25

Adam's face lit up when he saw me. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better every day, thanks to you guys."

His gaze was alarmingly direct, and I felt heat rising on my cheeks. "And we'd do it again, in a heartbeat."

"Thanks. Say, I need you to get word to the others about that thing we have to do."

Some customers of the non-witch persuasion were passing by. "Right. When will it happen?"

I outlined the details and Adam said, "I'll tell the girls and I'll leave Jake to you."

My lips tightened. "Umm, sure."

"So is that the only reason you came here?" Adam asked expectantly.

"Actually, I have something for you." I handed him Regina's potion and watched his face as he examined it.

"Is this what I think this is?"

"Sally's grandmother made this, but she warned me that it's not an exact reversal of my Dad's spell."

"So it might not work."

"It might not."

"But what have I got to lose, right?" Adam uncapped the vial and looked around before raising it to his lips.

"Right." I wasn't at all sure what would happen, except maybe it would make him hurl.

He finished drinking it and cracked, "Will this make me shrink or something?"

I smiled at his Alice in Wonderland reference. "Could be. I think you'd make a great Lilliputian."

Adam's grin turned into a sour face. "God, this stuff has the worst aftertaste."

"Sorry. Let me know how you feel later on."

He hesitated before saying, "Can I maybe call you?"

It would be the first time since he lost his memory. "Sure."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then we'll try the memory spell."

Adam's face instantly brightened as if a flashbulb has just gone off. "That's great, Cassie. What changed your mind?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that, so I tried the truth. "Because I made a promise, and I never go back on my word."

He was about to question me further when Ethan called him behind the counter to bring an order to someone. "Later, then."

I nodded and waved at Ethan before following Sally outside. "God, that was hard."

"But you did it, girlfriend. It will work out, just like Regina said it would."

Just like Regina said it would.

Those words bounced around my head like a broken ping pong ball, and caused me no end of grief well into the night. Even the cat couldn't help me, and I ended up on Sally's front porch with the quilt pulled around my shoulders.

Shortly after midnight, my phone vibrated and I was surprised to see Adam's name on the display. "Hey," I said softly, hating the way my voice echoed into the foggy night.

"Sorry it's so late, but I had to close tonight."

I wondered if Ethan was on another bender. "It's OK. I haven't been sleeping well."

"You too?"

"Yeah," I said after a long beat.

Adam sighed. "So, I have nothing to report. Everything's the same."

I echoed his sigh. "Sorry it didn't work."

"You don't sound surprised."

My shrug pushed the blanket off me. "Yeah, well, it's not an exact science."

"When do you want to try the memory spell?"

We might not be alive after tomorrow night. "Now."

Adam's breath hitched. "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah, I'm totally joking." My lack of sleep crossed over into grouchiness. "Just forget I mentioned it."

Hanging up felt good, and ignoring his texts and subsequent calls felt even better. I turned off my phone and went inside, scooped up the cat, and set up camp in front of the big screen TV. Late night TV sucked even worse than the dreck they showed after school. I was chomping on some popcorn when Sally showed up rubbing her eyes.

"Adam just called. He's worried about you."

So now he was doing an end run around me? "Yeah? Good for him Want to watch Letterman with me?"

She joined me on the couch. "I don't get you sometimes. You say you want to work things out, but you don't act like it."

"Of course I do, Sally. It's just the way he wants to go about it."

Sally nodded like she got it. "I'd be wigged out if someone was inside my head, but this is Adam. How can you not do this?"

"I will, but it has to be on my terms."

She smiled. "It is kind of late, Cassie, and you both need some rest before tomorrow night."

I rolled my eyes. "What if we don't come back from this, Sally? We might not survive."

Sally sighed. "You need to have faith in Regina. She knows what she's doing, and she'll do whatever it takes to come out on top."

"I kind of got that. But her version of whatever it takes is death."

Sally grimaced. "I don't think it'll come to that."

"Let's hope not."

Adam was waiting at the end of the driveway early the next morning. "Have you eaten? I'm about to grab some breakfast."

Sally nodded like it was OK for me to dash off with my handsome prince. "At the Boathouse?"

He nodded with a grin that melted my insides. "The price is right."

"We can't do the spell there, Adam."

"I know, but maybe we can cut a few classes."

I'd already missed way too much school. "Maybe that's not such a great idea."

He held the door open for me and my hand accidentally brushed his as I hoisted myself up. Energy instantly jumped between us, and his eyes widened in shock. I started to withdraw, but Adam held on with all his might. "Cassie, we have a connection. Do you know what this means?"

The excitement in his voice nearly did me in. "That maybe the potion restored something?"

Adam scrubbed his fingers through his already tousled hair. "And just maybe, we have a shot with this memory spell."

He finally let me go as he made his way around to the driver's side. I lowered my head as his eyes fell on me, searing me with an intensity that burned through every part of me. "Maybe," I said.

When his fingers touched my face, my eyes closed automatically and I felt tears leaking down my cheeks. Adam brushed them away and smiled through his own mist of emotion. "Definitely," he said.

That was the difference between us. Adam was all about hope and everything light, and I was the dour one, always leaning toward the darkness that threatened to gush from me. As he backed out of the driveway, I crossed my fingers and whispered, "Please be right."

It turned into a mantra, which continued in my head and lasted right to the point where he helped me out of the truck, hand resting on the small of my back as we walked toward a table set for two, complete with stacks of hotcakes and sausage. With a grin, Ethan poured my coffee and leaned in to say, "It will all work out, Cassie. Just wait and see."