Page 74 of Meet Cute Magic

“You don’t—”

“Bye, Jack!” Poppy says with a smile and a wave.

“We approve, by the way,” Vi says with a knowing grin that looks much less sweet than Poppy’s.

“Good to hear. Get home safe,” I say, giving Rosie a wink before turning back to the kitchen. Poppy and Vi giggle before Rosie shushes them and ushers them out the door.

“I don’t know why I didn’t see it before, but he’s perfect for you, Rosie,” I can hear Vi say, and I look around, confused. They’re down in the bookstore, Rosie walking her sisters out, but it’s as if they’re in the same room when Poppy speaks next.

“No, literally. Who would have known your soulmate was the angry guy you fight with all this time?” My eyes shift to a vent in her kitchen that must go down to the bookstore, carrying up their words.

“I don’t know if—”

“Did he really read that book you love? The one you’re always trying to get me to read?” Violet asks. I roll my lips between my teeth, attempting to hide a self-satisfied smile as I pour Percy a bowl of food, his plump body moving along my shins as I do. Rosie had been going on and on about the suspense series she’s been loving for the past two weeks, and after hearing about it so much, she sold me on it. I’d been listening to the audiobook of the first book in the series for the past few days, but I hadn’t told Rosie about it. She started talking to her sisters about it at dinner, begging them to give it a shot so she would have someone to talk to about it.

“I listened to the first one,” I said right before the table went completely silent, three sets of similar eyes locking onto me.

“What?” Rosie had said.

“I listened to the first one. It was good. I don’t think I was really prepared for how… intimate it would be, but it was good. I couldn’t guess who the bad guy was.” I could feel the blush burning at my cheeks but tried to fight it back, especially when the bond between Rosie and me started to glow, the threads at my chest tugging merrily.

“You listened to the book I was telling you about?”

I shrugged like it was no big deal, because when I downloaded it, it didn’t feel like a big deal, just something I could do to feel more connected to Rosie, taking part in what she likes, the same way she always asks me questions about games when she comes to my place.

“You sold me on it. It was good.”

“Oh my god,” Poppy had whispered with wide eyes.

“He read her book,” Violet added under her breath, bending to Poppy as if having a private conversation while both of them stared at me. Thankfully, the server came before they could continue to ask about it, and after, the conversation moved on to some other obscure topic. But it seems it was not forgotten.

“I… I guess he did,” Rosie says, and while I can’t see the shrug, I can almost hear it.

“See? He’s perfect for her,” Poppy says to Vi.

“You called it,” Violet agrees, the two of them clearly ignoring Rosie.

“Guys,” Rosie starts, a mix of exasperation and panic coming through the kiss bond.

“I’m just saying. Don’t let this one go. He’s perfect for you, Rosie.”

“Eavesdropping?” my grandfather says low, scaring me and making me lose the thread of their conversation.

“What? No,” I say, my tone guilty even to my own ears. He gives me a look I saw plenty of times growing up, and I roll my eyes. “Not intentionally.” He harrumphs like he doesn’t quite believe me, but swirls above us all the same.

“The potion will be ready in a little over a week,” he says.

“Yup,” I say moving to the living room with him floating behind me. When I sit, I reach for the remote and mindlessly flip through channels. I need a distraction, something other than Rosie’s sisters telling her we’re perfect together or my grandfather rubbing salt into the wound.

“What are your plans after?”

“Plans?”

“After the curse is over. What are your plans? Rosie’s plans?” That churning worsens, but I fight it back, convincing myself it’s the residual panic of Rosie having to lie to her sisters that has me feeling that way, and I shrug as nonchalantly as I can.

“I don’t know. Rosie’s going to go off and find her true love, I guess.”

“Not you?” he asks. My body stills. “Her sisters seem to think you’re a good pair.”