“They’ve left the house now, so hopefully they’ve forgotten about me and Nate.”
“What’s been happening with him anyway?” Kaitlyn asked as she placed the roast on the table. “Besides…you know.” She smirked.
Jade rolled her eyes.
They all sat at the table and passed around the plates of food. Finally, her mother said, “Well, are you going to answer your sister?”
There was no way she would tell her mother about getting busted by Connor making out in the car. It was bad enough her mum knew she’d been skinny-dipping. This would surely give her a heart attack. It surprised Jade that Connor and his big mouth hadn’t run to tell on her.
“There’s nothing much to say. He helped me out with music lessons.” She shrugged. “That’s all.” And she’d fallen in love.
“You were making more than just music together,” Kaitlyn said with a sly smile. Jade knew exactly what she was suggesting.
“After your…” Jade’s mother cleared her throat. “…beach incident, are the two of you in a relationship? Maybe he’s the one you can finally settle down with.”
Jade nearly choked on the meat she was in the process of swallowing. Coughing a couple of times, she then took a sip of water. “No, Ma, I’m not settling down with him or anyone. You know why.”
Her mother slapped her napkin on the table and gave Jade a stern stare. “This curse business used to be a bit of fun. You know—that couple broke up, it must be the Brennan curse. A joke. But you’re taking it too far.”
“But—”
“I haven’t finished.” She pointed a finger at Jade. “You’re letting it come between you and your happiness. And you deserve the best life. You look sad, and it’s not all because of your job. There’s more to it, and I’ll put my money on Nate. We thought you’d snap out of that nonsense when you fell in love.”
“I’m not in love,” she lied.
Her mother stared her down without saying a word.
“Okay.” She could never lie to her mother when she gave her that look. “I might have some strong feelings…”
Again, the look.
“Fine.” She threw her hands in the air. “I fell in love. But nothing can happen.”
“Because of the curse.” Her mother huffed.
“Yes.”
“Have you told him how you feel?”
“There’s no point. He’s leaving in the morning. I can’t stop him.” A cold tightness squeezed her chest.
“If you love him, you need to tell him,” her mother encouraged.
“He never planned on staying.” She bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling.
“He may surprise you and change his mind if he knows how you feel.” Her mother placed a hand on her heart. “Or, as much as it would kill me, you could go with him.”
Jade smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving Brimland Point. My job is here—well, that’s if Toby lets me come back. It would never work even if I went with him. The curse would see to that.”
“Enough with the stupid curse! It isn’t real,” her mother snapped.
“What about all the broken relationships in our family? They’ve been real. Liz’s fiancé and her younger sister Melissa’s boyfriend, Kaitlyn’s husband Phil, and…dad.”
Jade’s mother dropped her elbows on the table and placed her head in her hands. “Liz’s fiancé was a jerk, he did her a favor. Melissa was only eighteen when she dated that boy, and he wasn’t much older. They were too young for a relationship. And Phil…” Her eyes flicked to Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn blew out a breath then blurted, “Phil was gay.”
“I knew it!” Jade yelled. “No straight guy quotes from the movie Legally Blonde and performs the bend-and-snap like a pro.”
