“Tell me about Aries,” she said to distract herself from the melancholy thought.
“Hmm?”
“You didn’t get to tell me anything about it that night.” She picked up the bottle and twirled it between her fingers. “You said you started it in college. That must’ve been quite a feat—studying and opening a company at the same time.”
“I had help. And with Mom and Dad dying at the same time, Aries was a distraction and a lifeline. I could pour myself into it, and if it succeeded, I’d not only have something to …” He fiddled with the edge of the sheet. “To hold me above the surface. I’d also have somethingtheywould be proud of.”
“I’m sure they are,” she said. As for Simon, there was no doubt he was. The company was his child.
“Besides, if you truly want something, it’s never too hard.” He shrugged lightly, but his eyes gained that familiar gleam of excitement.
“You truly wanted phones?” she teased him.
“I wanted to make something fun, good, something that would enhance people’s lives. I know it’s not the cure for cancer or a solution to world hunger, but …”
“You like what you do, and you want to share that with others.”
His eyes met hers and held her in place with a soft, silent understanding. “Exactly.”
She chuckled, more to cut off the invisible string between them. “I’m sorry I keep trying to sabotage your babies.”
“It’s not that bad. If anything, you’re a challenge. I could try to figure out how to make a phone even you can’t break.”
Her heart picked up. The way he said it, with a light smirk and that soft gleam still caught in his eyes, it had almost sounded like flirting.
If they weren’t well on their way to breaking the bond and with it, what few strands of that night in Vegas still remained. Simon was only getting soft because he was stuck with her, stuck in bed on top of everything else,anddoused with painkillers.
Unless … Gran’s words came back to her.You’ll never find out if there could be more if you reject him from the start.The deepest recesses of her conscience told her what she didn’t want to admit to herself—that Simon had been giving her signs. That there was a chance—but that chance lay in another world, not hers. How many chances had she had in romantic relationships? How many had ended up working?
None.
“What about your curse?” he asked, breaking the minute of silence.
“Huh?”
“This bond of ours. It’s something that can be fixed, right? I’m no expert, but can’t curses also be undone, at least in stories? So, your family curse, the one that makes people forget you. Can it be broken?”
“There is a way, according to the legend, as Caitriona passed it down.” Shanna fingered her locket. “But it’s impossible.”
“Impossible is a harsh word.”
“It’s the right one. We’d need a Witch’s Heart to break it. The witch in question being the woman who cursed Caitriona, and the heart being … well, the organ. Unfortunately for us, she died centuries ago.”
“And that’s the only way?”
“That we know of.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Life rarely is.” She tapped his leg and got up, sparing a glance to the stain from her tincture, left on the carpet.Congratulations, hotel room number 36—you’re about to get some extra healing.“I’ll leave you to rest now. I’ll be outside if you need me.”
“The bed—”
“It’s fine. The armchair looks great.” She pointed to the armchair the size of an airplane economy class seat.
“That’s stupid. There’s room enough for both of us. And two blankets, so there’ll be no pulling.”
That cheered her up enough for a light smile. “If you insist.”
