
Another day, another dollar to be made by Ursula at Light as a Feather. The early afternoon light streamed in the window, giving the mystic space a light glow. There were no customers waiting for the table reading, so Ursula focused on the sales floor and made sure that everything was clear. By lunchtime, the entire place sparkled. No matter how much she cleaned, she couldn’t stop thinking about last night. Ursula arranged and rearranged the pop-up candle display to give her nervous energy an outlet. She was taking a picture of the finished stand for their social media page when an email notification popped on her screen.
He Hasn’t Texted Yet: What to Do After That First Kiss.
Her phone just read her for filth.
She’d kissed Xavier. He’d kissed her back. It felt so newsworthy that she almost checked the front page of the Freya Grove Press website to see if there was an article about it. Her mind kept replaying that moment in 3D. She could still taste the caramel and vanilla on his lips and feel his beard brushing against her face and the possessive squeeze of his hands on her body. She texted Xavier first thing in the morning to tell him that she was okay. Physically, she was fine. Emotionally, she felt out of control like a tap-dancing octopus.
It was all because of his earth-shattering kiss.
What made this kiss particularly special and ridiculous was that… she’d had a leap.
Ursula held her face in her hands. The kiss was so freaking good that it literally made her leap through time and space. Quantum Leap had nothing on her skills.
His kiss and touch had somehow activated her magic and launched her consciousness into the future. Right after their smooch, everything blended into a twisting kaleidoscope of green light. Then she was being pulled out of her body by an invisible hand. When she finally returned to herself and Xavier, she could barely stand. She leapt. Ursula couldn’t recall what she had seen. Not a single second. All she remembered was the green light, the pull, and then she was back in front of her door. Her brain just drew a huge blank.
It didn’t help that she was tipsy from the whiskey and light-headed from his touch.
Ursula chewed her thumbnail. Mama couldn’t know about the leap. She’d start asking very invasive questions and insist that Xavier come over for dinner for more information. Mama once starred in a short-lived but well-loved psychic detective show called Catch You Later, and she wasn’t afraid to “grill a few folks for answers.”
She wasn’t going to hear about the leap until Ursula figured out what she saw.
Ursula opened her phone’s contacts and pulled up Sirena’s info. Whenever she couldn’t recall a dream or a vision in the past, Sirena always made the legendary lavender and chamomile cookies for her. Nicknamed the Cookie Jar Dreams, this treat was used to help Caraways recall lost visions and dreams in vivid detail. They were also excellent warmed up with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The recipe was solely shared among Caraway kitchen witches to limit overuse. It was a closely guarded secret for generations, but Ursula didn’t have time to play around. With every passing hour, it would get harder to recall the leap, but those cookies would aid her and conjure forth the missing vision.
No more stalling. It was time to bring in the Caraway cousins.
She pressed the call button. Sirena picked up on the third ring.
“This call isn’t a butt dial, is it?” Sirena kidded.
Ursula let out a nervous sigh. “I meant to call you. How are you?”
There was a tentative tone in Sirena’s voice. “I’m all right. What’s good?”
Ursula decided to get straight to the point. “I’m fine. I had a leap.”
Her news was greeted with absolute silence. Ursula checked her phone to see if the call dropped or if Sirena hung up on her. Instead, there was a burst of sound, shuffling, and Sirena’s voice sounded sightly far away.
“You’re on speaker. Callie’s here too.”
Callie’s cheerful voice chimed in. “Hey, cuz! Long time, no see. I saw an ad for the Founders’ Day Festival the other day and thought of you. Are you going?”
“We’ll talk about that later! Tell her, Sula,” Sirena insisted.
“I had a leap.”
Callie’s gasp echoed over the phone. “Did you see me? How did my hair look?!”
Unease chewed at Ursula’s nerves. “Don’t get too excited. I can’t remember it.”
Was her brain protecting her from her fate? Had she forgotten the leap on purpose?
“I can hear you overthinking from over here. Talk to us,” Sirena said.