Page 91 of Meet Cute Magic

“No,” he says with a small smile and shake of his head. “You did this because I wanted to be able to eat real food while in the mortal world.” You could hear a pin drop in the silence that hangs in Rosie’s apartment. Even Percy is silent as he stares up at my grandfather. “And, of course, so you could finally figure out whatever was going on between you and Jack.” The silence breaks.

“Are you fucking joking?! You made me spend two months making a potion so you could taste a fucking muffin? And convinced me it was to help you pass on to the other side?”

“Wait. Are you really mad?” my grandfather asks, seeming genuinely shocked.

“Yes!” Rosie shouts, hands going in the air. “I went around for two months getting this shit together. We got into a bar brawl and had to steal hair from the mayor! I risked Jack’s safety by taking him to the supernatural bar!” I look at her with a raised eyebrow because that risk is new to me—she made it seem relatively safe. “I kept secrets from my family—”

Phillip interrupts, raising a knowing finger. “That wasn’t new. You’ve been keeping secrets from your family about a curse that didn’t even really exist.” Her jaw goes tight.

“That’s not the—”

“Was it the most honest thing to convince you you were breaking a family curse to get my way? Obviously not,” my grandfather starts. “Were there other options? Probably. But the results were pretty good, you can’t argue that.”

Rosie stares in silence before asking, “Results?”

“You two! You both are finally together and happy. Kissing! In love!”

“We broke up because he sabotaged my potion because he thought your spell would make me forget him. We spent the last week apart in absolute misery because of your lies.” He waves his hand in the air like it doesn’t matter, and Rosie looks like she might throw something.

“Ehh, love is messy sometimes. You should know that by now.”

“You’re—” Rosie starts, but I cut her off deciding I need to get her away from my grandfather before she actually curses him.

“Are you going anywhere?” I ask my grandfather, trying to stop this cycle from repeating.

“No,” he says, doing another flip. “I like staying earthside. Only thing I missed was food, which your little witch fixed for me.” Rosie glares and opens her mouth but despite the chaos, I want to get her alone. I want time with Rosie. It’s been too long since I’ve held her, since I’ve pressed my lips to hers, and I need to know that we’re okay.

We can deal with this mess tomorrow.

Or the next day.

“So you’ll be here tomorrow for Rosie to yell at you?”

“I can be, I suppose. What time were you thinking?”

“You’re stuck here, what does it matter?” Rosie asks, exasperated.

My grandfather lifts an eyebrow and smiles. “No. I’m not.”

“You’re not?”

He shakes his head and lets out a laugh. “No, girl. I can go all around Heartwood Hollow.” He pauses, then looks at us skeptically. “Is that why you always escape to Jack’s? Because you thought I was stuck here?”

“Yes!” Rosie shouts, once again getting more frustrated. I can’t blame her, though.

My grandfather was always a trickster when he was alive, so I honestly should have seen this coming. Still, I need to step in before things get worse.

“Okay, so you’re stuck in Heartwood Hollow, you’re not going to disappear. We’ll be here tomorrow for you to continue explaining to Rosie exactly what happened. But it’s late, so we’re going back to my place for the night.” I look down at Rosie waiting for her agreement, realizing that it isn’t a forgone conclusion. We have so much to talk about, I have apologies to make, and she still hasn’t formally forgiven me. She smiles softly, though, and nods before relief rushes through me.

“Works for me. Mind if I eat the rest of these?” Phillip asks Rosie, gesturing toward the treats on the counter. She glares at him.

“Go,” I say, squeezing her hand. “Go get a bag and we’ll head out.” A beat passes before she nods with a sigh and makes her way to her room, shooting another glare at my grandfather. When she’s out of sight, I turn to him.

“There was never a curse?” I ask low.

He shakes his head. “Spirits can see magic even if it’s not visible to other magic holders. We can see spells and curses, and Rosemary never had a curse. Neither do her sisters. I didn’t see it when I was alive, and I don’t see it now. I have a theory, but she’ll have to summon her mother to talk to her about it. Not my story to tell.” I sigh and nod, then decide to grab the pot on the stove and the now empty flask to clean them out. Might as well make myself useful while I wait.

“You knew this would happen all along,” I say, a statement instead of a question. Again, he nods.