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“Oh, we know,” Granny speaks up from her perch on one of the folding chairs. She’s sitting in between my mom and my aunt, also on folding chairs. “We know why we’re here. Because you’ve finally fallen for the curse. Yay! It worked. You’re all now happy and in love. I can say that my work is done.” Granny rubs her palms together while I stand there speechless, my chin hanging down to the hardwood floor.
I should feel irritation as hot and wicked as a swarm of angry hornets, but all I feel is relief. Sharp. Hot. Flooding through me. I drag in a deep breath, but my mouth is still open, and I can smell the delicious fresh air tree scent of Daniel. It’s so warm and pleasant and so close that I can taste it on the breath I drag in like I’m tasting him, and now I am quaking a little, and holy shit am I really getting all weak kneed and wet in the panties when my entire family is watching me?
“Uh- y-yeah,” I stammer. I know I should come out with the rest of it, but all I can do is wipe my other damp palm on my glittery gold dress, which doesn’t help at all, and turn to Daniel. He quirks a brow at me, but he leaves room for me to make up my own mind about this.
And suddenly, I don’t want to tell anyone. Not yet. I want to keep this just for me and Daniel. Something that we can share between us, an intimate secret. I know Luna didn’t tell anyone until she was three months along, and while I understand her reasoning for that, it’s not mine at the moment. I don’t know. I just- I just want this for us right now. Daniel.
Who might really be my cursed soulmate.
“Well shit,” Ash says, summing things up nicely.
My mom and aunt explode out of their chairs, and then I’m being smothered in mom hugs and auntie hugs, followed on the heels by hugs from my granny and Daniel’s grandma. Luna, Ellis, Lindy, Elodie, and Milo are next. I’m getting a hug line like we just announced we’d gotten married. But no. Daniel is basically a total stranger, and he’s being welcomed into the family.
At least by part of my family.
My male relations are on their feet, standing off to the side, looking at Daniel like they’re trying to best figure out how to test his mettle without pissing me off because they’re going to be assholes doing it. They look like they’re looking for somewhere to have a pissing contest- one that they’ll all join in on, however disgusting that image might be. Ugh. Four streams of urine are four streams too many.
I think fast, before any of them can say anything mean to Daniel or act all protective of me or try and chase him away, even though he might legit be my cursed soulmate- I’m really coming around to the idea. I was wearing the earrings when we met after all. And when- uh- we- uh- got pregnant. I haven’t seen any glowing from the earrings. They haven’t got stuck on me, and they haven’t shown up in weird spots. They haven’t got hot or made the lights flicker. But one did get lost so that Daniel found me by using it when he might not have found me otherwise. And who knows. Maybe the curse somehow brought us together. Maybe there were forces at play that I didn’t understand. Maybe there still are. I wouldn’t believe in it if my brothers and cousins hadn’t already fallen under its spell. It’s real. It’s super, uber, duper real. So maybe I can give it the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I can allow myself to have the smallest kernel of hope inside of me.
Daniel’s right. The past isn’t the future and he deserves a fair shake, even if that scares me senseless. I have the curse on my side. That means something, doesn’t it?
I think it does, and I’m not about to let my brothers and cousins ruin the moment. I have an ace up my sleeve that they know nothing about.
I wait until they’re closing in. Until Daniel is bracing and wincing and his left eyebrow is cocked much higher than his right, which I find adorable, though it’s not really the time or plate to notice it, then I play my card and let down my poker face.
“I heard there’s a cake hidden somewhere. Not in the house either, so don’t go tearing it apart. Whoever gets it first and licks it wins.”
My brothers and cousins have this strange tradition. Whenever we have a family gathering, someone brings cake, usually my granny, and it’s a battle between all of them (I guess I should actually say all of us because I’ve usually been reluctantly- on my part- included in this), and my granny. She usually tries to hide the cake. They generally try and find it and lick it. Yes, I know. Lick it? You did hear that right. They try and lick it. Whatevs. We’re all family, and we’re sharing the same space and the same air, so I guess a few more germs won’t hurt anyone.
