Enchantment (14 page)

Gray felt a tingle and glanced at her cell
phone. A second later it rang.
Adrian
. A grin lit up her
face as she answered.

The voice that greeted her was cheerful,
bubbly, and all British. “Hi, Gray.”

Not Adrian, but this call was just as
welcomed. “Hannah! I’m so glad you called. Can we meet up or
something?”

“That’s why I’m calling you. I met someone.
We should all go out.”

Gray laughed. That explained her friend’s
attitude adjustment. Love did that to a person. Well, Gray would
take a happy Hannah over a grumpy one any day.

“Definitely,” Gray said. “Just tell me he’s
not old enough to be your father.”

“Oh, no,” Hannah said coyly. “Not even
close.”

Gray smiled into the phone. “Good. So, how
did you meet?”

“Actually, he came by Benita’s looking for
you. I didn’t think you’d mind my moving in on him seeing as you’ve
already attached yourself to the magician.” Hannah giggled.

Gray’s smile shriveled up and her heart
dropped. “Hannah,” she said urgently. “Is this man French?”

“
Mais
oui!
” Hannah exclaimed,
followed by a wicked giggle.

So much for avoiding men who spoke Romance
languages, but then, Hannah tended not to take her own advice. Gray
left six euros on the table, grabbed her purse and magazine, and
weaved her way through the café back onto the street. “Please don’t
tell me his name is Charles.”

“How did you guess? He said he’s a family
friend . . . Gray?”

Gray swallowed the lump in her throat.
“That’s right,” she said slowly. “Charles is connected to my
family.”

“And?” Hannah prodded impatiently. “Details,
Gray.”

“Charles hasn’t told you anything?”

Hannah chuckled merrily. “We haven’t done
much talking if you know what I mean.”

Gray lost hold of her phone then air juggled
it before finally grabbing and saving the thing before it crashed
to the ground. Gray pressed the phone to her ear. “Hannah, listen
to me. Charles is not a good guy. You need to stay away from
him.”

Gray might as well have advised Hannah to
replace her celebrity posters with oil paintings for all the good
it did her.

“Charles told me you might be mad at him, but
he’s worried about you, Gray, especially after I told him who you’d
shacked up with.”

“I haven’t shacked up with anyone,” Gray
said. “I’m staying at a hostel.”

“At any rate, Charles is familiar with Montez
the Magician, and he says he’s bad news.”

“Trust me, Charles is worse news.”

“Well, I think he’s fantastic.”

Charlene? Fantastic? Maybe her evil twin made
a better guy than girl. Gray had serious doubts.

“So, do you want to meet up or what?” Hannah
asked when Gray didn’t respond.

Gray looked around the street, searching
faces. She wasn’t sure who she expected to see amongst the crowd,
but they were all unfamiliar. She relaxed her hold on her phone and
answered, “What about this afternoon? Drinks at Ambar Café?”

“Perfect,” Hannah said. “Does one o’clock
work?”

“I’ll be there.” Gray took a deep breath.
Charlene may have fooled Hannah, but she was on Gray’s turf now,
and it was time her twin answered for past crimes.

Gray smiled slowly. Adrian was right. She did
relish vengeance.

* * *

Gray arrived at the Ambar Café early, selecting a
spot on one of the velvet couches inside. She faced the door,
eyeing every young man who entered. Unlike Hannah, who could tell
tourists and Spaniards apart, Gray had trouble deciphering one
European man from the next. Any one of the guys walking in could be
Charlene.

It could be spiky-haired dude with the mesh
top. Or goatee guy in the trench coat. Then again, it could be the
guy with the silky dark locks swept across his forehead. He had
sensual brown eyes that smoldered below long brows, and a
clean-shaven face. Gray knew her sister at once, even before Hannah
trotted in behind her.

Gray held up a hand to get their attention.
Charlene’s lips puckered when her eyes met Gray’s. Yep, her sister
was now a slime ball. “He” led Hannah over to the couch. Gray stood
as they approached. “Hello, Charles, long time no see.” Gray was
determined to be the first to speak. “You look much different than
the last time I saw you.”

“And you look exactly the same,” Charlene
said in a boyish French accent. She glanced at Gray’s legs. “Nice
tan.”

“Thanks, it’s real.”

