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I wanted Celeste.

Not simply because she might be able to break my curse—though that was certainly part of it. I wanted to hold her in my arms again, to feel the warmth of her body against mine, and to kiss those soft, full lips until she forgot all about her idiotic former husband and the life she'd left behind in Tampa. I wanted to hear her laughter echoing through the halls of Blackthorn Manor and see her beautiful face across the breakfast table in the mornings.

Which was absurd, of course—I'd only known the woman for a day, and most of that time we'd spent arguing. But as I watched her walk ahead of me towards the house, I couldn't help wondering whether the ancient spell might offer me something far more precious than the restoration of my body.

Perhaps, if I was very fortunate indeed, it might give me a second chance at love. The thought filled me with a strange mixture of hope and terror.

Because I was beginning to suspect that if Celeste Kinderson left Blackthorn Manor and returned to her old life, I might find the next hundred years of loneliness considerably harder to bear than the last.

17

CELESTE

As I followed Garrik back into Blackthorn Manor, I couldn't seem to get my mind off the strange instructions we'd just read in the moonlight. I mean, of all the ways to break a curse, why did it have to be that particular kind of kiss? Why couldn't we just hold hands and sing a magical song or something? Or maybe sprinkle some fairy dust on his sleeping body and say the magic words? But no, apparently if I wanted to get Garrik back into his body, I was going to have to let him get extremely personal with mine!

But the thing was, I wasn't nearly as horrified by the idea as I probably should have been.

In fact, the more I thought about it, the more appealing it became. Which was strange, considering that I'd only known the man for about twenty-four hours and he was technically a ghost. Though I had to admit that he didn't feel like one when he touched me. His big hands had been wonderfully warm and solid when he'd lifted me onto the stone table earlier, and when he'd held me after the troll attack, I'd felt as though I was being embraced by a real, living man.

A big, strong, handsome man with broad shoulders, muscular arms, and an extremely attractive dad bod, to be specific.

Oh, stop it, Celeste! I lectured myself. You're supposed to be thinking about breaking a curse, not about how sexy the cursed man is!

But I couldn't help it. For one thing, I hadn't had any kind of physical intimacy in a long time. Even before Jason and I had gotten divorced, things hadn't been exactly wonderful in the bedroom. In fact, they'd been pretty damn disappointing, if I was being truthful with myself. Not that I'd ever told anyone that, of course.

When you're married for twenty-three years, you get used to certain things. You learn what your partner likes and dislikes, and sometimes you stop asking for things you know you're never going to get.

At least, that was what I'd done. I'd convinced myself that sex wasn't really that important anymore, especially as I'd gotten older. I mean, I had a job and a house and kids to raise and a thousand other things to think about. When did I have time to worry about whether or not I was having great sex?

But now, walking through a haunted mansion beside a handsome ghost who might be willing to give me something I'd wanted for years, I was beginning to wonder if maybe I'd been missing out.

"Celeste? Are you listening to me, woman?"

Garrik's deep voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up at him, realizing that we'd reached the library and he was holding the door open for me.

"Um, what?" I asked, feeling my cheeks getting hot. "Sorry, I was thinking about something."

"So I gathered," he remarked dryly. "I've asked you twice whether you'd like a fire in the library and you haven't answered me yet."

"Oh, yes, that would be nice," I said, stepping past him into the enormous room. "It's getting kind of chilly."

"Very well." He followed me inside and snapped his fingers, making the logs in the huge stone fireplace burst into cheerful flames. "There. I trust that will keep you comfortable."

"Thank you." I smiled at him as I settled into one of the big leather armchairs near the fire. "You know, that's a really handy trick. I wish I could do that at home."

"Perhaps you will someday, once you've learned to control your magic," he said. "Goody Albright seems to think you're quite powerful, from what you've told me."

"Well, I certainly don't feel powerful," I admitted. "Mostly I just feel confused. I mean, yesterday morning I thought magic was something that only happened in books and movies. Now I'm apparently a Veil Witch and I'm supposed to figure out how to break a hundred-year-old curse!"

"You've done remarkably well so far," Garrik told me, sounding almost grudgingly impressed. "Especially considering how little training you've had."

"Why, thank you!" I exclaimed, raising my eyebrows at him. "Was that actually a compliment? From you?"

"Don't let it go to your head, woman," he growled. "I'm merely stating a fact."

I laughed and reached for the magical shopping bag I'd put beside the chair. I'd brought it in from the front hall earlier, intending to show Garrik some of the things I'd bought at Goodman Kreeches Grocery Emporium. But now that I was sitting here with him, I found myself feeling strangely nervous.

Not about the shopping, of course—about the other thing. The thing we'd just discovered in the Moon Script.