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‘Thank you, but I hardly think that’s true. Mia looks wonderful.’

‘So do you.’

She did the adorable thing where her eyes flicked away then locked back on his. ‘Would you like to come for a walk?’

‘Yeah.’

She didn’t hold out her hand, and neither did he – he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to hold it together if she didn’t take it. Leaving his hand stuffed into his pocket was less dangerous. Instead, he walked next to her, letting her guide the way outside and to the back of the barn where the cherry blossoms started, his arm brushing against hers every so often.

She gently cupped one of the blossoms, leaning in to smell it. Her hair fell forward, the sheet of dark satin that he still dreamed of running his fingers through.

He leaned against the barn, trying to find some semblance of calm and patience while he waited to hear whatever it was that she needed to say. He didn’t see the watchful eyes of a certain grey cat peering through the barn’s window and into the darkness.

The air shifted, taking on a soft shimmer that slowed twilight and pushed back some of the darkness. He didn’t know who – or what – might be behind the spell, but he was grateful for the quiet moment it gave him and Amrita, and space away from the concerned looks of well-meaning friends. Moments later the energy shifted again, this time carrying the music from the barn to surround them. Amrita must have heard it too, because she looked up and smiled. And held her hand out to him. ‘Would you like that dance now?’

‘I’ll dance with you any time you like.’ He put his hand in hers, waited until the grip was right, then tugged hard, spinning her against his chest. She laughed and leaned in to him, her hand resting on his shoulder in the perfect position – feeling like she’d never been away. He kept his steps slow and easy, guiding her gently, while remembering the first time he’d danced with her like this – and what that had led to. He had to fight the urge not to stroke his fingers through her hair, to tilt her chin up so he could taste her lips – but he needed to hear whatever it was she had to say first. When she was ready.

For that collection of wonderful and terrifying moments – while the song floated through the air on magic – he’d hold her and dance, and try not to think about what the future would hold… and whether there was one where their paths might be joined. A simultaneously thrilling and devastating thought.

Instead, he held her close, his soul whispering every spell and plea he knew for the magic to keep them together. Her hair swished and tickled his arm as they danced, swaying beneath the blossoms in a lazy waltz.

When whatever spell that had been around them softened, the music quietening, and broke apart, so did they – and her absence was intense enough to rip the words from him.

‘I could leave Hudsbury for you. Ask Ophelia and Rayenne to turn off my gift… to take it away and bind it somehow. It can be done. We could leave and never come back here…’

‘I would never ask you to do that. Your friends and family – this community – it’s part of who you are. Just like magic.’

‘If it’s a choice between you and them…’

‘It’s not.’

His heart broke again at the finality of those two words. She wasn’t even giving him the choice. She wouldn’t even look at him. He wasn’t sure if it was a kindness, or another blow. Probably both.

‘Amrita, I’m still so, so sorry.’

‘I don’t want your apologies, Jamie.’ She plucked a couple of cherry blossoms between her fingers and turned to face him, offering one of the tiny flowers.

He took it, eyes crinkling in confusion. ‘I don’t want to sound rude, but I don’t understand what this means.’

‘Do they have to mean something?’

‘Someone, a lot smarter than me, told me that they usually do.’ He watched her closely.

‘I don’t want your apologies, because I’m the one who needs to apologise. It’s tiny, I know – too small – but could it be a start? Of me apologising for freaking out on you – for breaking my promises and ignoring you over something I now realise wasn’t your fault? Or, at least, wasn’t your choosing.’

‘It wasn’t yours either. And it definitely wasn’t fair on you.’ He twiddled the flower back and forth.

‘It wasn’t fair on either of us.’ Amrita pulled a face.

‘Is that it?’

‘It’s a lot for a tiny flower, isn’t it?’ She looked down at the other still in her hand. ‘Were you hoping for something more? A different meaning?’

‘Would it be OK if I were?’ Jamie couldn’t keep the hope from his voice, or stop himself from taking a tiny step towards her. ‘I think it might be time that we were done apologising to each other. Again.’ He smiled, remembering how their relationship had started. He hoped she was too. That this might be a new start for them. ‘I don’t want any more apologies from you.’

‘But…’

‘How about a deal?’ he interrupted. ‘If you can accept my apology for not being able to tell you about Hudsbury, then I can accept yours for being angry and scared when your entire world changed.’