Page 97 of Sweets and Sycamores
“Are you ready?” he asked, and Allie nodded.
She leaned her head over his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. She centered herself and leaned into her magic,steadily grasping at the threads of her power. The fire was there, burning peacefully, beckoning her to bend it to her will. Allie held on to it while she reached for the moon, to that warm, pure light that always made her feel whole.
It buzzed and poured with renewed strength, that veil that thinned tonight letting it flow without restriction into Allie’s heart. She felt its presence prickling her skin, balancing the magic she had and the magic she used.
But Allie had barely used any magic since she had manifested, so she flooded the moon with her power, strengthening and enriching its pure magic.
Allie knew her mom was with her, watching over her, and this first time carrying on the Wells’ Hallows Eve tradition.
Mom? I have found my place.
“All good?” Dom asked, worry fizzling into his heart. Allie had been silent and barely moving for the last two songs, and there was only so much multitasking a man could witness without interfering.
“Perfect.” Allie straightened, and he immediately missed her warmth against his chest, even if she was still in his arms. But she directed that blinding smile at him, and the warmth he had missed filled him on the inside. She was so fucking beautiful, and perfect, and his.
How did I get so lucky? Does she know how I feel?
Dominic had always believed that actions speak louder than words, yet he found that this time, with Allie, he wanted to tell her. Tell her what was in his heart, as best as he could, and in probably very few words.
“Allie.” Dom cleared his throat. “I’m not a man of many words.”
“Understatement of the century.” He pinched her, and Allie shrieked, inching closer to him. “Please, continue, Mr. Ranford.”
Dom rolled his eyes but focused on getting out the words he desperately wanted her to hear.
“I am…” She looked at him from beneath thick eyelashes, root-colored eyes warm and kind, freckled cheeks stained red by the chill, lips stretched into a wide smile. Dominic was holding his future in his arms, and he would never let her go. “I am so madly in love with you.”
Allie’s mouth parted for a second, then morphed back into a huge, gorgeous smile.
“I am in love with you, too, Dom.”
He leaned down and kissed her. Slowly, like they had all the time in the world. Because they did. Allie kissed him back, and when she wanted to come up for air, he let her. For a second.
Then he kissed her again. On her forehead. Her cheeks. Her nose.
“What’s this for?” She chuckled.
“For being you. For giving me your heart, and…for accepting mine.”
Epilogue
THAT’S MY LINE
“Stop squirming,” Allie scolded her husband. “You know you are not going to fall.”
Dominic gripped the broom so tightly with both hands that the wood could’ve snapped. His body trembled, and he couldn’t find his balance, even though they had been doing this together for the past year.
“I am not s-squirming,” he hissed, leaning back and forth on the broom.
Allie didn’t like to ride straddling her broom, so she and Dom sat on the wood next to each other as if they were sitting on a bench. Her magic enveloped them and the flying broom, and Allie knew with the certainty of her next breath that they would never, ever fall.
“The car is a perfectly fine means of transportation,” the Mage snapped when he managed to keep his balance for a few seconds at once. “I don’t get why you insist we travel through the skies when we have all this vast land at our disposal.”
Allie laughed. It was always like this, but she would never give up on flying, and as with everything else she loved in this life, she wanted to share it with her husband. As much as he was against it.
They had been married for two months and spent the last two weeks traveling. Dom took Allie to his favorite beach, favorite rivers, favorite diners, favorite everything. As a Mage, he’d seen so much of this world, and Allie was the tiniest bit jealous, yet immensely happy he was sharing everything with her.
Before the wedding, Allie and Dominic had finished renovating and rebranding the bakery. The room she used to live in was now open to the floor of the bakery to allow more tables inside for customers, and a tiny part of it was used for extra storage room.
