“That interest became a career.”
She nodded. “A career destined to lead me here. To you. To knowing I am or was Grainne.”
“Does it bother you?” Luc frowned again.
“As I said, I was frightened out of my wits when I first began to think it possible.” The realization that she loved Luc, truly loved him scared her even more. “What would happen to me? If she is me, and I am her, who am I really? Who would I be if I let myself believe?”
“You’re not frightened now?” His eyes went wide again.
She wouldn’t confess to loving him enough that she feared losing him. Not yet. “Not in the same way. What I feel is more likeanticipation, like the thrill of riding The Giant Dip at Riverside Park.”
Luc squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them. “I beg your pardon. What is a ‘giant dip,’ and where is this park?”
Grace covered her mouth and laughed. “It’s hard to remember sometimes that your experience of life in this day and age is limited.”
“I’m sorry if I disappoint you.” He sniffed, before leaning back against the bedpost once more.
Grace inhaled deeply. Whatever had him so tense earlier was gone.
“Oh, I mean no offense and I apologize. You don’t disappoint me.” She blew him a kiss. “You couldn’t.”
“Nice to know, thank you,” he said, his tone wry. “But this ‘dip’ thing is…?”
“Some people call them Russian Mountains, because they imitate the ice slides found in that country. Most people call them roller coasters, because the cars or carriages people ride coast on wheels down a raised wooden track. As for Riverside Park, it has had a number of names over the years, but that’s what it was called while I was growing up. The Park is located in Agawam, Massachusetts, near Springfield.”
“Did you go there often and ride this Giant Dip?” He inclined his head.
“I visited Agawam frequently while I was younger. The last time I went was during the trial. I needed an escape.”
“Did it work?” Luc rubbed his hands against his thighs.
Oh, to be one of those palms for just a little while. Grace shook the thought away.
“For a while. Then I had to go home to attend court the following day.”
“Please, tell me if I understand what you’ve said correctly. You’ve come to believe you are both Grainne Tirlán and Grace Thibodaux. The idea once frightened you but now you eagerly anticipate some change that you believe will occur as a result of your, shall we say, dual nature.”
“That pretty much sums it up.” She smiled.
“What do you think is going to happen?” He sipped some wine.
“I think I will eventually be either Grainne or Grace. That one of me will vanish.”
“Into the past?” His brows rose, as they had moments before.
“If I end up as Grainne. The future, if I end up as Grace.” She tossed back the last of her own drink.
Luc cocked his head to one side. “What do you think will make the difference?”
“I couldn’t say, but we need to be prepared for it whatever it is.”
He nodded. “If we don’t know what to prepare for, how is that possible?”
“I’m not certain…” she hesitated. “Can you tell me what happened to Grainne the night you were cursed?”
“Didn’t you dream that too?” His brows met.
She shook her head. “When I dreamt, I woke up as the actual curse was spoken. I learned that Grainne had disappeared because that’s what you wrote in the log book.”