Hannah tittered. “Hi, Gray. I’m glad we could
meet up.” Her patterned dress ballooned out above the waist. Hannah
wore a big yellow bow at the top of her head and ruby red ballerina
slippers. Charlene had to be cringing.

Gray’s not-so-identical twin took a seat
across from her. Hannah flopped down beside Charlene. At least
there was some amusement to be had in the situation. Charlene
scooted a foot away from Hannah.

Charlene was exactly what Gray would expect
in a guy: clean cut and chic right down to her khaki trousers and
ribbed tee.

Charlene raised one lush dark brow.
“Surprised?”

Gray crossed her legs. “Nothing surprises me
anymore. You look good, Charles.”

Charlene grinned and puffed up her chest.
“Thanks, I feel good, especially now that I have my powers
back.”

“Did you misplace them?” Gray asked
innocently.

“No, there was an incident last year.
Needless to say I was without my powers for some time.”

Until the day she lost her body. Yeah, Gray
knew the feeling. If Charlene wanted sympathy she’d come to the
wrong person.

Hannah, however, was happy to oblige. “You
poor thing. I can only imagine. I haven’t used magic in weeks, and
it’s driving me bonkers.” She placed a hand on Charlene’s thigh. To
her credit, Charlene didn’t flinch.

Gray had a hard time believing Charlene had
even kissed Hannah. This thought made her relax into the back
cushion.

Charlene leaned forward. “Hannah told me all
about your program. I’m curious as to why you’d willingly enroll in
such a thing.” Charlene cocked her head. “Or did your mother make
you do it?”

“No, it was my choice.”

Hannah snorted. “Fat chance. No one enrolls
in Benita’s retreat willingly.”

Gray frowned. “It was my choice, Hannah.”

She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

Charlene looked Gray over with a maddening
smirk. “Maybe Gray was running away.”

Hannah nodded her agreement.

Gray folded her arms over her chest. “Maybe I
just wanted to be left alone.”

A slender waitress stepped between the two
couches and asked if she could get them anything. She directed her
question and smile at Charlene. Ugh. If only the server knew who
the prince of suave really was. Gray couldn’t tell if Charlene was
admiring the waitress’s lacy skirt or checking out her legs. Gross.
Gray didn’t want to know.

Either Hannah was playing dumb or was too
busy fiddling with the ridiculously big bow on top of her head to
notice Charlene’s wandering eye.

A shot of tequila was most likely a bad idea,
but it sounded good at the moment.

“What shall I have?” Hannah mused aloud.

Gray looked from Hannah to the waitress and
asked for more time. The young woman flashed a smile at Charlene as
she turned and moved to the next couch.

“Hannah? Did Benita say anything about my
leaving?” Gray had been dying to ask, but Hannah hadn’t given her
an opportunity till now.

Hannah pushed her lips out as she thought.
“She asked me what happened, so I told her about you running off
with an American wizard.”

It didn’t sound particularly good when Gray
heard it out loud.

Charlene lit upon Hannah’s words. “We do
crazy things when we’re in love.” She shot Gray a petulant look.
“See?”

Except Gray wasn’t in love; she was under a
spell. She wasn’t about to admit that to Charlene or Hannah,
though. Gray lifted her chin. “What I did was romantic. Crazy would
be, I don’t know,
killing
a person who stood in my way.”

Charlene’s eyes narrowed to slivers.

Hannah chuckled. “That’s a bit dramatic.”

“So is Charles,” Gray said with an eye
roll.

Wrinkles appeared in Hannah’s forehead. The
big bow atop her head dropped with her face. “Are you two related?”
she asked hopefully.

Charlene leaned back and opened her legs wide
as a wishbone on the couch, bumping knees with Hannah. Well, if one
thing could be said for Charlene—guy or girl—she spread her legs.
“No, but I’ve always thought of Gray as a sister.”

Hannah perked up at that.

“Funny,” Gray said. “So have I.”

“And as an honorary
brother
,” Charlene
said, ignoring Gray’s quip, “I feel that it is my duty to warn you
about becoming too attached to Adrian Montez. Hannah told me that
the two of you . . . hooked up. I hate to be the one to inform you,
but Adrian is a scoundrel.”

Gray blew out a puff of air and rolled her
eyes. “And you’re the Dalai Lama?”

Gray had to laugh at Charlene’s expression.
Adrian would have smirked as though she’d just paid him a
compliment, but Charlene was still a girl at heart.

