The door to the Half-Moon opened as I was walking up the street, and Fifi stepped out into the snow, looking like a supermodel doing a winter fashion shoot. Fifi was one of the nicest people I knew. She might have been a terrible demon, but she was a great real estate agent, and she was a great friend.

  As a lust demon, it was hard for Fifi to ever look bad. She was perfectly proportioned, with glittering silver hair down to her tailbone, and a face that made people do a double take. I’d seen it happen before. One poor guy almost fell down the stairs once. But that morning, with the snow falling around her, and a smile on her ethereal face, Fifi was practically glowing.

  The reason for her extra sparkle stepped out the door behind her, bending down from his towering height to press a kiss to her lips.

  Roy, my ex-boyfriend, raised his head, but stayed hunched over so he could say something to Fifi in that low, growling voice of his that made her giggle and brought a pretty flush to her cheeks.

  You might have thought it was the sight of my ex so obviously in love with another woman that was the cause for the breath catching in my throat. Roy and I had been good together, true. He was amazing. But I’d broken up with him once I realized he and Fifi were soulmates. Literally. A witch had pulled me aside to warn me that Roy was bound by fate to another woman and that didn’t seem to be good for the longevity of our own relationship.

  I couldn’t compete with that. Heck, I didn’t want to compete with that. Soulmates were such a rare and precious thing, to find your person, the other half of your soul. Who would ever want to get in the middle of that?

  So, no, it wasn’t the way the two of them curved in towards each other that had my hand flying up to press over my heart, though it did give a little twinge. It was the little blanket wrapped bundle that Roy had tucked into the crook of his arm, a thatch of silvery blond hair poking up at the top, that had me fighting back a squeal.

  Roy passed the baby carefully to Fifi, his big hands so gentle, and she took the little bundle with a practiced movement, already rocking slightly from side to side. She said something back to him and then turned towards the SUV parked at the curb. Together, they carefully got the baby settled into a car seat, and with another kiss, Fifi got in the driver’s side and pulled away, while Roy waved before heading back into the Half-Moon.

  I could have gone over and said Merry Christmas, and taken a look at the baby. But somehow, I just couldn’t make myself take the steps. Neither of them had noticed me, and it wasn’t until the door swung shut behind Roy that I finally managed to take a gasping breath.

  I stood there for a long moment, with the snow falling all around me, not understanding why I felt like I was missing something. The lights were beautiful, and the smell of shortbread dancing on the air was its own kind of magical. The town was practically alive with the magic of Christmas and my friends appeared to be so, so happy.

  So why wasn’t I?

  Chapter Twenty-four

  I wandered through the town, past all the cheerfully decorated shops.

  But my own mood hung over me like a soggy blanket, making it hard for me to appreciate the charm of Haven Hollow at Christmas time. A car drove by, too close to the curb, and splattered gray slush across the pristine snow ahead of me.

  I tried not to take it as a sign.

  Before I could sink too far into the doldrums, my phone chirped, alerting me to a text message. There weren’t a lot of people out and about at this hour, but I stepped to the side as I fished my cell out of my pocket so as not to block the sidewalk.

  The message was from Marty.

  Pops, it read. I hope you’re having a good wander. Could pick up eggs before you head home? I thought I’d make my world-famous nog.

  As someone who’d experienced Marty’s eggnog before, I wasn’t sure how world-famous it was. But he loved making it, and it was drinkable, so I kept my mouth shut about the slightly too thick texture and the cloying sweetness that was a little off-putting.

  I fired off a quick: Of course, see you soon.

  Then I hit ‘send’.

  Curiosity gripped me, and I ended up leaning back against the gritty brick wall of a store front so I could scroll up through my past text conversations with Marty. It was odd, and a little uncomfortable, reading things that were obviously from me, but that I hadn’t written. Or, at least, that I hadn’t written yet?

  It was all very confusing to think about.

