Bewitching You(44)

She read his thoughts while Laura did the introductions.

The image of Sofia in a tub of water vibrated from his mind.

Well, maybe it was best to block the thoughts for a bit. She didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy too much.

“It’s nice to meet you.” He shook both their hands. Very polite. “I’m Gray Phillips, but I’m guessing you already know that since you’ve found where I live.”

“That’s right, dear.” Penny passed by him into the condo. Everything was clean and tidy, except the mess in the dining area. Hmm. What had happened there?

“Is Sofia here?” Laura passed him as well and poked her head around.

“Yes.” The young man shut the door. “She’s, um, getting dressed. I’ll go get her. Make yourself at home.”

Penny and Laura both watched him closely as he disappeared down a hallway.

“He’s handsome,” Penny whispered.

“Yeah, I bet he thinks he can get any woman he wants. I don’t trust him for a second.” Laura huffed and frowned. “Oh, God. I bet they’ve slept together.”

“Do you think?” Penny rolled her eyes. “It had to happen sometime.”

“I know that, Mother. I’m the one who foolishly told her to go do it.”

“Oh, really? Do you think she wouldn’t have if she hadn’t had your permission? Don’t be naïve, Laura. She’s not twelve anymore.”

Laura tapped her foot on the hardwood floor. “Can we stop bickering now? They’ll be out any second, and I don’t want Sofia to worry any more than she’s going to already.”

“You really need to give her more credit.” Penny plopped down on one of the leather sofas and let out a breath. This was not going to go well. She could feel it in the air. Something was amiss. Something was terribly wrong.

~ * ~

Gray shut the bedroom door behind him. Sofia was lying on the bed, wearing nothing but his dress shirt, unbuttoned. She gestured for him to come hither.

His body reacted instantly, but his mind knew better. “Sugar, I’d love to, but you might want to see who’s waiting for you in the other room.”

She jolted up. “Who?”

“Your mother and your grandmother.”

“Oh, my gosh. Shoot. How did they find me?” She quickly began buttoning up.

“I don’t know. Have you called them recently?”

“I was going to, but, you know. We were busy saving lives and all that other stuff.”

Gray watched her fumble with the last button. He couldn’t help but lift her chin up and kiss her just once. “Can we finish what we started in the tub when they leave?”

She smiled halfway. “Yes, I’d love to. I—” She finished buttoning. “I wonder what they want.”

“We can go find out,” Gray offered. What was she nervous about? Did she think they’d object to him? “Are you going to tell them about moving in with me?”

“Yes. That’s a good idea. I—” Her hands trembled as he took them in his.

“What, Sofia? Tell me.”

“They have special abilities too.”

“So, they have premonitions like you?” Gray wasn’t sure what was so horrible about that. He’d already proved he was supportive of Sofia.

“Not exactly. Just don’t let my mom touch you, and try to think of Rodney Dangerfield a lot. Okay?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll explain later. Trust me.”

Gray held tight to Sofia’s hand as she led him to the living room. Her mother and grandmother stood as soon as they saw Sofia. He searched through his short-term memory for their names. Laura and Penny? Yes, that was what her mother had said. They all had the same eyes. Big and blue. He’d known right away when he opened the door they were related to Sofia in some way.

“Sofia, what are you wearing?” Laura asked as she gave Sofia a hug. “No bra?”

“Oh.” Sofia blushed and glanced at Gray. “I need to do laundry.”

“You look happy, dear,” the grandmother said, getting the next hug. “Your face is glowing.” She winked.

Gray rolled some of the tension from his shoulders and sat with Sofia on the loveseat. At least her grandmother seemed to like him. The mother, however, couldn’t spear swords from her eyes any faster. He took Sofia’s hand and squeezed.

Tension was thick in the air.

“So,” Sofia started with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “I’m sorry I left your house unattended, Nana. We had to leave in an emergency. But I left a bowl of food and water for Sam. Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine, dear. I went home last night. Sam seemed well taken care of. Thank you for doing that for me.”

“Sure. Anytime.” She cleared her throat. “You all met Gray, right?”

“Yes, dear.”

“He stayed with me at the house for a couple days. We kept having car troubles. It was the strangest thing.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Penny said, but still grinned.

“It was, but, well, we’ve fallen in love, and now I’m going to move in here with him.”

Laura sat up straight at the edge of the couch. “No, you’re not.”

“Oh, yes, she is,” Penny countered. “She’s a grown woman, and they’re in love. See?”

“Mother.” Laura gave her a stern look. “Spill it.”

Penny let out a sigh and set her eyes on Gray. “Dear, would you mind if we had a moment with Sofia? We won’t be long.”

~ * ~

Sofia knew this conversation wasn’t going to go well. Not with the way her mother glared at Gray, and the way Nana was being overly cheerful.

“What’s going on?” Sofia asked, as soon as the bedroom door clicked shut with Gray behind it. He hadn’t appeared altogether happy about having to leave the room in his own home, but still he’d whispered he loved her in her ear and kissed her cheek before stepping away.

“He seems like such a dear.” Nana clapped her hands together. “I’m happy for you, Sofia.”

“What’s going on?” Sofia pointed the question to her mother. “Why wouldn’t you approve of me moving in here? I love him, and he loves me.”

“Oh, Sofia.” Laura sat by her and took her hand. “You don’t have a clue, do you?”

“About what?” Sofia panicked. “What is this about? Gray? How did you figure out where he lives, anyway? What are you two up to?”

“Sofia, take a breath,” Laura said. “Nana will explain it all to you.”

Sofia looked at her grandmother expectantly. “Well?”

“Dear,” Nana started slowly, “I noticed you were in the shed to get the toolbox. Did you happen to see my magical goodies?”

“Yes. What was that all about? Have you always had those things?”

Nana waved her hand absently toward Laura. “Your mother will explain more about that later. What’s important now is that you know I took the liberty of casting a spell on you and Gray.”

“A spell?” Had Nana finally lost it? Sofia straightened her shoulders and tried to stay calm. What the heck was going on here?

“Well, actually, I had to do it twice. You were fighting it, you see. And all the energy I used gave me the worst migraine. Your mother and Herbert had to take me to the hospital. But the ghost helped you through that with the note. He’s a really great character. I wish you could’ve met him.”

“Mother,” Laura said through pursed lips, “you’re rambling. How is she going to understand any of this if you ramble?”

“Wait.” Sofia stuck her hand out to stop them. “What is this? Witchcraft? Spells? Ghosts? What are trying to tell me?”

Laura turned to face her. “Your grandmother is attempting to say that the love you and Gray feel for each other may not be real. It’s very possible that the strong emotions you’re feeling right now will fade when the spell fades.”

“Good chance it won’t though,” Nana added.

“You’re kidding?” Sofia pressed her fingers to her forehead to think for a moment. She wasn’t surprised Nana had come up with such a crazy idea…but her mother? “You believe this spell business, Mom? You believe it actually works?”

“Yes,” Laura said softly. “Unfortunately, it’s all true. You know how Nana and I explained that we all carry a gene that allows us our gifts?”

Sofia nodded.

Laura released a breath. “Well, we also have the added benefit of witchcraft to supposedly help us with our gift. Although some people get carried away and use it for personal matters, which then gets us into sticky situations like this. That’s why I haven’t told you before, Sofia. We hold a very powerful tool at our fingertips. It can either prevent or cause tragedies. And in this case, it’s likely to bring heartbreak.”