“Why not?”
“Because it isn’t helping.” He held out his hand like he was warding off an attack.
I leaned closer and several more beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. “Maybe I want to see if the potion’s working. If so, I’ll need to start taking notes.”
He swallowed hard. “I believe it’s working a teeny, tiny bit. At least, I can tolerate being in your presence without wanting to toss you out a window now.”
“Once my makeup was fixed, you mean?”
He softened. “You don’t think I offered simply so I could touch you? Admit it—you wouldn’t allow me to get that close otherwise.”
I caught my breath. “So…you don’t think I’m ugly?”
“Not in the slightest. You’re beau—” He breathed beforecatching himself and shutting his eyes. “Make a note. The love potion works. The end.”
I smiled. “We need much more detailed notes than that. Tell me about your exact reaction.”
He stared at the ceiling and clenched his fists. “Elevated heart rate, mild warmth in my chest, increased attention to detail. You might want to write that down. Over there.” He gestured vaguely to the opposite side of the room.
I picked up the notepad and began recording. “What sort of details did you start noticing?”
His posture grew more rigid and his eyes darted around the room as if looking for an escape. “Nothing important.”
“Zafir!” I scolded, fist on my hip. “This isallimportant if we want this to work.”
He glanced once at me then turned to face the opposite wall. “Your appearance, personality, and mannerisms, mostly. There seem to be some distracting—distracted! Distracted, intrusive thoughts.”
I walked around him so I could watch his reactions. “Describe your thoughts.”
A faint pink tinged Zafir’s cheeks. “I just did. They don’t make sense.”
“You can do better than that. Besides, we already talked about this. It’s the potion talking, not you.” I reached out and squeezed his hand. “I know you hate me too much to actually fall in love.”
Zafir flinched but didn’t immediately pull away. His eyes closed, then very slowly and carefully he withdrew his hand. “Alia, please stop.”
“Then you better give me more verbal feedback.”
“I felt the urge to strike up conversation and thought of opportunities to spend time with you. I wanted…I wanted to touch you.”
I went to the desk and scribbled it down. “What else?”
The flush in his cheeks intensified. “I imagined—very briefly—kissing you.” His face would have shamed an overripe tomato. “Curse this elixir.”
I couldn’t prevent a smile stretching across my face. “And such an image didn’t revolt you?”
“Ah, no. Quite the opposite, actually. I can’t…can’t stop the images from intruding into my thoughts.”
“So weknowthe potion is working then. Excellent. I look forward to slipping it into Julian’s drink.”
Zafir’s head snapped around. “Wecan’tgive this to him.”
“Why not? He’s the perfect mark to give this to.”
“He also lacks my self-restraint. I wouldn’t wish this on him.”
“Meaning you wouldn’t wishmeon him?”
“No!” Zafir reached out for me then stopped himself. He pressed his fist against his forehead. “Meaning that this reaction is significantly stronger than I expected. If I’m struggling, Julian doesn’t stand a chance.”