  The further back I read, the lower my mood sank. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with our conversation—no arguments or mean words. Actually, it was the opposite—we were nothing but cheerful and nice, but the conversations between us could very easily have been mistaken for that between roommates, not a married couple. They were all friendly texts, affectionate even, but there was nothing spicy about them—nothing that hinted at both people being irrefutably in love with one another.

  Not one of those messages made my heart race.

  Almost against my will, the memory of Roy and Fifi in front of the Half-Moon popped into my head. The way they’d leaned into each other. The way Roy had curved his big body down to accommodate Fifi’s smaller stature. The way she’d reached out idly to touch his chest, his shoulder, his arm, as though she couldn’t bear for even a few inches to separate them. The way they’d whispered to each other, smiling, both of them in their own little world right there on the street.

  I shoved my phone back into my pocket and turned to head back to where I’d parked the Jeep (which was the same as the one I had five years ago only decidedly more broken in). I couldn’t have even explained why to myself, but hot tears were pressing against the corners of my eyes, and my throat was thick when I swallowed.

  It was silly.

  I didn’t know why I was upset.

  But here I was, five years into the future, walking down Main Street with tears in my eyes.

  The town felt like it was closing in on me a little, almost suffocating me which made no sense at all. With a firm resolution, I decided the best thing to do was just to head out to Portland and wait for Finn to arrive. It was still hours before I needed to pick him up, but at least Portland would be a change of scenery. Between my store, and Finn, and the general mayhem of Haven Hollow, I didn’t get into Portland very often. It would be nice to see it all done up for the holidays.

  The drive was pretty uneventful. I sang along to the Christmas carols on the radio even though I couldn’t say my heart was really in it. All the while, I tried to keep my thoughts from wandering back to that text conversation with Marty and how completely lackluster it had been.

  Instead, I focused on the fact that I was going to see Finn. Five years wasn’t a big deal between forty-five and fifty, but it was an enormous difference between thirteen and eighteen. Finn was an adult now, all grown up and away at school. And that thought hollowed out the inside of my stomach even more than it already was.

  Even so, I couldn’t wait to get a look at him, to see the type of man my son would grow up to become. The thought was a little bittersweet. It already felt like Finn was growing up way, way too fast—like just yesterday I was holding his little chubby toddler hand to cross the street.

  I wondered if he’d kept up with his magic studies. Thirteen-year-old Finn was completely determined to learn as much about becoming a Magician as possible. He was already an adept healer, and he’d learned several impressive magic tricks, including dream walking, which apparently was a big deal. I hadn’t been thrilled that he was using his dreams to effectively sneak out and learn magic behind my back, especially when I didn’t know what the risks were. Now I wanted to be able to console myself that all that worrying was for nothing.

  Hopefully.

  My rings suddenly felt cold on my finger. I adjusted the heater vent and did my best to ignore the pins and needles that seemed to be emanating from the gold band and down my ring finger, into my hand, and now up my arm.

  Hmm, that was strange.

  I forced my thoughts back to Finn as I wondered if this five years in the future version of him would have lost interest in becoming a Magician. Magic was fascinating to a child, the idea of having powers and fighting back the darkness. But teenagers, their priorities shifted. Maybe Finn had put away his tricks when he’d gone off to college.

  Why did I feel hopeful about that?

  I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable but not sure why. So, I turned up the radio and sang along to the catchy lyrics of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’.

  Until that weird icy feeling started up in my ring finger again and sighing with defeat, I removed both rings and placed them in the center consul of the Jeep. Strangely, as soon as I took the rings off, that icy feeling stopped.

  ***

  Portland was a big city, the largest in the state, and while it didn’t have the same small-town charm that Haven Hollow played up, it was still beautiful under a blanket of snow. The bridge I’d driven over to get into the city had been all strung up with lights, and while it was pretty during the day, it must have looked absolutely magical at night. The river cut a gleaming blue ribbon through the city, sparkling under the soft winter sun.

