“Good guess, but not quite.” After she reached for one of the letters, she curled up beside him and handed him the one she’d just read. “Now you have proof that Melinda and Lucas’s relationship was real and not some urban love legend.”
Lifting the magnifying glass to his eye, he stared at the bold, masculine strokes of calligraphy on the page like he'd seen them before. Was he experiencing the same sudden sense of déjà vu as Brooke? He shook head as though coming out of a daze and began to read the words aloud.
“The river’s overflowing and water is rising. I cannot bear to be away from you anymore, Melinda. I have not stopped fighting against my parents’ wishes to marry Cassandra. I refuse to spend my days and nights with a woman I do not love.”Nico’s deep velvet voice lulled Brooke closer.
She listened, captivated, while he read, as though a part of her was recalling a memory she’d buried long ago. Could she and Nico be Melinda and Lucas’s reincarnated souls? Her whole body burned with the realization.
“Have you received my letters? I send a messenger every day with one. You should be here with me. My heart is breaking. The storm is upon us, but my pending nuptials grow near. We must run away together tonight and leave our babe behind. You are to be mine. I will meet you at the Hollow Oak at midnight.
“I need to hear you declare your love for me. When I look up into the sky fear swirls all around me, along with the heavy gusts of wind. I am praying for us to ride out the storm in the shelter of the cottage until The Providence can sail us somewhere far away. I will be sending a horse and carriage to fetch you. My only hope is that it brings you to me, my darling. Without you I will die.
Yours forever,
Lucas,”
Nicofinished reading, and looked up. “I can’t believe these exist.” Shock crossed his face as he set the magnifying glass and letter down on her bed. “But this doesn’t prove there’s a curse on you, Brooke.” The moment he said the words, the drapes rustled open at the window, revealing a dark, cloudy sky.
An icy chill settled over Brooke, a sign that a storm was brewing. She’d been afraid of storms for as long as she could remember.
“Then why the strong reaction to the letter?” Brooke turned back to face Nico and couldn’t tear her gaze away from the naked emotions in his eyes.
“I don’t know,” he whispered close to her ear. “I feel like I know these two for some strange reason. It’s sad.” His gaze kept returning to the letter like he’d been recalling a memory.
“You, me, the impending storm, and the change of season—it’s like history repeating itself all over again.” A kind of wistful sadness welled up inside her. Maybe her punishment in this life was payment for what she did in another as Melinda.
His jaw clenched. “Except I’m not promised to anyone else and the only one I want is you. I don’t believe the fate of our relationship rests in the cosmos.”
“I get that this is a lot to take in, but this affects you too. There’s something you should know—something that I should’ve told you from the start.”
“Talk to me, Brooke.”
Her hand flew to his, and squeezed, not sure how he’d react. “I never mentioned it, because I wasn’t sure if you were open to the idea, but the South Node on your birth chart shows you’ve experienced at least one past life.”
“A past life?” he repeated, looking shell-shocked.
“What if you and I…if we…?”
His jaw visibly clenched. “Are two reincarnated souls searching for each other?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “But the curse has kept us apart.”
Aggravation and frustration hardened his features. “I think you’re clinging onto this curse business because you’re scared. You don’t believe you deserve a happy ending, but that’s where you’re wrong, Brooke. You deserve everything. Dammit, we both do.” When he closed his eyes, she sensed his torment.
These last few weeks she thought she’d been makingsomeheadway against her fate, but it had all been an illusion. Nico was spending all his time with her when he could be out there finding someone to share his future with. She couldn’t keep toying with his heart. It wasn’t fair, not after everything he’d been through. There was only one thing she could do.
“I promised I’d find you your soulmate. And I will. But it’s not me.” Her words lingered in the air and strangled her breath.
“Of course, it’s you. It has always been you.” The fierceness in his voice froze her in place. “I was planning to ask you to move in with me. I was afraid you might think it was too soon, but now…”
Coldness seeped into her bones. Brooke should’ve known better than to get this attached because right now something inside her was breaking. “I won’t ask you to put your life on hold while I try to figure this thing out. What if I can’t?” Tears burned in her eyes. All she ever wanted was passion, love, and stability in her life. Nico gave her that and more. She’d never felt this cherished before.
The way he looked at her sliced her heart in two.“Don’t do this, Brooke.” His voice rose. “You have free will to make your own decisions. Only you can control your destiny and what’s in your heart.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to take the risk with yours for my own selfish reasons. It wouldn’t be fair to you.” Emptiness pressed down on her chest, robbing her of breath.
Frustration sparked in his gaze. “You’re going to give up that easily?” The words stung like a physical ache. “That’s not the woman I’ve come to know and care for.”
“Nico, I…can’t.” Her voice broke.