“I’m so tired,” I say, yawning.
Sitting beside me, Luc cocks his head to the side. “Should we go? You’re still recovering.”
I shake my head, watching the kids. “They’re having fun.” It reminds me of the other night. Except this time Harry is paired with Emmett, and Mattie and Alex make up a team.
No surprise there.
I sigh. If I ever had the power to delay Mattie’s first crush, I don’t anymore. Let’s face it. I probably never did. And it could be worse. If Alex is anything like his brother, Mattie will be one pretty lucky fourteen-year-old.
But then again, if he’s anything like Luc, how is she going to be able to control herself?
“What’s the matter?” Luc asks.
I jump, pulled from my worries, and find him watching. “Nothing… Everything’s fine.”
He rolls his eyes. “That word is your tell. If you use it, something’s wrong.” He pins me with his stare. “What is it?”
I tried to tell him the other night, but he looked at me like I was crazy. Itiscrazy. But frogs sometimes rain from the sky. That shit’s crazy too, but it’s still real. The Curse is real.
I sigh again, this time out of frustration. “I don’t think I can explain it to you.”
He’s sitting right beside me. Our hips are almost touching. He leans back and rests his arm along the back of the sofa. Not touching me, but I feel his closeness, and I like it. I’d love to just lean in.
Touching him Tuesday night had felt all kinds of right. It had been a heady mix of need, fulfillment, and a long-lost comfort. I want more. Now that I’ve known it, I’m afraid I’ll want it all the time.
He’s looking at me now, humor in his eyes. Just a hint of a smile on his lips. I kissed those lips only yesterday. It had been so natural. Just like breathing.
“Try,” he says.
For an instant, I think he’s talking about kissing. Telling me to try to kiss him. I wouldn’t even need to try. It would be so easy. WhatI’mtryingto do is not kiss him. Not touch him. And still be near him.
Everything is better when I’m near him.
I open my mouth to attempt a response when the door behind us bursts open. “Isaac! Ian! Time to go!” Felicité shouts across the lawn. The three littles halt their bouncing for all of one second, glance at each other, and start up again. Felicité mutters something in Spanish under her breath. “C’mon,niños.I know you heard me. Sofie, you too. Nezzie has something for you.”
The little girl stops jumping and clings to the net of the trampoline. “What she got,Tia?”
Felicité shrugs, all innocence, and turns up her palms. “I don’t know. Why don’t you come see?”
Little Isaac grips the trampoline net and puts his mouth inside one of its holes. “Why does Nezzie have something for her and not us?” he asks, scowling at the injustice.
His mother’s forehead wrinkles as her brows raise, hamming up the mystery. “Maybe we should go ask her.”
Bitten by the curiosity bug, the kids scramble out of the trampoline.
“Tell Cousin Luc and his friend Millie bye-bye,” Felicité tells them as they shoot past us.
“Bye!’
“Bye!”
“Goo-bye!” Three small voices shout before they disappear inside.
Felicité blows out a gust of air. “The price for a quick exit will be the sugar rush from the cookies Nezzie gives them,” she says, brushing her dark bangs out of her eyes. “I just hope they crash with enough time for a nap before we go to my mother-in-law’s tonight.”
“A nap sounds terrific,” I say, nearly moaning with envy.
Felicité gives me a tired smile. “Doesn’t it, though?” Then she stoops down and hugs Luc before turning and hugging me. “Good seeing you, Luc. Wonderful to meet you, Millie. And it’s on. You. Me. We are totally making that butternut squash dish for Christmas.”
