Page 36 of Grave Expectations

“It was a boring movie,” he said instead of answering. “Come, let’s go to bed.”

Albie circled several times on the foot of the bed before settling down. Rosalin slid under the covers with him, her body pressed close to his. He kissed her, a soft kiss that belied his torn feelings.

“Mmm,” Rosalin hummed into his mouth. Then she was asleep once more, her body relaxed into his.

He wanted that moment to last forever, for the sun to never rise, for the night to stretch on. Tomorrow was the first day of the Pumpkin Festival, the shadow of the thinning of the veil. Tomorrow they’d break the curse and set the events in motion that would pull him from her.

He cursed the sun when it rose at last. How did time move so quickly when you wanted it to slow? Rosalin shifted in his arms, blinking awake as the sun filtered through her window.

“Good morning,” she said softly.

“Good morning,” he replied.

“Oh no,” she groaned. “Now you can smell my morning breath, can’t you?”

“In my time, we just called it ‘breath’,” he said. She laughed and rolled from his arms to the bathroom, shutting the door. He rose and went to the kitchen to start her morning tea. He took out one of the remaining cinnamon rolls and warmed it up, licking the frosting from his fingers.

No wonder the town loved them so much; they were delicious.

“And taste,” Rosalin’s voice came from behind him and he jumped. “You can taste it, can’t you?”

“I can,” he admitted. He set her tea and her cinnamon roll on the table and sat across from her while she ate. She watched him carefully in between bites.

“Today we break the curse,” she said.

“You break the curse, I just watch,” he reminded her.

“I suppose,” she said, picking at the last bits of the cinnamon roll. The silence that settled was uneasy, and Alaric had to focus to keep from jiggling his leg.

“We should do something today,” she said suddenly. “I’ll play hooky from work, and we’ll go have a picnic or something. I’ll buy all the best foods in Pumpkin Hollow, and you can try them all.” The smile that broke over her face was so wide, Alaric couldn’t help but smile himself.

“I’ve heard food tastes better when it’s being eaten off another,” he remarked.

“A remote picnic, got it,” she affirmed. She stood and went to her room to change while Alaric stared after her.

He would never ask her to anchor him. He would never do anything to hurt her, even indirectly.

But if she asked, he didn’t think he had the strength to say no.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Roz was stalling.

They’d spent a wonderful day in the woods, trying every type of food she could think of. They lazed under the afternoon sun, soaking up the last bits of warmth before fall descended. There was no rush, no hurry, no threat of a tether that would eventually fade.

At least with the curse broken, he could cross over and not be stuck in that purgatory anymore. He could see his family, his friends, his old lover. The last thought sent a jolt of jealousy through her. She’d never had someone claim her before like he had in the bakery, and it cemented something inside her.

She really, really liked Alaric, and she really, really wished he’d let her use her blood to tether him. But she had to respect his wishes, even if she thought they were just him being a stupid man.

The sun dipped below the horizon as they returned home and gathered the things needed to break the curse. She’d double- and triple-checked it all, even passed it by Aunt Selma, just in case.

“I think the cemetery is the best place,” Roz said. “Near your gravestone.”

“You mean my monument?” Alaric asked.

“The very one,” Roz confirmed. “Best would be where you died.”

“Second best, it is,” Alaric said.