Lucas placed his finger on my chin and lifted my gaze to meet him. “I’ve been waiting a long time to kiss you, my little witch.”
A burst of happiness exploded in my chest. “I swear, I didn’t put another spell on you.”
He threw his head back and laughed, then quickly stopped. The pain on his face reminded me that he had bruised ribs.
“Lucas! Your ribs.”
“Are fine. Would you be upset if we left?”
“The only person who is going to be upset if I leave is Kristin. She had grand plans of showing me off in this little outfit.”
A low growl came from the back of Lucas’s throat. “I can’t stand the way men are looking at you. I nearly punched my best friend in the face when he said you looked hot as hell.”
“Hot as hell, huh?”
He grinned and I reached up to brush a kiss across his soft lips. “I’m ready to leave whenever you are.”
That was all it seemed to take for Lucas. He grabbed my hand and started to guide us through the crowd of people. A few people attempted to stop and talk to him about the new dig, and he brushed them off with an excuse that he had to leave to take care of something important. No one seemed to question that he was pulling along a witch in his wake.
Once we were outside, Lucas stepped down and whistled for a carriage that was waiting down the street.
“Are you cold?” he asked as I rubbed my hands over my arms. I was regretting not wearing a coat. “We can take a taxi.”
I shook my head. “They’ll have a blanket.”
The carriage stopped, and Lucas helped me up, then asked for the driver to take us as close to his home address as he could. As he lived right off Essex Street, it wouldn’t be an issue.
Lucas climbed in next to me and placed the blanket over both of us before he wrapped his arm around me and drew me next to his body.
“Did something happen since I last saw you?” I asked.
“Yes, I realized I was tired of hiding my feelings for you, and I was going to do something about it.”
“We’ve been stupid.”
He nodded. “And stubborn.”
“That too.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder and chewed nervously on my lip before I said, “Lucas, I was being completely serious when I asked you to do the reversal spell.”
“I know,” he softly said as he kissed the top of my head.
“And you’re okay with me exploring this?”
“You mean your belief that you’re a witch? I know lots of people who believe in witchcraft, Hollie. I don’t look at it as something bad. My mother has used a healer my entire life. And my father is a doctor.”
“I think it goes a bit more than just your typical ‘in tune with mother earth’ and all of that. I hear people’s thoughts. And the day of your accident. I felt it deep in my bones, and the ache in my heart was almost unbearable.”
“So, what you’re really saying is that you have a connection with me… One might even call it…love.”
I moved my body some to look at him. My eyes searched his face, and I followed my heart. “Yes, one might.”
His soft lips pressed together tightly before he smiled. “Say it.”
My face was aflame.
“Please, Hollie.”