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Bradley trembled. He had no idea how to explain his feelings to her—his fear of that invisible entity always reaching toward him, seeking to pull him backward and maim his progress—how to reassure her that his sudden shift in mood had nothing to do with her, his level of attraction to her, this brave and beautiful woman, but rather that it was about this precarious, unworthy thing that lived inside him.

In the end, he didn’t have to explain, because as soon as his eyes darted away and caught sight of the time on the stove clock, he saw his out.

“Holy shit, it’s already after five. I was supposed to be at work ten minutes ago.”

Devra dropped her hand, and he took a step back, giving himself the space he needed to breathe.

He hurried over to the front door while she fixed her clothing.

“Sorry about this.”

“It’s okay.” She still held a languid, sex-addled expression. “I get it.”

He really wished she did.

“Thanks. Okay. Yeah. Talk later. Bye.”

He was out the door and jogging across their lawns to his sketchy van when his mind began to clear, the shock of cold air a jump-start to his brain. He blew on his ungloved hands as he fumbled to unlock the vehicle, the temperature having dropped to one even he wasn’t impervious to. The key was in the ignition when he stopped, an idea leaping out, fully formed, as though his subconscious had been working away on the plan while his hands had been working away on her.

“Of course.” Bradley reopened the driver’s side door and rushed back to her house, gooseflesh prickling from excitement as much as from the cold.

She was still leaning against the door frame, the door held open as if in anticipation of his return.

“I’ve got it!”

“Got what?” she asked, a sparkle in her eye.

“I get that it might be difficult for you to go see your father over the holidays, but I don’t see any reason why I can’t go see him.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “You want to meet my father?”

“Yes,” he laughed out. “Yes, I do. Give me his address. I’ll pop over tomorrow morning before my shift. Then I’ll report back to you in the evening with everything he’s told me so we can improve our plan.”

“Um…all right. Why not?” She laughed too, with a teenage lightness.

She went inside and returned with a pen and pad, writing down the address. “I’ll let him know to expect you.”

“Great. Okay. And now I really do have to run.” He turned away before continuing in a full circle, coming back around to face her again. “And your phone number. So I don’t have to throw paper airplanes at your window or knock down your door every time I want to talk to you.”

“I dunno,” she teased, jotting down her number. “I kind of enjoyed having you knocking down my door. I might miss it.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t be that easy to keep me away.”

Her smile. She was beautiful. Radiant. Her cheeks still flushed. Her hair a touch mussed.

Bradley was already late. Ten minutes turning into fifteen by now. Nevertheless, he leaned in for one more kiss.

Eunji, his manager, barely batted an eye when he hurried into the seasonal tent nearly half an hour late, apologies tumbling out of his mouth. Bradley supposed he had his spotless record up till now to thank for her grace.

He worked his entire shift with the taste of Devra on his tongue, his mind constantly brought back to her. Her softness. Her strength. Her trauma. Her sounds. Her mouth. Her brilliance. Her curse. While mopping the muddy entranceway, he tried to put straight in his head the information he’d gathered so far, tried to plan the questions he needed to ask her father tomorrow. He wanted Devra, and he wanted to solve her curse. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized how interconnected these two wants were, how conditional one would be on the other.

Part of him knew he should slow down. He wanted to make an impromptu appointment with Dr. Rahi. But if he called her office, he’d only get her holiday voicemail offering him alternative numbers in case of an emergency. He wasn’t about to call a stranger who didn’t know him at all, who would have no idea how huge and unexpected this change in his life was. A change he didn’t want to stop by any means, but one he knew he should navigate carefully. He could hear Dr. Rahi’s voice. There’s no rush, Bradley. Go slow. Remember, you are in control of yourself and your actions. And yet he didn’t feel in control. Not at all. Because the other part of him, a larger part, knew there wasn’t time to go slow. Devra had said it once herself, panicked and trying to explain: There isn’t time. He understood now.

There was a deadline.

It was already December 15th, and by Devra’s account, the curse would strike sometime close to Christmas Day. He had fewer than ten days to solve a mystery that had plagued Devra’s family her entire life. It seemed impossible. But it was essential. Because there was no way he could be with this woman he desperately wanted to be with unless she was free to be with him too. Which meant showing her it was safe, keeping up her reason to hope, to believe. If he failed, if something awful happened to her or her family this holiday season before he could find a way to prevent it, he knew he would lose her.

The clock was ticking.