Page 36 of Love & Heart Braking

“Hey, Evania. This is Cerys.”

“Hello. I didn’t expect your call so soon. Does this mean… what does this mean?’

I smiled, ignoring the unicorn still throwing glares my way. He started it with neigh. “I’ve found you a potential match.”

“Already? By Vulcan.”

“Yeah, I know you were a little hesitant about dating. But how about we chat about this match, then you can give me a yes, no, or a maybe later?”

A few beats passed. “That sounds all right. Tell me about him.”

The profile was pulled up on my computer. “Cool, so he’s an earth mage named Rion.”

Earth mages were different again from earth guardians and earth elementals. Guardians protected. Elementals could mold their element to their will. But mages drew energy from their natural affinity to work magic. They couldn’t store and sell their magic like witches and wizards. On the other hand, the covens hated that mages could simply draw magic from their surroundings without the need for crystals, cauldrons, potions, and lotions.

Only weaker gen two mages existed nowadays, and from what I understood, they just performed smaller magical acts, unlike the original gen ones of Jupiter’s line, who’d been super powerful—and been able to draw from more than one element—or all four too.

Mrs. Vincori gasped. “Rion Marcimet?”

I checked the last name. “That’s the one. You know him?”

Good sign.

“Yes. Very well. He’s… well, he’s been a family friend for a long time. He works with my son.”

“He’s a law enforcer?”

“The chief of police.”

No way. My love instincts were a’twitching now. “Devereaux’s told me about him.”

“He has?”

“He was a guard at the facility, right?”

Silence filled the line. “You’ve only known my son for three months?”

“About that, yeah. So, tell me. What’s the deal with Rion? Was your reaction just now a good surprise or a bad surprise?”

She sighed. “It’s more complicated. Uh, Rion asked me out on a date five years ago. I turned him down.” The dam broke. She wailed. “I said no in such an awkward way, and now whenever he comes around to fix a broken something or other around the house, I always think about how I could’ve said something smoother.”

Warmth filled my chest. The chief went around to fix stuff in her house. He was totally still into Evania. And if she’d been agonizing over her response for five years, then deep down, she was into him too. “Do you wish you’d given him a different answer?”

“I wasn’t ready to date at the time, but I wish I’d just said ‘not yet’ or something. Or, ‘ask me again down the track.’ He doesn’t think of me in that way anymore. He goes on dates all the time.”

Chh, sure. “What if he says that so you don’t feel uncomfortable about accepting his help around the house?”

“Do you think so?” She sounded utterly baffled.

“I’d expect so. Listen, would you be open to a date with him now?”

“He’s so connected in our lives,” she said in a rush. “He’s important to Dev, and works with him, and…”

She was putting a lot on the line. “Venus works in unusual ways, Evania. There could be a reason he’s so connected in your life. She might be trying to tell you something. Perhaps the right guy has been around for a long time.”

I listened to the hitch in her breathing.

“I—” She hesitated. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

---