“Stop, Simon. Seriously.”
He took a step back, giving her the space she was requesting, and wondered if he should go. She was clearly pissed, but he wasn’t sure what had happened.
“Would you like me to leave?”
Violet spun around. “No.” She huffed. “I’d like you to stay, actually.”
“You sure?”
She nodded, her eyes wary. “I’m sorry. I was caught up in the moment. I almost said somethin’ stupid. It wasn’t a big deal.”
He watched her. “Then why won’t you tell me?”
Violet held his stare for several seconds, and Simon expected her to turn away. She didn’t. And she still didn’t. He waited her out.
Finally, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. I almost said, you might wanna be careful, or I’ll fall in love with you.”
The last words came out rapidly a second before she spun around, giving him her back.
“Would that be a bad thing?” he asked, moving closer.
“The worst.”
He stopped walking.
She kept talking. “The curse prevents you from fallin’ in love with me, Simon. And I’d very much like to live out the rest of my life without fallin’ in love with someone who won’t love me back.”
The curse. Seriously. The woman believed a curse could stop any man worth his salt from falling in love with her. She was out of her mind.
“What if I want you to fall in love with me?” he asked, keeping his voice low as he moved closer, once again crowding her against the cabinets.
“Why? Why would it even matter? The curse—”
Simon placed his palm over her mouth and turned her head so he could meet her gaze over her shoulder.
“The curse got it wrong this time,” he told her.
Her eyes widened, and he could see the question in her eyes.
He moved his hand.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I’m already fallin’.”
She looked away. “I think that orgasm might be cloudin’ your judgment.”
He caged her in with his hands on the countertop again. “I’m quite sane if you wanna know the truth.”
“Simon…”
He kissed the side of her neck again. “Violet, you are the sassiest, sexiest, most intelligent woman I’ve ever met.”
“You haven’t met a lot of women, huh?”
The fact she was teasing was a good sign.
“I happen to know for a fact it’s gonna be really hard to go back home,” he admitted.
