Tamed

Collin followed her. “It’s useless, what you’re doing. We told you that you’re under enchantment.”

She ignored him as she looked for the elevator. Found one and slammed the down button. The bell dinged and the doors whispered open. She stepped in. Collin didn’t try to stop her. He merely got in and watched with blatant amusement.

Danielle just realized she didn’t have her phone or wallet. How was she going to get home? Calm, Danielle, one step at a time. She should call Kate or her mom to wire her money. Then she could buy a plane ticket to Miami. Oh boy, what a night. Kate won’t believe this.

The elevator opened into the building lobby. She flagged the white-gloved concierge. “Excuse me, can I borrow the phone?”

“Certainly, madam.” He directed her to the reception desk and another polite, smiling man handed her a landline phone.

“You know, you could have asked me if you needed to make a phone call,” Collin commented.

Ignore, ignore. Danielle grabbed the receiver and started punching Kate’s numbers. Midway, she went blank. What the hell, how come she forgot her best friend’s phone number? Sure, she put Kate on speed dial, but she’d never forgotten it when she called her on landlines at work.

Danielle dialed her mother’s phone. The same weird thing happened. Then she spent five minutes blanked trying to figure out what she was doing here in the first place.

“Can I be of assistance, ma’am?” the front desk guy asked.

“P-please,” Danielle stammered. “I’m trying to reach my friend, but it seems I have forgotten her number.”

“I’d be happy to help you with that. What is this person’s name and where does she live?”

“Her name is Kate…” Suddenly, for the life of her she couldn’t remember Kate’s last name or where they lived. Danielle couldn’t remember her own address in Miami.

Wait. Did they live in Miami or Tampa? But Boca Raton sounded more familiar. Who lived in Boca Raton? Had she ever lived there?

Danielle was so confused.

How am I getting back home?

“Ma’am? Are you all right?” asked the man. “Do you have any form of identification? Driver’s license would be fine.”

“I don’t have my wallet with me. Or phone.”

“Do you need police assistance, ma’am? Are you a guest of this building?”

“No. I mean, I don’t need police help. I just need…” Again, who was she going to call again?

Collin, who had given her some distance, decided to interfere. “She’s with me, Charles.”

“Ah, Mr. Edwards. How are you this evening?”

“Fine, thank you. My girlfriend here just had a little too many. Sorry. She’s such a party girl. I’ll be taking care of her now.”

“Of course, Mr. Edwards.”

Collin leaned to her ear and whispered, “It’s the enchantment at work. You won’t be able to remember anything about home for forty-eight hours.”

“So, I’m stuck here for two days?”

Collin took her arm and steered her toward the door. “Yes, you’ll be stuck here two days. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Will you continue to freak out for the duration of the matchmaking, or will you take this as an advantage to enjoy it to the fullest? Why did you sign up with the weaver in the first place? The weaver wouldn’t have chosen you if she didn’t think you are our perfect match. You’re looking for a mate, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t sign up willy-nilly,” Danielle retorted. Her tone heated. “My friend used my phone and entered my information in it. Before I knew it, I was here.”

“You avoided the real question.”

Danielle threw her hands up. “Fine! We were on double dates and it didn’t go well. We ditched them along the way.”

“I have a feeling there’s more to the story.”