“Well, who cursed you?”
“Huh?”
Les Dimplesemerge. “A curse implies malicious intent. Did one of your ancestors offend abruja?”
“A bru-ha?”
His laughter shakes us again. “Abrujais a witch. You said your mother’s side of the family is Irish. Did your great-great-great granny slight a fairy or something?”
“Um, no. You’re right. Maybecurseis too strong a word.” I give him the side-eye. “What would you call it?”
Luc presses his lips together, considering. “Uh…superpower?”He grins.
“Superpower,” I echo, unamused. “Now you’re making fun of me.” I try to pull away.
He chuckles but shakes his head. “No, I’m not.” He squeezes my wrist, keeping my hand against his chest. “You said your family’s productivity defied all logic and limits of science. Sounds like Spiderman.”
I snort. “Sounds like that Mother Goose rhyme.”
His face goes blank and then—”The old woman who lived in a shoe?”
“A shoe!” I bemoan, throwing up my hands. “She had so many kids, and they lived a frickin’ shoe!Why?”
Luc loses it. He laughs like I’ve never seen him laugh before. Red-faced. Eyes squeezed shut. Gasping for breath. He rolls onto his back, and because my hand is still trapped, I roll too. Half on top of him.
Everything about it is amazing. He is at least nine kinds of beautiful. And the way he feels? Twelve kinds ofaaah!
This is way too close. Way too much. Because all I want to do is shift to the left so I’ll beall the wayon top of him. I prop myself up on my right elbow to gain a little distance. Luc’s chest heaves, his lungs recovering. His curling lashes are wet with laughter’s tears.
Did I say just nine kinds of beautiful? I must have miscounted. It’s thirty, easy.
God, I love making him laugh.
His eyes lock with mine. He reaches up and sweeps my hair over my shoulder. “Come home with me tonight.”
The world goes still.
Say yes. Just say yes,the wild part of me begs.
I draw in my bottom lip. “You know I can’t do that.”
His eyelids lower. “You can. The kids will be fine. I’ll have you home before they wake up. I promise.”
“Did you hear anything I just said?”
“I heard everything you said.” He licks his lips, and I’m mesmerized. “Nothing you said meant that you can’t come over.”
“Wh-what?” Shocked laughter shakes from me.
Luc’s hand curls around the back of my neck, and his thumb strokes the edge of my jaw. “Millie,” he says gently, his voice softening. “You’re a virgin. I don’t have any expectations.”
A jolt runs through me.
A virgin?
“What?”
“It’s okay,” Luc says, his thumb tracing the shell of my ear. “I mean it. I just want to be with you.”
