Easy Magic (Boudreaux #5)

And yet, I just spilled my guts to Charly, and she doesn’t look freaked out in the least. Of course, that doesn’t mean that she’s not freaked out.

Charly is quiet for a moment, and then she walks around the counter and stuns me when she wraps me up in a big hug. It’s full of affection and friendship. Happiness. She’s happy for both me and her brother.

He needs you in his life.

I immediately mentally pull back, not wanting to intrude on her thoughts. When she pulls away, she keeps my hand in hers.

“First of all, you should give Beau some credit. He’s not rash, and he’s not stupid.”

“Certainly not.”

“And second of all, you’ve been out on one date. There’s no need to tell him this right now, especially since you can’t use your abilities on him. You’re just a woman when you’re with Beau, so I say you enjoy that, and tell him in your own time, in your own way.”

“He’ll think it’s bullshit.”

“Well, I will admit that Beau is a practical man. You need to be prepared for him to not believe in the paranormal.”

“As long as he doesn’t think I’m nuts, we’ll be fine.”

“I think you should get to know each other better. If it doesn’t go anywhere, there’s no need to tell him. But if you think there’s a future with him, then you should talk with him.”

“You’re a smart woman,” I say with a smile. “I’m so glad I came.”

“Me too. Just don’t tell Gabby that you’re psychic. She’ll ask you to come do a séance at her inn.”

I cringe. Yep, I’m just a parlor trick.

“There’s a ghost there,” Charly continues. “We all have bets on who it is.”

I tilt my head to the side. “So, you do believe in it?”

“Scares the holy hell out of me,” she says with a shiver. “But yes, there’s something out there. Too many unexplained things happen to think otherwise.”

Interesting.

“I haven’t done a séance since I was a kid.” I tap my finger over my lips, considering it.

Charly grins. “But you have done them?”

“Honey, I don’t need a séance to talk to the dead. But yes, I’ve done them. And you know what? It might be fun.”

Who in the hell am I right now? I haven’t voluntarily offered to use my gifts for anyone in over a decade.

But I like Charly and her family. She doesn’t think I’m nuts.

And it really could be fun.

“Let’s do it.”





Chapter Five


Beau

“I sent her flowers,” I tell Charly over lunch. It’s been several days since I last saw Mallory.

I don’t like it a bit.

“What kind?” she asks.

“Ranunculus.”

My sister looks quite surprised as she takes a sip of her sweet tea and wipes the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “Aren’t you just the botanist?”

“I like flowers,” I reply with a shrug. It’s true, I do. I plan to have a garden at the new house.

“Do the guys know?”

Charly always has been the smart ass of the family.

“I’m trusting that you won’t tell them,” I reply. “I know some things about you that you’d rather didn’t get announced to the family.”

She just smirks. She’s not afraid of me in the least.

“How’s Simon?” Simon is Charly’s fiancé.

“He’s great.” She shifts in her chair. “He’s doing some seminars in London this week.”

“It’s not easy to be with someone who travels so much.”

“No.” She shrugs and tucks her hair behind her hair. “It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I have to go to Miami late next week myself to check on the shop there.”

“I trust that’s going well?”

“It’s fantastic, and my team does a great job there.”

Charly opened a Miami branch of Head Over Heels earlier this year.

“I hope you don’t plan to move there.”

“No. I just like to drop in once in a while, to make sure things are running smoothly.”

“Will Simon go with you?”

“I’m meeting him there.”

I sit back and watch my sister for a moment. I like Simon well enough, but this is my little sister we’re talking about. She seems happy, and she says all the right things.

“Stop that,” she says and glares at me.

“What?”

“Stop overthinking my life. I’m great, and that isn’t a lie.”

“You look tired,” I say quietly.

“I don’t sleep well when he’s not here,” she admits and takes another sip of her tea. “It’s crazy how you can sleep alone for the better part of three decades, and then you’re with someone for less than a year, and that’s all shot to hell.”

“Melatonin is good for insomnia.”

She cocks a brow. “Are you a naturopath now as well as a botanist?”

“You’re a pain in my ass,” I reply with a smile. “It’s amazing we’ve kept you around all these years.”

“I’m the most charming Boudreaux there is, sugar. What would y’all do without me?”

“It would be a boring life, indeed. I’m glad that you’ve found someone who makes you happy.”

“I am too,” she says and studies me for a moment, as though she’s trying to decide what to say next.

Which is so not Charly.

“Say it.”

“Say what?”

“You don’t have a poker face, darlin’.” I wink at her and laugh when she narrows her eyes at me. “What do you want to know?”

“Well, I talked with Mallory the other day,” she says, surprising me. I know that they’re friends, and I don’t know why it surprises me and even makes me a little uncomfortable. I’ve never had this response to a woman before.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. She likes you.”

I grin. “Oh, good. I was afraid that she’d tell you during study hall that she was going to pass me a note and break up with me.”

“You’re a smart ass.”

“Seems to run in the family.”

She examines her perfect manicure for a moment, long enough for me to want to fidget in my chair. I’ve been in meetings with people far more formidable than my little sister, but just the mention of Mallory’s name has me on edge.

I’m not sure I’m okay with that.

“I like her too,” Charly says softly. “She’s my friend. She’s Kate and Van’s friend, too.”

“Okay. I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”

“I’m going to spell it out for you.”

“Great.”

She sighs and leans in, her elbows braced on the table. “She likes you, Beau. And she has baggage that she hasn’t told you about yet.”

“She’s told you?”

“Some of it. Not all of it. Confiding in the person you’re attracted to is hard. There’s always the chance of rejection, and it’s hard to be vulnerable with someone.”

“Charly—”

“No, let me finish. Mal is special. There are things about her that she’ll have to tell you, when she’s ready.”

“I can already see that,” I reply. “I’ve been with her, and there are times that she seems afraid of being touched. I asked her if she was hurt in the same way that Van was, and she said no.”

“Few people are hurt the way Van was,” she replies. Our sister, Savannah, was brutally abused by her ex-husband.

“So what is it?”