  Now no longer in Haven Hollow, I felt like I could finally take a full breath, no longer feeling like the buildings were folding in around me.

  Yes, it was a good idea to leave early and spend some time in Portland. I hadn’t been here very many times, so I still felt like a tourist as I peeked at this and got awed by that. There was just so much to take in, so many people zooming here and there as they did their last-minute Christmas shopping. I decided to park the Jeep near the bus station and then figured I had some time to go take a little walk through the downtown area.

  After parking, I walked past a grocery store and almost got run over in the lot by a little old lady with a cart full of what looked like pumpkin pies. She gave me an embarrassed laugh and I responded with the same as a bakery display caught my eye. Turning to look through the flocked window at the lovely boxes of cakes and cookies, my stomach growled. The fruit cake looked like something made of stained glass, shimmering under the lights. Ginger snaps were dusted in sugar, and I could almost feel the crispness of them under my teeth. But what snagged my attention was a gorgeous tray of candy cane shortbread cookies. They just looked so buttery and delicious.

  Marty had one heck of a sweet tooth, so I knew he’d appreciate some cookies and more specifically, those cookies. The little red and green candy cane bits sticking out of the shortbread reminded me of the candy cane Noelle had left on the counter at my store. I took the thought of Noelle as a sign and slipped through the foggy bakery door.

  As soon as I stepped inside, the smell of warm baking bread flooded my nose, and I tipped my head back to inhale greedily. I looked at a few more things before I solidified my decision to get the shortbread and headed to the checkout line. As I waited in line, I looked over the glass display counter, seeing if there was anything else there that Finn and Marty might like. Maybe some freshly baked croissants for breakfast, or some challah to make the perfect French Toast. It was warm and cozy inside, the welcoming smell of good things baking wrapping around my shoulders like a hug.

  “Poppy?” A familiar man’s voice spoke up behind me. “Is that you?”

  I jolted, surprised out of my browsing. I really hadn’t expected to bump into anyone I knew in Portland which wasn’t exactly close to Haven Hollow.

  I turned on my heel and came face to face with… Andre.

  I just stood there and stared, too surprised to react at first.

  Andre looked exactly the same as I remembered him.

  There might have been a few more lines on his brow, and a bit of silver in his dark hair, but he still looked… well, he still looked just as handsome as he always had. He was still just as tall, and trim under his dark wool pea coat. And he still seemed to favor the same dark colors that contrasted so perfectly with his light skin and blue eyes. There was a scarf wrapped around his neck, done in a pulled-through loop the British seemed to favor. His broad shoulders were dusted with the snow from outside, and though he was smiling and obviously pleased to see me, there was something about the way his brows had pinched together that made me think he seemed a little sad, too.

  But that was silly. Why should Andre be sad to see me? I shook the ridiculous notion off and, instead, tried to remember my manners. But in order to remember my manners, I first needed to remember how to form words—a lesson that didn’t seem to be coming well.

  “Oh, my, um…” I stammered before letting out a strange little laugh as my cheeks colored with heat. “Andre…”

  And even though I was hoping it wouldn’t be, it was still there—that intense feeling of familiarity. That same magnetic pull. As if every part of me just wanted to take that step forward, throw my arms around him and never let go.

  But that was just Poppy from five years before talking—I was more than sure that five years into the future, I wouldn’t still feel this way. Yet, it was five years into the future…

  Anyway… I was still just standing there, staring up at this incredibly handsome man who was still… staring down at me. It seemed neither one of us could find our tongues.

  “Yes, it’s… me,” he said softly.

  “I… ha! I’m surprised to see you,” I managed, sounding like a complete and total idiot. It was embarrassing enough to bring another flush to my face, but I couldn’t keep myself from smiling widely at Andre. In spite of the strange things he made me feel, I was very happy to see him.

  “Not as surprised as I am to see you, I can assure you,” he answered in that posh accent of his that had haunted me ever since I’d first met him.

