Page 84 of Meet Cute Magic

Phillip sighs, then shrugs. “But I think he meant well. I think he panicked and made a bad decision, and I know he regrets it.” I roll my eyes, then take another deep drink of my wine.

“How?” Poppy asks sweetly, tipping her head to the side.

“Because he’s moping around in his place every day. I can see it through the windows.”

I’ve done everything in my power to avoid seeing Jack since our talk, so this is a surprise to me.

“Really?” I ask, trying not to seem interested and clearly failing when three sets of eyes focus on me.

“The boy is heartbroken, Rosie.”

“Well, it’s his own damn fault. And now that the curse has been activated, this would be doomed anyway,” I grumble, crossing my arms on my chest. Phillip floats around, raising an eyebrow at me, silently challenging my words. I stare at him, trying to understand what he’s saying, but I’m distracted before I can grasp on to it.

“Don’t you think it’s interesting that the first time you’re not focused on trying to make a man fall for you, not fixating on I dos and happily ever afters, you fall for a man—and he falls right back?” Violet says softly.

“And it still ended in heartbreak,” I say with a humorless laugh. “I don’t know why he couldn’t have just waited. He said he wanted to see what would happen, but why not just wait? See what would happen! We could have talked once the curse was broken and seen where it went, but instead, he had to say something before it was broken, and it fell apart like always.” I don’t admit that I’m not sure if he had offered something like that, something before the curse breaking, if I had listened.

“But did it have to?” Violet asks.

“What?”

“Did it have to. Did it have to end in heartbreak, or are you so focused on your mission, on keeping an eye out for heartbreak, that you manifested it, breaking your own heart?” Her words hang in the room between us, and everyone is quiet as I run them through my mind.

But I know the truth: the curse was activated, and it would have been only a matter of time before it broke me. I’ve seen it happen time and time again.

“I guess I’ll never know, right? Because on the full moon, I’m breaking the curse for good and all of this pain will be forgotten. Jack will be forgotten.”

“Rosie—” Poppy starts, but I can’t do it. I won’t do it. I don’t want to talk about it. I just need to make it through to Halloween, and my new life will start.

“Please. Can we drop it? I’m starving,” I lie, picking up my cold slice of pizza and taking a too-big bite. My sisters look to one another, a silent conversation playing out before Violet sighs and Poppy shrugs.

“Okay, Rosie. But… if you need us, we’re here.”

“We just want what will make you happy,” Violet says, agreeing, then reaching over and touching my hand. “And even if what makes you happy makes you feel scared, it’s worth going for.”

And even though we change the subject and spend the rest of the night gossiping, giggling, and eating, her words never stop circling my mind.

CHAPTER 30

Jack

1 day until Halloween

The day before the full moon, I wake up, and the golden strands that had been fading for days are completely gone. Even though the pull of the bond is no longer there, the ache hurts even more, confirming what I already knew: my love for Rosie has absolutely nothing to do with the kiss bond. I’d been falling for her long before it, after all.

I even tried to express my feelings to her before we ignited the bond the second time, but I couldn’t get the words out right, not when a million thoughts were flooding my mind, not when there was still that hint of fear in her eyes, and surely not when need and desire were coursing through my body.

I fucked up by telling her it was because of her magic and the book I read. Even though I stand by it, I phrased it completely wrong. It isn’t her magic that made me fall for her. It was her magic that made me open my eyes to what had been in front of me—or, rather, across the street from me—all this time.

I do think the kiss bond is what pushed me into the desperation of trying to sabotage the spell, though: something about knowing that our relationship would be ending mixed with the draw of the kiss bond combined to make an idiotic plan that I didn’t think through at all and deeply hurt Rosie’s trust in me.

She was right not to listen to me or give me a chance to explain.

I spent six weeks cultivating her trust, something she explained time and time again that she hadn’t given to many people, from trusting me with the truth of her magic to telling me about the curse to letting me have the utter privilege of giving her assistance to giving me her kiss bond. And I threw that trust in her face.

Even as I walked across the cobblestones that night, though, I knew at the very least, I needed the bond to fade before I could make my next move, if I were going to make one at all. I’d put myself in a shitty position, losing Rosie’s trust and breaking her heart. All in one move, despite my intentions. First, I had to make sure the bond cleared to assess my emotions. No matter what, I needed to be able to tell her that my feelings were real, not a symptom of the kiss bond.

Then I had to think of a plan for how to convince her to give me a second chance.