Page 72 of This Is Not True Love’s Kiss

“It’s a romance novel,” Aoife said. “One of their book club reads.”

Whatever I’d been expecting, it wasn’t that.

“You’re reading a romance novel with Morton?” I asked.

“Yes, and it’s the most fun I’ve had since we started our lessons two years ago.” She pointed to a word in the book. “I love pretending like I don’t know how to sound out some of these words and making Morton do it for me.” She turned the book toward me, and I scanned the page, choking on the word.

“Knotting.”

Her eyes glimmered. “It’s in all the werewolf romance books, you know, where the male has a knot and when he’s mating it bulges⁠—”

I held up a hand. “I know what knotting is.”

Aoife looked absolutely delighted, like a child who’d just been offered candy. “Do you read werewolf romance, Lorcan Wolfgang?”

“No,” I said. “But I am aware of wolf anatomy. They used to run the hills around Fairwitch Isle. I didn’t know that knotting was a romance term, though. That’s new to me.”

“Looks like I’m the one giving lessons today.” She leaned forward. “Here I thought having you tutor me would be boring, but this is more fun than with Morton.”

My lips twitched, and I couldn’t even disagree. I was having fun too.

“Oh, Your Majesty.” Margaret appeared in the painting behind Aoife, and she stood in front of a stack of books. “Finally, I found you! Wolfe sent for you. For the border inspection?”

I winced. Right. I was very, very late.

“Wolfe can take care of that, surely?” Aoife asked, surprising me as she turned to Margaret. “Let Wolfe know that the border inspection is now his responsibility.”

“No, that’s not necessary—” I started, but Margaret had already dashed out of the painting and was gone.

“You can’t do everything all the time, Lor. Everything does not have to be your responsibility. I think we can both agree that your brother is fully capable of inspecting the border on his own.”

I rubbed my jaw. “He is, but I have a responsibility to our people⁠—”

“Everyone has a responsibility for Fairwitch Isle,” Aoife said. “Every one of us who lives here has to take accountability. Yes, you are a leader and our people will naturally look to you⁠—”

“To us,” I said without thinking.

Her lips quirked. “To us, but that doesn’t mean it’s all on our shoulders. You have to let others help you, Lor, or you’re going to kill yourself trying to do it all.”

What she said made sense. I knew it did. But it wasn’t so easy to believe it, to internalize it. I also didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

I leaned back in my chair, stretching out my legs so they barely brushed hers. “So tell me more about this knotting.”

CHAPTER 38

Lor

“That’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever read,” I said, looking down at the current chapter of the book Aoife was reading to me.

I had to admit, it had been entertaining thus far. Or maybe it wasn’t the story that was entertaining so much as watching my wife read the story to me, adopting different voices for each of the characters.

She arched a thick black brow. “What’s so unbelievable about it?”

I cleared my throat and licked my thumb before flipping the pages of the chapter, making a show of it because I loved the way it made Aoife’s face light up as she watched. “There.” I pointed to the situation in question.

She read the line and snorted. “What’s so unbelievable about that?”

“You’re telling me this man leaned against a doorway, and that was all it took to make her swoon?”