Page 60 of Christmas Magic

Torment registered in his eyes. “If that really happened—”

“It did!” Molly said.

“We all saw,” Daisy meowed.

“—I don’t remember. All I get is…blankness.”

“Worse and worse,” Galahad muttered.

Lucian’s attention shifted to the fluffy feline and then back to her. “That cat’s my reincarnated squire, right?”

“Right. But—”

“Those cats behind you are reincarnated witches from the Middle Ages.”

“Yes.”

“I specialize in medieval antiquities. You and I both work for an organization that keeps dark magic from influencing people and events.”

“True.

“If all of that’s correct, why wouldn’t I remember you? If, that is, we really are engaged?”

A moan broke from her. “Lucian.”

His expression hardened. “If I was in love with you, enough to ask you to be my wife, I’d remember you. I’d remember us.”

Oh, Lucian!“That’s exactly the problem! You should recall me.”

His lips flattened.

“The spell you’re under is blocking your memories.”

“Oh, for God’s sake.”

“It has also brought out your medieval elements: your chivalry, your—”

“My medieval elements?” Lucian hissed a breath. “I am, and always will be, a knight of the realm.”

“No. That was your life centuries ago.”

“Molly. Do you hear what you’re saying?

“It sounds crazy, I know. But it’s the truth.” Her fingers curled tighter into his shirt. How she wished she could reach him emotionally. “Please. Think about who has your heart,” Molly whispered. “When you think of the woman you love—”

“I see Cora. Only Cora.”

The shop’s rear door banged shut.

Molly had gone.

Tears streaming down her face, she’d picked up the box holding the gray kitten she and Galahad had apparently found by the dumpster, grabbed her purse and fled. Running beside her, the other five cats had surrounded her like a protective force.

Standing in the middle of the quiet store, his hands on his hips, Lucian sighed. Even Galahad had abandoned him.

Lucian’s focus shifted to the front windows and the people going past, even as a hard knot settled in his throat. He hated that he’d made Molly cry. Bringing a woman to tears wasn’t gallant in the least. Yet, how could what she’d told him be true? Even now, he missed Cora and longed to be with her.

And yet, a tiny part of him still insisted something was wrong; that the truth lay hidden in the blankness of his memories.