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‘I can see that.’ He rolled to his feet and picked up the dropped tray. ‘The lid is still on. Do you think this is OK?’

‘It’s just bhajis. They should be fine.’ Amrita tried to find her focus, but it was so hard when he was so near. ‘I didn’t know what to bring, so I went with samosas, pakoras and bhajis and chutney. Lots of chutney. But I’m pretty sure that’s just the bhajis. And they should be fine.’ She realised she was waffling and bit her tongue to force herself to stop.

‘The table thing.’ Jamie carried the tray over and put it carefully into a circle. ‘It’s just a cooling and preservation spell. Ophelia set them up this morning before going to pick up Aiden.’

‘Oh. Just a spell. Right.’ She shook her head. ‘Sorry. I’m still finding that – this – all a bit weird.’

‘I can imagine. And I really am sorry about not telling you.’ He went to reach out to her – to offer comfort – then stopped. And Amrita’s heart broke a tiny bit more.

‘It’s OK. I get it now. It… the magic… was never going to let you. You tried. It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry too.’

‘This all feels a bit familiar.’ Jamie’s eyes flashed – the bright blue that usually meant something was amusing him.

‘It does?’

‘You’re sorry. I’m sorry. We’re both sorry. Only this time it’s not because I’ve been an arrogant know-it-all.’

‘I never said that.’ Amrita smiled. ‘It was “architect with lofty ideas”, remember?’

‘I do.’ He nodded. ‘Is it OK if I say I’ve missed you?’

‘I think so.’

‘I really am sorry, Amrita.’

‘I know. Me too. I mean that.’

‘I know.’ Jamie’s eyes had darkened almost to twilight. ‘Should I ask what happens now?’

Amrita took a deep breath and placed her trays with the others. This time, the spell tingled slightly against her skin as her hands crossed the circle, and she could feel the chillier air, but now that she knew what it was, it wasn’t actually bad. Unusual and a bit weird, but she could appreciate that it was clever – and kind of cool. She hesitated and forced another deep breath into her lungs, knowing how much was riding on what she said and did over the next few minutes.

But she wasn’t afraid any more. And that made her think – hope – again, that maybe she could make this work.

‘I think, Jamie, that we probably need to talk.’

‘I’m right here.’ He took a step towards her, his hands outstretched.

It was so good to feel his skin against hers again, his warm, reassuring strength. ‘Jamie, I…’

‘Late, late, late!’

They jumped apart, almost guiltily, as Lunar swooped down.

‘Late, late, late!’ The magpie pecked at Amrita’s trainers.

She grabbed Jamie’s wrist and checked his watch. ‘She’s right! I’m so sorry. I have to go!’

He caught her hand. ‘But you’ll be back later?’

‘I promise.’ She nodded, before racing back towards her car, thinking that the magpie interrupting them might not actually have been a bad thing…

* * *

‘So, we’ve had an idea,’ Beth explained as she brought out the dress bag. ‘Your mum brought this round as soon as we started planning for today. I’ve already worked the spells into the fabric so it should fit you perfectly.’

‘You have my mum’s wedding dress?’ Mia breathed the words.

‘My idea.’ Katie shrugged. ‘And I know you’ll probably want to personalise it, which Beth is excited to help with.’