of baked beans amongst packets of rice and outdated biscuits. My aunt preferred most of her food unprocessed, and the baskets she'd stack fresh fruit and vegetables from the gardens are left by the kitchen door. Our family may be lower in status than many others, but we have magic taught through our generations that few others have.
Aunt Mabel's magic is strongest in her line and she grew plants that few can cultivate in secret areas on the estate, preferring her solitary life amongst the nature she shaped. My aunt promised to teach me one day, but I struggled to grasp everything. My magic affinity leans towards water; Genevieve's matches Mabel's, as she has a stronger link with nature's growth.
Me? All I’ve ‘conjured’ is beans heated in a saucepan, which I spoon into two bowls.
The door creaks as Matt walks back inside, wood bundled in his arms, his scruffy jacket now covered in dirt and sticks. “You look different to the Matt who left the academy,” I say.
“Is that what bothers you?”
I laugh. “No. I guess I never imagined Matteo Kohler looking rough and performing menial tasks.”
He drops the wood in the scuttle before kneeling and arranging kindling sticks in the fireplace. “I've grown up, Amelia.” Fire flickers on his fingertips and he stares at them. “Life changed.”
“I didn't mean to upset you.” I sit beside him and watch as he sets light to the sticks with his lips pursed in concentration as he encourages the flames to grow.
I suck in a breath at a flash of a memory from last night's blaze and shuffle backwards. Matt brushes the front of his dirty jacket. “You're right though. I don't suppose you brought any Matt-size clothes with you?” I look at him in confusion. “Teasing. Why would you?”
I bite the edge of my lip. “Aunt Mabel was tall. Maybe one of her dresses would fit you.”
He gasps and I giggle at him as he elbows me. “I don't think I need a disguise just yet, but I might need some clothes if we stay here long.”
The unspoken question. How long?
“I'll go to the house tomorrow.”
“Your home?” he asks.
“I need to visit my sister. The academy will tell my family I'm missing. I can reassure them and—”
“What if your family make you go back to the academy?” he interrupts.
“Not a chance.” I press my lips on Matt's. “We're in this together.”
Curling a hand around the back of my neck, Matt rests his head on mine. “I've dragged you into something I wish I never had. If I could change what happened that day at the academy, I would. For a thousand reasons.”
“We can't change the past. We look to the future.”
After months apart, each time I'm close to Matt, my need to connect with him on every level grows, including the one I'm most nervous about. We kiss again, mouths moving slowly, Matt holding back from the raw desire from earlier. His hand slides beneath my shirt and I tense.
He pulls back, removing his hand. “Is that why you're wary of me?”
“No. You have cold hands.”
“Liar.” He shakes his head. “I'd never push you into anything, Lia. Just touching you and holding you after all this time is enough.”
“Liar,” I mimic and arch a brow at him.
He huffs. “Okay. I'm lying too. But we reunited less than a day ago. I don't expect you to immediately want more.”
But I do. We sit opposite each other, legs wound together. “But there’s all the things we did... but didn't. In Ravenhold. In our heads.”
“Ah. Yes. That.” Matt's eyes widen and shine with the memory. “At least I know what you'd like me to do.”
I fight the heat building in my cheeks—and elsewhere—at the thought of his suggestions.
We never had sex before Matt left, our relationship too new at the time, which is one of the issues. But even though we’ve been apart, our relationship is months old. In our minds we've listened and imagined and left each other with another frustration at being away from each other. Besides, I've only had sex once and that was a fumbled, forgotten few moments. However much my body screams to jump Matt, my Amelia mind holds back.
“How about a romantic meal by the fire?” he asks with a grin. “I saw you cooked.”
38
AMELIA
I head to the kitchen and return with the two white bowls and forks, before handing one to Matt. “Cordon Bleu quality meal.”
“I preferred the pizza we had on our last date.” He sits on