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There’s only one thing that could make any of this better, and now I know what Toren was up to. I was so distressed about all this, thinking about the curse and not being able to see Lindy again because she might move to Australia or freaking Switzerland while also wondering why the thought of it is making me feel distressed because I shouldn’t actually care, that I forgot all about the most important part of the afternoon.
The cake.
But there she is in all her whipped icing, swirly whirly, sugary flowered, red-lettered glory.
I thought Toren got the cake. No, he did get the cake. I know he did. He confirmed with me that he was getting the damn cake. Maybe all this time, my serious, quiet, practical cousin was the greatest joker of all. Because in red lettering, it says, Welcome to the (cursed) family. I’m not even kidding. The parentheses are literally there and everything.
Lindy’s eyes grow so wide, her face so pale, and her breath so ragged that I think she’s in danger of passing out. I act fast, stepping behind her and bracketing her shoulders.
“Oh, we’re going to lick that bastard alright,” I say thickly. “We’re going to lick every bit of that nasty red icing off, red food coloring being bad for you, be damned. This time, I’ll take one for the team.”
CHAPTER 9
Lindy
Long story short, it’s hard to unpack and mentally digest with so many people talking at once. I can’t keep their names straight or tell who’s with who. I mean, kind of. Two of the brothers, who I think are Kirian’s cousins, look so much alike that I can’t tell who’s who. Well, they’re identical twins, so obviously. I can also spot Kirian’s brother because he looks like him, and I know Kirian only has one brother, so the lady talking about being cursed must be Kirian’s cousin. I already know their Granny, so that one’s easy, at least.
Kirian circles around the cake, which is on the island. God, this house is amazing. How did I not notice it the night I was here? Right, because I was intent on getting in and out as fast as I could, and that didn’t include any time to ogle the kitchen cabinets. Also, most of the lights were off. I think Kirian might have a fetish for the color white, though. Everything is so sparkly and white and clean.
Even the cake is white. It’s a big square with the kind of icing that looks delicious but is likely super sugary and nasty. It even has fake flowers on it. Definitely just one grabbed from a grocery store bakery. Kirian said having a cake was tradition, but he never said it would be good—the tradition or the cake.
When I eye the icing, I nearly have a heart attack. Yup, it really says what I think it says. No wonder Kirian wants to erase the evidence. As if licking the icing off will erase the curse.
Hell, I’m game to give it a try if he is.
Even if everyone says that red food coloring is hella bad for health, I guess I’m taking one for the team too.
Kirian bends over the cake while I’m still obsessing over the shadow of stubble on his face, wondering what it would feel like if he kissed me. Yes, I’ve taken the mental images up a notch. Now I’m not just thinking about licking. I’m thinking about his scratchy male beard titillating me in tantalizing places. And right now, as Kirian lines his face up and sticks out his tongue, I kind of wish I was the cake. Is it weird to be jealous of food?
After Kirian licks a line of the nasty red gelatinous goo icing, he raises his head and makes a disgusted puckered-up face. I have to say, he’s still marvelously good-looking, even when making a scowl like that. “This stuff is wretched,” he grunts. “I have to rinse my mouth.”
It would be more logical for Kirian to rinse his mouth with water, milk, or another beverage, but instead, he angles his head in the other direction and goes for the edge of the cake. He takes a huge bite, smearing icing all over his face.
“God, it’s all awful!” He groans around a mouthful of cake, but that doesn’t stop him. He goes back for more, licking up more red icing and eating another bite of cake to force it down. When he’s done, there are still remnants of red smears all over the top of the cake, and a whole corner is gone.
Kirian finally comes up for air, his whole chin, neck, and half his face covered in white icing. There are even white cake crumbs stuck to his lips. “Ugh, I think I might need some water. That was horrendous.”
