“Okay, stop right there.It’s not that,” Lissa interrupted, shaking her head.“The only person I’m interested in is you, Ria.I… I love you.”
A small tear formed in the corner of Ria’s eye but didn’t fall.“I love you too, Lissa.When you didn’t say anything in the cave, I wasn’t sure…”
“I wanted to,” Lissa said, releasing her hold on Ria’s hands so she could tuck a wet curl behind the witch’s ear.“I just didn’t want you to think it was because of the sex if I told you then.The truth is Ria, I was captivated by you the first moment I saw your face, and once I actually got to spend time with you… I was a goner.I never stood a chance.Believe me when I say I don’t want anyone but you.”
“Then whatever else is going on doesn’t matter,” Ria replied, securing Lissa’s hands and guiding them down so they were clasped tightly over her heart.“We love each other.Whatever you’ve kept from me can’t be bad enough to change that.”
“I hope that’s true,” Lissa whispered.She sucked in a deep inhale, then blurted out, “The truth is Ria I knew who you were before I even reached out to you about the destiny love spell.That’s kind of why I reached out to you.I never wanted a spell.I didn’t even believe in magic.”
Ria blinked a couple of times but didn’t drop Lissa’s hands.“Okay, well that’s not too awful,” she replied slowly.“I mean, I figured out pretty early on you didn’t believe in magic, so that’s not a surprise.I just assumed Daria pressured you into trying out a love spell.But how did you know me before that?”
It’s now or never, her brain urged.Rip off the damn bandage and see how bad the damage is.
Shoulders drooping, Lissa cast her focus away, taking the coward’s way out so she wouldn’t have to see the pain on Ria’s face.“I saw you on a video conference call last year,” she confessed.“I knew you worked for Mercer Marketing.The truth is… I work for Smooth Expressions.After you left, Mercer dropped us as a client.They told us two days before your campaign was supposed to go live.An art conglomerate in Portland bought the studio and gave us six months to turn it around.Our time is almost up, and the studio is about to go under.I reached out to you because I thought I could get you to tell me about whatever Mercer had been planning in the hopes it would be something that could drum up enough business to save us.I’m so sorry, Ria.I never meant for it to get so out of hand.”
As if Mother Nature herself was shocked by Lissa’s confession, a heavy silence settled over them.The rustling of leaves in the trees died down, and the birds quieted their cheerful song.Only the light splashing of water against sand remained, but even the ocean seemed upset, the once active waves now escaping back into the sea.
It took everything in Lissa to raise her head and look at the woman she loved.
Thin tears streaked down the sides of Ria’s face, but it was the heartbreak in Ria’s eyes that hurt the most.Her once vibrant witch looked broken, and it was all Lissa’s fault.
“When?”Ria whispered, her voice barely audible even on the quiet beach.
“When what?”Lissa asked, the lump in her throat making speech difficult.
“When did you stop using me?At what point did you stop trying to find out what I knew?”
Fuck.
Ria couldn’t have asked a worse question.
“The sea lion feeding,” Lissa answered truthfully, even though she wanted so badly to lie.She’d known the moment they kissed after Pride that she needed to tell Ria the truth.Instead, she’d been selfish, and now she had to suffer the consequences.
“The sea lions!”Ria demanded, the hurt in her eyes morphing into something dark and angry.Grabbing her tank top, she yanked it over her head.“So even after you knew I was tormenting myself over that damned love spell, you were still just using me for a freaking marketing plan?How could you?How could you let me suffer, thinking your actions were all my fault, when really you were manipulating me for your own benefit?
“Please,” Lissa begged.“It wasn’t like that.”
“Wasn’t it?”Ria asked, pulling on her shorts.“I kept thinking the only reason you wanted to be around me was because I botched that spell.At any point you could have told the truth about why you kept wanting to see me.”Ria let out a bitter laugh Lissa couldn’t believe came from her sweet witch.“That’s why you invited me to Pride, wasn’t it?Why you indulged me in my bizarre request for midnight skinny-dipping.The sea lion feeding.I thought you went to all those extremes because of the spell, but it was just you buttering me up to get what you wanted.Do you have any idea how much I’ve suffered, thinking I was the one taking advantage ofyou?”
Ria yanked on her shoes without bothering to tie them and stomped up the beach toward the trail.
“Wait!Please, stop!”Lissa called, abandoning the picnic to chase after Ria.“You’re making it sound like that was the only reason I wanted to see you.”
Ria whirled around and folded her arms, glaring angrily at Lissa.“So now you’re going to tell me it was because you cared about me?Loved me?”
“I do love you,” Lissa argued, reaching for Ria and wincing when the witch pulled away.“I almost told you the truth so many times because I love you.”
“Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way, Lissa.If you loved me, you wouldn’t have been able to see how twisted up I was about everything and still maintain your lie.You don’t do that to someone you love.You just don’t.”Ria’s shoulders dropped as the anger gave way to something far worse—heartbreak.“Why didn’t you ask me?If you had been honest and upfront from the beginning, I would have done everything I could to help.”
“I wanted to,” Lissa protested.“But…”
“But what?”Ria interrupted, throwing up her hands.“What possible reason could you have for holding onto the lie for so long?”
Lissa swiped her tongue back and forth over her lip piercing, trying desperately to figure out the best way to explain her cowardice.“I was scared,” she admitted.“If you didn’t help, then it was all over, and I’d never have a chance at finding out what you knew.”
Ria took a step back, shock and disgust contorting her beautiful face.“So you didn’t trust me?That’s why you lied?”She shook her head.“I can’t believe you think so little of me that you actually thought I would have walked away.That I would have been able to abandon a company that was suffering because my old boss screwed you guys over like he screwed me.I think that hurts more than the lies, Lissa.”
“Please, baby, just let me—”
