“I won’t. Promise.” He gave her another smile. One that made her knees weak. “But maybe I can make you feel better.”
“How?”
“Well, let’s start with quicksand. What scares you?”
“Um, isn’t it obvious? Getting caught in it and sinking until I drown.”
“It’s physically impossible to—”
“To sink all the way because of the difference in density, blah, blah, blah. I know the physics behind it, but that doesn’t make it any less scary. And just so you know, I have a very valid basis for my fear.”
He arched a brow, waiting for her to continue.
“My family has a little summer house that we always visited when I was younger. It’s beautiful, one of my favorite places, but the island is covered in quicksand pits. My parents warned us about them, and my brothers would tease me relentlessly. I used to have nightmares about getting stuck in one. José even tried to lure me into one, then called me a baby and made fun of me when I ran crying. I remember how my dad wiped my tears away and explained how falling in might be scary, but I’d never sink all the way, and he’d always be there to rescue me.”
“He’s right. It’s impossible to get sucked all the way down and die. That has to make you feel a little better.”
“It doesn’t, but thanks for trying.”
He chuckled. “Okay, now what do you mean when you say cursed objects? Like Annabelle?”
“Who?”
“You know, the demonic doll featured in a string of bad movies.”
“I don’t know much about that, but if it has anything to do with Hollywood, I have my doubts.”
“Do explain. I’m intrigued.”
“When I was little, myabuelitatold me about a hand mirror her old neighbor bought at a market. One time, when she looked at her reflection, she saw flames and what looked like writhing souls in purgatory. From the moment she got the mirror, she experienced bad luck and strange things. They claimed it was cursed, so they had it blessed—and it cracked.”
“Do-do-do-do,” he teased, singing theTwilight Zonetheme. “Then what happened?”
“They buried it. To this day, when I look in a mirror, I’m scared I’ll see something scary. Silly, I know.” She wrapped her fingers around her cross.
“Not if it’s really cursed.” He tossed her a playful wink.
A blush warmed her cheeks. Studying his strong, handsome profile, she simply couldn’t picture him being scared of anything. The day he took down six of her brother’s soldiers would always live rent-free in her head.
“I don’t know what to say about you. You seem like a pretty fearless man to me.”
“Oh, I have a very big phobia.”
“Really?” She sat up straighter. “I can’t imagine what.”
“They swim in the ocean,” he admitted with an exaggerated shudder.
“Sharks?”
“That would be correct.”
“I find sharks rather fascinating. I’ve always thought they’re misunderstood.”
His face screwed up in the most adorable way. “Misunderstood?” He raised a dark brow. “Have you seen their razor-sharp teeth? And they have an infinite supply of those fuckers.”
Essie burst out laughing. “Aww, bless your heart, you’re serious.”
“Uh, yeah. They have dead eyes, don’t blink, and given the opportunity, they’ll tear you to pieces.”