  “What… what are you doing here?”

  He motioned to the freshly made loaf of bread in his arms. “Toast for Boxing Day,” he answered on a wide grin. “You?”

  I motioned to the shortbread cookies nestled in my hand. “Holiday cookies.”

  “You came all the way to Portland to pick up cookies?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Oh, no,” I answered, flushing all the way from my toes to the crown of my head. “I, uh… ” I beamed at him as I wrestled with my heart to stop beating so damned hard. “How, um, how… are you?”

  “I’m very well, thank you,” he said and then that smile was in full effect and I felt suddenly weak in my knees. “So if you aren’t in Portland for the shortbread cookies?”

  “Oh,” I started, feeling my eyebrows reaching for the ceiling. “I, um, I’m here to get Finn, actually. He’s away at college and he’s coming back to Haven Hollow for Christmas.”

  “You’re picking him up from the bus station?”

  I nodded. “Yes, but he’s not due to arrive for a couple of hours.”

  “How fortuitous,” Andre answered with a quick nod.

  “Fortuitous?” I repeated, like I’d never heard the word before.

  He nodded again. “Would you like to grab a table—to catch up for a bit?”

  That had to mean we hadn’t seen each other in a while, then? As far as I knew, we hadn’t seen one another for the last five years, but it wasn’t like I could just come right out and ask him as much. My spirits dimmed for some reason, but I made sure to keep the expression off my face as I agreed.

  We grabbed a coffee (which Andre insisted on paying for), and I tucked my package of shortbread onto the window ledge next to our table as we sat down, my heart still riding into my throat. God, there was just something about this man—there always had been and I imagined there always would be.

  I shrugged out of my coat, trying to keep my elbows tucked in so as not to bump anyone walking past.

  “Poppy Morton,” Andre said as soon as we were both seated across from one another. His grin was broad and his eyes shone with obvious happiness. “You look very well.”

  “Thank you,” I managed. “As do you.”

  “I’m dying to know: how have you been?”

  In my time, Andre was planning to relocate to Haven Hollow after spending most of his life as a traveling performer, going from place to place to spread magic and help people. Portland wasn’t terribly far from the Hollow, but it was still strange to bump into him here. Of course, there had been that conversation we’d had when Andre had said he had to return to Portland on business, so maybe he’d just never left? Or he’d left Portland and returned? Either way, it seemed he’d left Haven Hollow for good. And that was a thought that saddened me.

  “I’ve… I’ve been well,” I started, struggling with whether or not I should tell him the truth—that I wasn’t sure if I was just dreaming this whole thing or if Christmas magic had really managed to send me forward into the future. But that was such a huge topic, and I was suddenly too exhausted to even think about bringing it up. Instead, I just wanted to focus on my handsome… friend and find out what had kept him occupied all these years.

  No matter what was going on in my head, it really was wonderful to see him.

  Andre set his mug back on the little table and rested his forearms on the edge. He still wore a long-sleeved turtleneck sweater, to hide the black tattooed numbers that appeared on his skin with each new trick he learned. And from what I’d been able to tell, Andre had a lot of them. That had sure freaked me out, when black lines started etching themselves onto Finn’s skin like tattoos from the inside out.

  “And you?” I asked, hoping my smile wasn’t shaking like the rest of me. I was nervous, though I couldn’t quite say why. “What are you doing in Portland?”

  “Oh, I live here,” he answered with a quick shrug.

  “You live here?” I repeated, clearly surprised. “You, the traveling Magician—emphasis on the word ‘traveling’?”

  He chuckled at that and then glanced down into his cup of steaming coffee. “Yes, I guess you could say I finally put down roots.”

  I couldn’t say why that information bothered me but it did. “Oh.”

  He looked up at me and there was something in his eyes—it was the same thing that had always been in his eyes and I still struggled to identify it. “I opened up a magic shop here, a few years back.”