Page 47 of Impractical Magic

“Of course I remember.” Scarlett chuckled. “Melrose Movie Night. All those old movies she’d show? Del and I used to beg Mama to show something recent, but no. The closest we ever got to a ‘current’ movie was The Princess Bride, and that was only because my mother had a thing for Mandy Patinkin.”

“Oh sure, who didn’t? He was Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, for crying out loud! Wait a second—is that why we had to watch Yentl once a year? Because your mother was sweet on Mandy Patinkin?”

“Indeed, that was why. Still, Princess Bride was a good one.”

“Fantastic.” Nate nodded. “I loved that one. In fact, this one time, I was this close to starting a land war in Asia, and then I thought, wait—”

Scarlett laughed. “Don’t do it!”

“Exactly! Vizzini says, don’t do it.”

“See? Melrose Movie Night wasn’t just fun, it was educational.”

“Definitely.” Nate grinned. “Mostly what I remember is a lot of corny old beach flicks? That’s what made me think of it now—this portal is bringing it all back. Surfing nuns, singing lifeguards . . . And a lot of Elvis movies, if I’m remembering right. Blue Hawaii, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, and Girls! Girls! Girls! That was all Papa’s doing. He was a big Elvis guy.”

“Did you know, I’ve never seen a beach in person? Only in those movies. So I really loved Melrose Movie Night. Plus, I got to sit next to you.”

“Aww . . .”

“Well, Scar, the thing about it was—you were quiet. So quiet. We sit down to watch a movie, and you’d go for ninety whole minutes without making fun of me.”

Scarlett laughed. “And now, suddenly, you’re constantly making fun of me!”

“Reckon, I owe you a few.”

A silence stretched between them, not an uncomfortable one, but one that was heavy with unspoken questions and thoughts of roads not taken. Impulsively, Scarlett brushed his hand with hers. “Maybe someday you’ll visit a real beach.”

“Nothing like this in San Francisco, though, right?”

“I’ll have you know, we do have beaches. Buuuut yeah, nothing like this. But we do have fog—I can offer you a whole lot of fog if you’re interested.”

Nate turned to her, and his expression held a touch of vulnerability now. “Fog can be nice, too.”

Scarlett’s heart pounded. In this stolen moment, with the world upside down, a reckless joy bubbled up within her.

He leaned in, his eyes questioning. It was a silent invitation, an offer to break through the barrier that had stood between them for so very long.

She closed her eyes. His lips met hers in a kiss as gentle and fleeting as the ocean breeze. It tasted like wishes.

But it was wrong, this flirting, this hinting at something more—not now, when their whole town was in turmoil and everyone’s future uncertain. With a pang of regret, Scarlett pulled away.

Nate startled slightly, but then he nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Too much going on right now.”

“It’s just . . . I mean . . . you know how it is. I can’t destroy my entire town and make out with you in the same twenty-four-hour period.”

“Right.” Nate smiled sadly. “Well, who knows? Maybe we’ll come back when all this is over.”

They gazed at one another for a heavy moment, and then with a last, lingering glance at the sunset, Scarlett stepped away from the door. Nate knelt down, took the screwdriver out of his tool bag, and got to work removing the final lock plate. “Listen, I meant what I said before. Try not to take it so hard about what happened. You didn’t ‘destroy your entire town,’ as you put it. People don’t blame you.”

“That’s very sweet, but it’s also a huge lie. It’s a given that the town blames the Melroses in general, and once the story gets out—which should take about twenty minutes—then they’ll blame me in particular.”

“Scar, if you feel like everyone views you as the person who caused the problem, then the thing to do is become the person who fixes it.”

“Great idea, Nate—and how do I do that exactly?”

“Here, hold this hardware for me, would you? I have no idea how you fix it. Do you know anything about those dragonflies? If you can figure out how to get rid of them, you’re golden. You just need some kind of magical exterminator, right?”