“Shit. Sorry about that. I ...”
But I’m shaking my head halfway through his explanation.
“Odette?”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“I can’t. Can’t dothis.”
“What do you mean? Like right now? I know Izzy is in the car, but—”
“It’s not her. It has nothing to do with Izzy. It has everything to do with me. Everything to do with ...” Anger pulses through me. “It’s thefuckingcurse. Iknewthis career was a risk. I knew that creating happily ever afters for people when I had this horrible dark thing hanging over me was hazardous, but I didn’t realize that it would ever affect Izzy. I didn’t realize she would get her heart broken too.”
“What?” he says in disbelief. “Izzy didn’t get her heart broken because of the curse. She got her heart broken because Craig is a fucking asshat. A giant slimy asshat who is lucky I left him breathing. It has nothing to do with you or the curse. You can’t ... Odette, you can’t keep letting it control your life.”
He doesn’t get it, though. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to watch the people you love get hurt over and over again. My grandmother never found true love, even though she gave it hell. Now she’s old and alone, and it breaks my heart to see her like that.
And my mother ... God, my poor mother. My father walked out on us and never looked back and her second attempt failed just as spectacularly.
My aunts and cousins too.
And now Izzy ... fuck, I never wanted this for her. Deep down I hoped that the bad luck I had with weddings was just that—bad luck. That the couples who got divorced quickly after I planned their weddings were just anomalies. That it wasn’t because of my darkness.
I was wrong, and I don’t understand why Noah can’t see that. I don’t get why he can’t see that I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep trying. I can’t keep letting my heart get broken or getting my hopes up thatmaybesomething will work out.
And I absolutely cannot love Noah Stevens, even though I do.
He’s already been hurt once before, and I can’t hurt him again.
He might be enough for me, but that might not be enough for the curse, and I won’t let it break him too.
“Odie?” He takes a step toward me.
I shake my head, giving us back the distance he just took. “No, Noah. I can’t. I’m ... I’m done.”
“You’re . . . done?”
I nod, pushing my chest out. “I’m done.We’redone.” I exhale a steadying breath. “Besides, that’s what we said, right? Just until the wedding. We weren’t going to last longer than that anyway.”
Even though I believed we could have. Even though I wanted us to.
But I can’t risk it now. I might not survive the next heartbreak.
I dare a peek up at him. I’ve never seen him look so grumpy before, and that’s saying something.
“Noah?” I hedge.
“No.” He shakes his head, his hands going to his hips as he lifts it, looking anywhere but at me. “No. You’re right. That’s what we said. Just fun until it isn’t anymore, and I guess it isn’t. Whatever. Besides, I have a lot of work to do. Got the farm to take care of. The cidery. The rink. Renovating my house. I’ll be too busy for lo—” He cuts himself off, rolling his lips together. “I’ll be too busy.”
His mouth may be saying all of this, but I swear his posture says something else. A part of me wants him to take it all back. I want him to stand here and fight for me. To fight forus.
But how can I ask that of him if I’m not willing to do the same myself? How could I ask him to beg me to try again if I’m too damn scared to do it?
So I don’t.
Instead, I open my car door, doing my best to ignore his sweet gesture of helping hold it open even when I’ve just broken things off with him, and climb inside.
