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amplified.”
    “We’re…entangled?” Finn asked, the first trace of fear in his voice. “What does that mean?”
    “I have no idea,” Bizzy said, a wide grin splitting her face and making all her face-jewelry sparkle with delight.
    “Bizzy, that is terrifying,” he said. “You get that, right?”
    “No, not at all!” she countered, standing up to pace and waving her arms around while she spoke. “It’s amazing! We can actually look at this phenomenon, examine it, document it. We can—”
    “Yeah, we’re not doing anything until I talk to Tes,” he said, standing up quickly. He grabbed her shoulders, pulled her in and kissed her once on the top of her spikey head, and he was out the door, calling back over his shoulder, “Thanks, Biz, you really are the brightest witch of your age!”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
     
     
    After the movie, Tesla and Sam walked through the park situated in the middle of downtown. As always, Sam had been great—he kept things casual, made her laugh. He hadn’t even tried to hold her hand in the darkened theater, and Tesla was surprised by her disappointment. She stole looks at him as they walked and talked. It was a chilly night, and his heather gray Irish fisherman’s sweater with the rolled collar and cuffs was big and thick and made her think of a cozy night in front of a fire. His faded jeans and motorcycle boots, the bit of white T-shirt that peeked out below the hem of his sweater were perfect. And that thick black hair, the dark, sultry eyes had always been hot but now—with the newly grown goatee and little soul patch just below his lower lip—Tesla was beginning to realize that moving on might be kind of fun.
    “So, you agree or you disagree with my movie review?” Sam said. “Hello?”
    “Sorry,” Tesla said quickly. “I partially agree. I like a good explosion as much as the next girl, but I actually need a little character development. Otherwise, how am I supposed to care who survives the hand grenades, the C4, the car chases and automatic weapons, and who doesn’t?”
    “Are you serious?” Sam asked. “How could you not care about the fate of…you know, that guy with the gun—okay one of the guys with the guns, I forget which one. I’m pretty sure he was the protagonist.”
    Tesla laughed. “Yeah, if I don’t know his name, I’m out. They had good stunt drivers, though.”
    “Yeah, but I agree, that’s not enough,” Sam said. “I like the action, I like a fast pace, of course, but there has to be something at stake for somebody that I have a stake in, because the film has made me care. It’s always about the characters—what they want, what they need, what they’re willing to sacrifice.”
    Tesla considered that a moment, a small smile playing about her mouth as she thought how much he sounded like Max.
    “It builds empathy,” he continued. “Which is crucial, even if it’s complicated. You know, to imagine how the other person feels.”
    He’s really a good guy , Tesla thought. Smart. Gentle . They walked in companionable silence in the least manicured part of the park, through a small wood of oaks, maples and birches, the fallen leaves a riot of color under their feet. The only sound was the brittle crunch under their boots, when Tesla paused and Sam continued on a step ahead of her. It was an impulse, she knew, even as she did it, and she might very well regret it, but she reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him to a stop.
    Sam turned and faced her, his eyebrows raised in an unspoken question.
    “Come here,” she said softly as she pulled him by the hand until he stepped in close. She could see her breath in the cold, night air as she exhaled softly, the fingers of both her hands now entwined with his. She looked up and searched his face. There was just enough moonlight for her to see that his eyes—deeply, darkly liquid—peered intently into hers, and that he waited. He had made his position clear months