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“I’m not exactly sure what is going to happen,” Madame Scarlet said, her voice low. “But you will have to make a decision; a momentous, trying decision. There will be no turning back.”
Everly gasped from her spot in the corner. “Ohmygod, I’ll bet it’s something to do with Liam!”
I shook my head, willing Everly to shut the hell up and not mess up my reading. I wanted Madame’s Scarlet unbiased opinion here.
“This is a boyfriend, no?” she asked, one dark, penciled brow arched high.
I shrugged. “Sort of, I guess.”
“Oh, c’mon, Mace. Yes, definitely,” Everly chided, clucking. “He’s totally your boyfriend, even if you haven’t defined anything yet.”
Madame Scarlet flipped my palms over, gazing at them intently. “Yes, I am feeling the sunshine emanating here. Things are good.”
As if that was hard to figure out. Thanks, Everly,I thought.
“Okay, yeah. Things are good right now. But what about this earthquake? What does that mean? Like—an actual, literal earthquake? I’m supposed to go to California with him next weekend. Should we not go?”
She chuckled, nodding her head. “No, my child. Not an actual earthquake. Well, probably not. I don’t usually get that good of a bead on things. It’s figurative—a shake-up, change. Then, a decision. Fair warning: none of this will be easy.”
I sighed. “It never is.”
Madame Scarlet patted my hand. “That is true. But you need to trust yourself and follow your heart.”
“Can you tell me anything else?” I asked, hot panic welling up in my chest. Madame Scarlet seemed to be finished with my reading and I still had so many unanswered questions.
“I’m sorry, my child, but that’s all I can see. Go forth and be well.”
“Um, okay,” I said, swallowing hard over the lump in my throat. “Thanks.”
I stood up on shaky legs and Everly and I exited the tent in stunned silence.
“I think that was worse than the tilt-a-whirl,” Everly whispered, linking her arm in mine.
“Definitely,” I said, glancing over at her.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure it’s totally bogus anyway.”
“Yeah, me too,” Everly said, reassuring me.
Maybe I could reverse-manifest the earthquake. Surely if I didn’t believe in the fortune, it wouldn’t come true. Right?
These thoughts spun in my head, wild and out-of-control, faster and crazier than the dreaded tilt-a-whirl, and making about the same amount of sense. I had no idea if you could reverse-manifest something, but it definitely seemed worth a try.
For now, I’d focus on Liam and let the rest of the nonsense fall away. It was as good a plan as any and the only thing I could control.
18
MACY
The next week passed in a blur. I spent half my time worrying about the upcoming trip, the other half trying to forget about my disastrous fortune, and I wasn’t sure which had me more anxious.
Liam and I saw each other every night—he came to the Rowdy and stayed until close, then walked me home. It was nice having someone care about me that much, to worry about me getting home safely. No one had ever done that before. Sure, I didn’t need a bodyguard in Peachtree Grove, but it felt kinda nice having him there.
I also didn’t hate the oversized floral arrangements he had delivered to the house—lilies, tulips, roses. All gorgeous, all over the top and totally unnecessary, filling the apartment with the heady scent of spring.
I one thousand percent loved it.
