I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered, his voice raw.
“It hurts no matter what.”
He closed his eyes. Then he shook his head and stood. He paced to the open windows. They didn’t have screens, and night moths flew in and out of the room.
I moved next to him and leaned over the molding, letting the ocean air cool my burning skin.
“It would be nice to stay here. Never go back to the city. Just stay in the past.”
He glanced over at me. Smiled. “Some people do spend their whole lives in the past.”
I shrugged. “And some spend their whole lives in the future. Right now, I’d take the past.”
Finn glanced at me quickly. “Say that again.”
“I’d take the past?”
“How long have we been here?”
“What?”
He spoke more slowly, his voice tight with worry. “How long have we been here?”
I looked over at the wooden clock on the nightstand. “It’s almost morning. So . . . four hours?”
Finn’s face paled. “Already?”
“What? Why?” A shiver raced over me. I glanced out the window. The night sky was shading toward a bruised purple.
Finn swore. “If we stay longer than four hours, we can’t leave.”
“Wait. Can’t leave, as in . . .?”
“Can’t leave. Ever.”
I shoved off the balcony and backed away from Finn. “No.” I shook my head. I pinched my arm. “Wake up.” I pinched harder. “Wake up.”
There was a knock on the door. They didn’t wait for an answer. The doors swung open, and the concierge strolled in.
“Valued guests,” he began.
“I want to leave,” I said. “I want to check out.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Morning is nearly here. You’ll be staying again, I’m sure. Would you like breakfast?”
“No. We’re leaving.”
The concierge twisted his hand, and the doors slammed shut. A lock clicked in place. There was no illusion though. No knots.
“Open the door,” I said.
The man’s mustache twitched as he smiled. “You want marital bliss. You want a honeymoon. You want to be unfettered. You can have all of it. The only thing you have to do is stay for . . .”—he glanced at the clock—“one more minute.”
“Mari.”
I turned to Finn. There was something strange in his voice.
