Page 371 of Phobia
“Rosalie Légaré!” she scolded. “Explain yourself!” She was only five-foot-two, but she might as well have been a giant with how intimidating she was, standing there glaring at me.
I exhaled a harsh breath and cursed myself for picking that stupid vial. “Okay, so I kind of met a guy.”
“Yes?” she pressed, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Don’t make me tell you the whole story,” I begged. “It’s too hard to explain.”
“Does your mother know?” She didn’t know that my Papa was an alcoholic, just that he was emotionally unstable, but still, she didn’t even broach the topic of him knowing.
“No! Maman would freak out!” Just like Papa would, especially if she knew that Bastien was older.
“Come, now. Your Maman would be so very excited. What mother wouldn’t want to see her daughter married?” she gushed.
Married?!I had only met Bastien twice in my life and marriage wasn’t even a thought in the recesses of my mind yet. I just wanted the man to find me desirable—not necessarily toloveme, despite trying to steal a love potion.
“I don’t want to marry him,” I said plainly.
Madame Laurent teased. “Is he already married? Is that why you are being tight-lipped?”
I knew nothing about Bastien, and he perfectly well could have been married with two-point-five children. That would certainly explain why he was so sketchy about telling me where he lived and why he was out all hours of the night.Damn my luck!“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Rosalie!” Her voice hitched into a gasp.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” I hung my head. “Whenever I see him, I just lose all my senses. I feel like I’m flying, like I’m soaring high in the sky, leaving behind any logic.”
She shook her head. “You have it bad.”
I must have looked pitiful standing before her, from the way her forehead creased with concern. “I don’t think he’s married,” I said to ease her frown lines. “I just wanted him to like me back.”
“He’d be a fool not to like you. Now, give me your hands.”
I did as she asked, our palms meeting. She closed her eyes, and all the sympathy that had been etched on her face vanished as her body relaxed. Every time she took a deep breath, I could hear the air passing over the back of her throat.
Finally, she opened her eyes, the violet in them shining brighter. Her lips stretched into a wide smile. “He’s the one.”
My heart thumped giddily in my chest. “What? You saw that?”
She nodded. “He’s the one you’ll be with forever.”
I hadn’t even thought about the future as it pertained to Bastien and myself, but her prediction sent butterflies launching in my belly.
“He’s a loyal man—loyal to you. A guardian. Someone who protects everyone he meets.”
I was hanging on to her every word. Hopefully this meant that our mutual fear that he had been married was null.
Our hands remained joined together as she closed her eyes again. Her lips tightened. “But I see darkness surrounding both of you.”
“Darkness?”
“Love usually appears to be light and bright in my visions. But all I see is darkness.”
I could bet why. The only time Bastien and I ever met was at night, but I wasn’t about to share this bit of information with her; it would only launch a new thread of worry.
She shook her head as if trying to erase her visions and reached for the love potion. She placed the small vial inside of my hand. “Take it but use it sparingly. It is very strong. All you need is one drop on his tongue.”
I nodded eagerly and moved for the door.
“And, Rosalie, be careful,” she called out before my foot crossed the threshold.