Charlene scowled. It made Gray smile
brighter.

“What can I say?” Gray said. “I can’t resist
a man with a hint of danger about him . . . like Ian
Somerhalder.”

Hannah’s head shot up. She took the bait
eagerly. “Or James McAvoy.”

“Paul Walker,” Gray returned.

“Clive Owen.” Hannah’s voice rose.

Charlene’s nostrils flared. She looked like a
girl being left out.

“All right, you win!” Gray said with a laugh.
“But only because we’re boring poor Charles to tears with our girl
talk.” Gray propped her chin on her hands. “Do you have any
celebrity crushes, Charles?”

Charlene hesitated only a second. Gray should
have known she’d tossed the ball into Charlene’s favorite subject:
celebrity talk. “Charlize Theron, Scarlett Johansson, and Denise
Richards.”

Dang. Charlene was merely reciting women
whose physiques she admired. She wasn’t really attracted to them.
Or maybe she was.

Gray wasn’t finished. She glanced from Hannah
to Charlene. “I noticed you named only American actresses. Surely
you find some of the British celebs attractive and some French,
too, I would hope.”

Charlene put on her game face and smiled.
“Marion Cotillard is very sexy, not to mention Kate Beckinsale.
Keira Knightley is irresistible,
bien
sûr
.”

Sure, throw in a little French—spoken with an
immaculate accent. Hannah was beaming, but Charlene had only smiled
briefly at Hannah when naming the English actresses. If Gray were
trying to get her inner guy on, she would have winked at Hannah
when she mentioned Kate and Keira, but that was just her opinion.
Whatever, she was tired of this ruse.

“So what brings you to Spain, Charles?”

“As it happens I’m fleeing a stalker.”

Charlene as the stalked, not the one
stalking—now there was an interesting twist. Gray was just about to
ask when Hannah shook her head. “Some girls are such clingers.”

This from the girl who put a spell on her
father’s business partner. And this was no female stalker Charlene
was talking about, Gray was sure of it.

“This wouldn’t happen to be that longtime
friend of yours who always wanted to be more than a friend?” Gray
asked carefully. She wasn’t sure what to call Ryan. Regina? Rhonda?
Ryanna?

Charlene shot her a look. “The one and
only.”

“Perhaps this person thinks you owe
them.”

Charlene surprised Gray by saying, “This
person ruined my life.”

“What a bint,” Hannah threw in, but neither
of the Perez twins was paying attention to her. At least not until
Hannah launched into a glowing self-advertisement. “I believe in
giving a guy space. If he wants to spend time with his mates I say
all the merrier. I don’t need my man in sight every moment of every
day.”

“Hannah . . .
love
,” Charlene said.
“Why don’t you take a walk around the block?”

“Take a . . .” Hannah repeated in
disbelief.

Charlene’s eyes widened, and she stared
directly into Hannah’s. “
Fait ce que je te dis
.”

Hannah blinked several times then looked from
Charlene to Gray. “Excuse me. I’m going to walk around the
block.”

Charlene nodded. Gray just stared
open-mouthed.

Hannah pushed back and walked out of the
café.

“What did you say to her?” Gray demanded.

Charlene brushed a hand over her brow. “I
told her to do as I say.” Charlene chuckled.

Gray frowned. “You shouldn’t use magic on
her.”

Charlene released an exacerbated huff. “She’s
getting on my nerves. Your taste in friends was always queer.”

“You’re the one dating her.”

“To get to you.”

“It’s called using a phone.”

“I tried that. I even came by in person, but
you’d already run off with Adrian.” Charlene snorted. “I never knew
you had such a thing for warlocks: Raj McKenna, Nolan Knapp, Adrian
Montez . . .” Charlene looked Gray over with a slimy grin. “And
they say I get around.”

Gray clenched her jaw. Bringing up Nolan was
a big mistake.

The waitress returned and once more smiled at
Charlene. “
¿Puedo tomar su
orden?
”

“Order me a glass of red,
will you,” Charlene said. “I don’t speak a word of Spanish, and my
translator is circling the block.”

Gray turned to the waiter
and ordered herself a soda and a wine for Charlene. Once the
waitress left, Gray said to Charlene, “Seems to me you came to the
wrong country.”

Charlene shrugged. “It was
close.”

“England’s closer, and
they speak your language.”