Page 195 of The Defiant Curse

It was crazy to her, still, but the face in the painting was so damn close to hers that it felt creepy and bizarre.

“It’s uncanny,” he admitted. “You and Ceit could be twins. I really didn’t think it was anyone else but you. I’ve seen pictures of you and Chris when you were in your late twenties. That’s what you looked like.”

Yeah, she was aware.

“Did you just call me old?” she joked. “And wrinkly?”

He stopped her.

“No, I called you absolutely beautiful and stunning. I don’t regret not having that, Elizabeth. First, I was in my healing era. Had I run into you then, we wouldn’t have survived. I needed Gene to teach me how to be a decent person. Secondly, Chris needed those moments with you so he could figure out what he needed in life. Without our path as it was, we wouldn’t be these people. One slight alteration, and we would have deviated from this timeline.”

He wasn’t wrong.

That was for sure.

As she stood there, staring at the painting, done in the sixteen hundreds, she was curious.

“I need a closer look,” she stated.

Ehtan pointed toward the high-backed chair not far away flanking the fireplace.

“There’s a chair.”

Only, there was a problem with that.

It wasn’t high enough.

“I was on it yesterday, and it doesn’t make me get closer. Since it’s on rails, I can’t lift it either to bring it down. What are the chances there’s a ladder around here?” she asked, looking around.

Slim.

To.

None.

That was for damn sure.

Construction was all in the ballroom, and this part was fully renovated. He doubted putting ladders on the marble black and white checked floor was a good idea. It looked expensive.

“Sorry, Baby. No ladders.”

She sighed.

“I wish Callen was here.”

Ethan looked over.

“Why?” he asked. “What’s he going to do? Buy you a ladder and have it delivered by drone?”

She snorted.

Well, maybe.

That did sound like Callen.

“No, he could lift my ass up there and let me sit on his shoulders so I could get a closer look at that painting. I should have told Michael not to put it back up on the rail until after I checked it out.”

Beside her, Ethan said nothing.