I slowly shook my head. “We can’t do this. Not now.”
He set his plate down and moved from the chair to the couch.
I went still and resisted the urge to scoot away, even as I wanted to move closer and rub my face on him like a cat. He lifted my calves and settled my legs on his lap.
“You’re freezing,” he mused, staring at my bare feet in confusion. “Why are you so cold?”
He’d forgotten how many sweaters and jackets he’d given me, how many times he’d brought me gloves.
“Side effect of my magic,” I told him once more. “Temperature control is difficult for me now. I usually wear a lot of sweaters.”
Toasty warm hands wrapped around my feet, and gods above, I sighed in relief.
Ethan chuckled. “Why aren’t you wearing socks?”
I was too tired to walk to the bedroom to get them and decided to make cookies instead because I was more hungry than cold. “Didn’t think about it.”
“Mmm,” Ethan said. “Where’s your bedroom?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
His grin held a wicked edge. “So I can get you a pair of socks.”
I laughed nervously and pointed toward the back. “Top left drawer. Thick ones, please.”
Ethan stood and walked into my bedroom. I held my breath the entire time, and when he came back holding two pairs, I resisted the urge to break the spell right now and throw myself at him.
Holding onto this magic felt wrong, but Cliona insisted I unravel everything first. By doing so, she believed Ethan would slowly begin to understand what was happening. His memory would begin to return until eventually he’d be able to break the spell without irreparable harm to his psyche or that corpse exploding like a nuclear bomb.
She wasn’t sure about the bomb part, but decided since my mother was such a bitch, something like that would probably happen.
“Gray or blue?” Ethan waved the socks.
“Blue, please.” I reached for the pair, but Ethan waved me away.
He sat back down and reached for my calves again, sliding hands over my skin.
My mouth went dry, and I froze like a scared rabbit. He took one of my feet and slowly put the sock on, taking much more time than he needed. When both were on, I expected him to stand up and move back to his seat, but he didn’t. He stayed there and rubbed my feet.
I sighed and sank into the couch cushions, wishing things were different.
“I think I miss you, Moira,” he said suddenly. “I’m not sure why. The feeling makes no sense, but I do.” He chuckled. “Or maybe it’s the cookies I miss. Hard to say.”
I tossed a pillow at him. “It’s normal to miss your friends when you’re away from them.”
“Mmm. I don’t think that’s it.” He glanced at me. “And I don’t think you think so either.”
This wasn’t a safe conversation to have. Our eyes met. Ethan huffed. “Fine. Let’s pick something you are willing to tell me. How about Rowan?”
“What about him?”
“How did we become friends?”
I thought about it. “A lot of things were happening, requiring the Lords to convene increasingly often. You and I met again when Evie and I were on another Lord’s land.” My voice softened. “You brought me a sweater because it was cold outside.”
He snorted. “That doesn’t really sound like me.”
“You’re right. I thought the same thing.”
