“I have a boat. But we need to work on your house.”
“Right. I know. But we can just pop over really quick in the morning.”
“House first,” I insisted. “You have a deadline. I’ve been like this for a decade.”
“But you’re miserable.”
“I’m fine.” She gave me a hard look, and I sighed. “I’m used to it, okay? I want to get your house finished.”
“To get me out of here, right?” She arched a brow.
“Exactly. It won’t do me any good to find my pack if you’re still in my house, driving me crazy.” That didn’t make much sense, but she’d just been touching my bare chest. I was far past sense.
“Won’t you go live with them if you find them?”
She had a point. All I’d wanted for the last decade was to find my way back to my family. “I would, actually. But I won’t leave until your house is finished.”
She smiled. “So you really do like me?”
“I tolerate you.”
“Sure, Mister Built-Me-A-Custom-Kitchen.”
“It’s literally the only thing I know how to do.”
“Not the only thing. But you’re darned good at it.”
“Then just let me do it. We’ll focus on your house, then we’ll go to this island and deal with my issues.”
“We’ll do it tomorrow. Because I want to do this,” she insisted. “And I don’t like being told no.”
I groaned. “Fine. But house first.”
“Good. House in the morning, island in the evening. Deal?”
She looked so damned stubborn as she stared at me, jaw set and face determined. “Deal. As long as we make good progress on the house tomorrow.”
She grinned. “I have a plan for that, actually.”
“You do?”
“Oh, I do.” She moved toward the stairs. “And now, I’m off to bed. Your turn to do the dishes.”
I looked back at the paper takeaway containers. “Sure, I can do that.”
“Good. See you in the morning!”
Isobel
Of course, I tossed and turned with dreams of Rafe. The feel of his firm chest beneath my palm was burned into my memory, and I couldn’t shake the sight of his face.
He’d looked tortured.
Like, jaw clenched and eyes burning. For me.
No, that was crazy. He’d probably just been miserable. Neither of us was in a place in our life where a relationship was a good idea. And he was leaving. There was no question that I would break this curse on him—for the first time in my life, I was truly confident of something. And when I did, he would go join his pack. But there was no way in hell I was leaving Charming Cove. It was home. I’d been here almost two weeks, and I knew it like I knew my own face.
When I woke, still hot from dreams of Rafe, I found him in the kitchen, having made the coffee. “Ready for a big day of home reno?” he asked.
“Beyond ready.” How had this become my life? Handsome man handing me coffee while being enthusiastic about building me a custom kitchen?
Frankly, I had no idea. But I was going to lean into it. Hard.
I took the coffee he gave me, then sipped. He looked perfect leaning on the counter, his jeans slung low on his hips and his worn T-shirt hugging his shoulders. He hadn’t yet put on shoes, and even his feet were attractive. That wasn’t fair. Frankly, I was pretty sure it wasn’t even natural.
I spun on my heel and marched toward the door.
“Don’t you want breakfast?” he called after me.
I turned back. “You made breakfast?”
“Well, yes. I’m a werewolf. We eat a lot.”
I nodded. “Right.” I just hadn’t expected him to make breakfast for me. “What is it?”
“Ham and egg sandwiches.”
One of my favorites, of course. But I didn’t want to play it too easy. I couldn’t get used to cozy breakfasts around the kitchen table with him. That way be heartbreak, I told myself in my most ridiculous internal pirate voice in order to make it less serious, but it didn’t work.
“Can I take it to go?”
“One step ahead of you.” He held up paper towels, which presumably he planned to wrap the sandwiches in.
Damn. He was perfect.
“Great.” I nodded, going for my best cool girl, I don’t care expression. He looked at me like I’d just passed gas, so I probably didn’t nail it. But he brought me the sandwich all the same, and I thanked him before scurrying away like the awkward mouse I was.
I didn’t wait for him because I needed a bit of space after the dreams I’d had. And though running away wouldn’t make him forget what a weirdo I’d been, a girl could hope.
As I climbed the hill, I ate my sandwich. It was delicious, and I should have expected that after the Bolognese he’d made. I needed to stop expecting him to be anything but perfect. Even his grumpy exterior was appealing to me.
I polished off my breakfast as I stepped through the front door. As usual, the house groaned its annoyance. I tilted my head and said, “That doesn’t sound as annoyed as the first time I walked in.”
In response, the floorboards shifted under my feet.
Right. Still too irritable to get contractors in, but I clung to the idea that things were improving.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, calling upon Poa. I’d need her help with this, and she hadn’t been around at the boathouse. She appeared a few moments later, grumbling indistinctly.
“If you’d woken earlier, Rafe would have made you a sandwich,” I said.
You need to lock that one down, ASAP.
“Oh, shut up. We need to get to work.”
What are we doing?
“Testing out my new power on the house. I bet I can learn more about what’s bothering it.”
Lead the way. She sounded resigned, but I’d take it. Any time she cooperated, I was grateful.
I led her to the center of the house, then sat on the bare wood floor and gestured for her to climb into my lap. She grumbled as she did so but began purring as soon as her weight settled onto my legs.
I closed my eyes and pressed my hands to the floorboards, calling upon my magic. It was so much easier to access now—I didn’t even need help from crystals or other conduits for power. The Aurora Coven untangling my magic had made all the difference in the world.
Carefully, I began to study the enchantment that had been placed on the house. It was easier than it had been with Rafe, possibly because it was an inanimate object. Or maybe because the witch who had placed the spell hadn’t been as strong.
Whatever it was, visions began to bombard me. The process was similar to what had happened with Rafe, but I could see more detail, like a woman who—very strangely—reminded me of Judith. They looked nothing alike, but there was something similar in their mannerisms.
The images shifted to show the woman placing a glowing crystal into the walls of the house. She put it right on top of a crossbeam in the wall, then watched as a workman boarded it up and painted it over. When he was done, I swore I could still see the glow of the crystal. If I focused, I thought I could feel it as well.
Was that the heart of the spell? The heart of the house?
It had to be.