Free The Magic Touch by Dara England Page A

distaste.
“What is that smell?”
    No answer was necessary. A quick scan of the
living area and the open kitchenette told her the moldy odor could
have originated any one of a dozen places. The kitchen sink
overflowed with filthy dishes, the garbage was spilling refuse out
onto the hardwood floor. The black linoleum countertop dividing the
kitchenette from the living room was smeared with what may or may
not have been peanut butter. And that was just the start.
    As she strolled further into the room, she
took in the wreckage that was the living room. The furnishings were
tasteful, she noted with approval. The brown leather sofas and
armchairs fit well with the dark oak floors and the warmer color
scheme of the walls and trim. But what would have been a cozy
effect was spoiled by the way every available surface was cluttered
with magazines, dirty clothes, used dishes, and odd bits of
litter.
    Danny broke into her observations. “I’m
warning you one last time, you’d better get out.” He moved to the
coffee table and snatched up a cell phone resting amid a scattering
of old newspapers. “Last chance,” he said. “I’m going to make that
call.”
    Ambrielle sighed. “Put the phone down, Danny.
I know as well as you that you’re bluffing.”
    “You’ve got to stop talking like you know
me.” But he set the phone down, as she’d known he would.
    “I see I’ve come none too soon,” she
remarked, more to herself than to him, as she removed a pair of
tennis shoes from an armchair and dusted off the seat. “Your
housekeeping skills are deteriorating as fast as your relationship
with Charlotte.”
    As soon as she sat down, the little
dachshund, now wide awake, sprang into her lap, tail wagging
furiously, eyes begging for attention.
    “Brutus, get down,” Danny ordered absently,
but clearly his mind wasn’t on the dog. He appeared disturbed by
Ambrielle’s actions, no doubt because they signaled her intent to
stay awhile.
    Ambrielle scratched behind the disobedient
dachshund’s ears before gently pushing it back to the floor, where
it crouched at her feet and gazed up at her with adoring eyes. At
least she had one ally here.
    “Look,” Danny said, “I’m sure you’re a very
sweet person and doubtless you have your reasons for whatever it is
that you’re trying to do here. But you can’t just let yourself into
my apartment without being invited. I’m having a bad night, it’s
been a long, difficult week, and— Are you listening?”
    She pulled her attention back from the series
of framed family photos lining the end table at her elbow. “Why
don’t you visit home anymore?” she asked. “You keep pictures of
your mom and dad here. Clearly you love them. Why don’t you ever go
back? I know your mom misses you.”
    The remark stopped him cold. “How do you know
my family?” he asked.
    “Hey, no need to get overprotective,” she
admonished. “I wouldn’t hurt any of them for the world. But I love
that you worry about them.”
    “Are you somebody I used to know back home?”
he asked, suddenly studying her in a different light. “Did you go
to Longfield High?”
    “Definitely not,” she laughed. “But I watched
you go there. I saw every prank you ever played on the lunch lady
and even watched you join the basketball team to impress Hottie
Haley Hart. Watched you get kicked off the team, too.” She sobered
at the memory. “That was a depressing show. Couldn’t you have at
least tried to get our team a basket once in a while? The other
fairy godmothers were laughing me off the sidelines.”
    He made a strange, choking sound. “The other what? ”

Chapter Two
     
     
    “You heard me.” She picked up an empty mug
from the end table and examined the brownish stains ringing the
bottom. “Do you think you could wash this out and bring me some
more of whatever was in it? I’m usually snoozing at this hour, so I
could use a cup or two of coffee to pick me up.”
    He didn’t seem to hear the