“She hates me.”
“Meh. Jamie did too. They get over it. You just need to find the right lure. Just like fishing.”
“Dude,” I huff, glaring at him. “Pretty sure your wife would be pissed if you said that to her.”
“I don’t know. She compared me to a man who was just in a two-car pileup after a drinking binge.”
My eyebrows lift and I smirk. “Was she right?”
“Absolutely. Now let’s talk.”
Half an hour later, he sighs. “Yeah. This is gonna need more than flowers and a card. You hid your true motives from her.”
“Only because I knew it would embarrass her that I heard her talking about that spell.”
“That’s neither here nor there. We need to prove to her that you’re all in. You want a future with her.”
“How do I do that?”
A smirk tilts his lips and he chuckles. “I think we need to do a little shopping.”
“Shopping? I’m not in the mood to shop.”
“For your future, man? I think you could work up a little enthusiasm.”
“So what do we do?”
It takes half the day and I’m frustrated as hell when we’ve finally got everything worked out. Thankfully, I have enough money to toss at a problem until I can fix it.
I drag in a deep breath and saunter lazily into the bookstore, smiling at Rory at the counter.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she mutters, waving a hand at where Cleo is standing with Aidan. His arm is around her shoulder and she’s slumped into the bookshelves. Jealous possessive need rips into my body like a hollowed-out bullet.
“Cleo? Can we talk?”
She stiffens and refuses to look at me. “I don’t have anything left to say.”
“Please, baby. Please,” I plead, my hand touching her arm lightly. I feel the shiver dance across her skin.
“Fine. But just for a minute. Excuse me, Aidan.” I glare at the man and he holds his hands up, grinning.
“I didn’t do it, she did.”
“Fine. Isn’t it time for you to get out of here?”
I stomp off after the love of my life. She stills by the bookshelves and turns to stare at them like they’re the most interesting thing in the world.
“I need to tell you something, Cleo. Yes, I did here what you said about the spell on the phone. But I don’t believe in that stuff. All I knew was that this beautiful woman in front of me was free and maybe as ready to fall in love as I already did when I first saw her.”
Her shoulders drop just a little and I feel hope spring up. “So I asked your name and hunted you down.”
“Like a dog,” she growls.
“No. Like a beautiful dream that I couldn’t stop thinking about. I fell in love with you with that first look. And when you spoke? It was like angels singing.”
“But you lied to me.”
“Just to get a chance. That’s all I wanted. One chance to make you love me. Make you feel even a tiny fraction of the hunger and need I feel when you look at me with those lovely eyes.”