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“Maybe it was way too small.”
“It was a perfect fit. When it came to Toren and Luna, the bracelet became hot in Toren’s hand all the time. It even made the lights flash on and off. And with Kirian and Lindy, the necklace only glowed for her. They tried to make it happen with other people, but it didn’t work. I’m telling you, it’s real.”
I want to roll my eyes and say it was all in their imagination, but that sounds like more than just a string of strange coincidences. I know they wouldn’t lie about it.
“The brooch never did anything. It didn’t glow, it didn’t get stuck on one of us, and it didn’t get hot or make the lights flash. Maybe your cursed object is defunct. This is probably all in our heads. It makes sense since people go from friends to lovers all the time. It’s probably more common than we think.” I really wish I had my phone right now so I could look up the stats to back me up. I would sound a lot smarter if I had the numbers here.
“It did make us both bleed. When I stepped on it, neither of us moved it. Do you know how crazy that is?”
“Jeffers probably grabbed it and was gnawing on it in the middle of the night.”
“That’s very unlikely.”
My hand flattens out on the door. I wonder if Taylen is standing on the other side with his hand raised too. “You really think it’s the curse that made us kiss? That we didn’t do it for any other reason? That maybe we weren’t curious after all those questions from your granny?”
“I…I don’t know.” At least he’s hesitating now.
“Well, was it really so bad? What’s the worst that could happen?”
I can’t see him, but I imagine Taylen is closing his eyes and raking his hand through his hair in the same old classic stressed-out fashion. “We could end up hating and losing each other forever?”
“Impossible,” I scoff. “I own your soul, remember?” I mean it as a joke, but it’s quiet outside the door for so long that I have to wonder if Taylen pulled a prank on me and is not standing there at all. He probably crept off all quietly to leave me to consider a big list of terrible possibilities.
I can’t take the silence anymore, so I yank the door open. Tay is standing there, and my god, his face is impossible to read. However, he’s still breathtaking. Now that I’ve decided he is, I really think he is, but he also looks concerned, puzzled, afraid, perturbed, doubtful, and maybe just a little bit elated, though perhaps not. It’s hard to tell because everything is completely jumbled up.
“I can’t imagine my life without you,” I say because he looks like he needs me to say something. I swear he even looks slightly green around the edges. “I don’t have to imagine it because you’re always going to be in it, even if I rip up the soul contract. And even without a cursed brooch.” I take a deep breath and go for the rest even though I know it’s a touchy thing for Taylen since he hates talking about stuff like that. Always has—with me and anyone else.
“I know your dad left your mom, and it was hard for you guys. And then your uncle left your aunt, and it became even harder. Growing up, you didn’t have a happy example of people sticking together. I always thought you never really dated and didn’t ever want to get married and have kids because of your dad. I didn’t know it was the curse speaking for you, meaning you’d taken a vow with your cousins to not fall in love. You never wanted those things before either, but I thought it was also just because you were young.
“I never thought…I, well, if you want to change your mind about that, I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world. I don’t think you’d drop dead or anything. If you liked the kiss downstairs, and if you thought it might be okay for us to do more, to do what your granny said and give it a shot, then let’s take a leap. Because I think we’re a good fit, now that I’m actually thinking about it, about us as more than just friends since we’re already friends. Besides, we’ll always be friends. Nothing is going to change that. You can’t be afraid of failing right from the start, or you’re going to fail for sure.”
I swear I’m not going to cry as that’s against my rules too. Don’t produce tears to sway anyone’s decisions. I swear, they’re not on purpose. They’re coming through, though, because how can I face my best friend, someone I’ve known for almost my entire life, the person who means more to me than almost anyone else in the world, my favorite person in the world, the man I might be in love with, and not just platonic love—I say might because I’m still trying to wrap my head around that—and not cry?
