Chapter 19
Gideon lifted his hand as Sabrina’s car pulled away. Even as her taillights disappeared around the corner, he still stood there.
She’d kissed him. She’d kissed him.
He thought he’d sort of explained about his curse and having to be alone, but obviously he’d done a terrible job of that because she wouldn’t have kissed him otherwise.
He touched his mouth. He could still feel the softness of her lips, the barely there pressure that had sent a shiver down his spine and tumbled his brain.
She had kissed him. No woman did such a thing unless they wanted to. Granted, it might have been an impulsive decision on her part. In fact, it had to have been.
He sighed. She probably regretted it now. He swallowed, accepting that reality, and started walking toward home.
He would do the gentlemanly thing and forget it had ever happened. For the sake of appearances and their working relationship.
The truth was, he’d never forget it. Never forget the way it felt, what it had done to him. For a brief moment, there had been no curse. Just the magic of an ordinary evening. A man and a woman enjoying one another’s company.
He’d understood in that one frozen second what it was to be normal. He’d glimpsed life without his curse.
It was like the first sip of cold water after a long run.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and lifted his face to the cool breeze. He would savor the memory. Hold it as a good thing. He would not let the loss of what might have been bring him down. When things seemed bleak, he would use tonight as a solace.
To remind himself what happiness felt like.
The blocks slipped away, lost to thoughts of Sabrina. He walked up the porch steps, unlocked his door, and went inside. He flipped on the foyer light. The bulb brightened, then went dark. He’d replace it tomorrow.
With a sigh, he dropped his keys in the bowl by the door. Somehow, the bowl slid off and clattered to the ground. He picked it up and replaced it, then toed his shoes off. He touched the grandfather clock. “Tonight was a good night.”
A soft plink, plink, plink came from the kitchen. He walked in. The faucet was dripping.
He rubbed his forehead. Of course this would happen tonight. The curse had to remind him that no matter what Sabrina might think of him, no matter what small taste of happiness he’d had, he would never be free.
The curse owned him.
He ignored the faucet and went upstairs, keeping a firm grip on the banister, which saved him when he tripped on the second to the last step.
The curse would probably send him tumbling down those stairs one day. He’d already come close more times than he could count. Maybe he should move into a ranch house.
He changed into pajamas. In truth, he’d much rather sleep in a pair of shorts and nothing else, but what if there was some kind of emergency in the middle of the night? What if the house caught fire? Or a freak storm took the roof off?
He kept slippers by the bed for the same reason.
He took his watch off and set it on the dresser, then brushed his teeth.
Tomorrow he would take the rest of the music box motor apart and hopefully begin the cleaning.
But now, he would sleep.
And most likely, dream of Sabrina.
Sabrina carried Korrin in. Trip was sitting by the door, waiting. “Hi, baby,” she whispered. “Did you miss me?”
He was looking at her arm, where Korrin was draped across it, snoring.
Her cat had missed the sprite. Not her. Although he probably wouldn’t turn down treats or a new bowl of food.
She eased Korrin to the couch and covered him with a corner of the throw, then turned the lights off and went straight to the bathroom to take off her makeup.
What in the Wild West had she been thinking to kiss Gideon like that? He looked like he’d been slapped in the face. Stupid move on her part.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to face him tomorrow. Maybe she wouldn’t have to. Maybe they’d just both work on the music box in their respective shops and there’d be no need to see each other. If he really had to update her, he could call.
She groaned as she stared at herself in the mirror. “What is wrong with you?”
Trip, who’d followed her in, wound around her legs and gave a little meow.
She nodded. “You’re right. I’m impulsive.” She glanced at him. “But you know what?”
Trip hopped up onto the closed toilet seat and looked at her like he was listening and not just being cute in the hopes of getting treats.
“The moment I kissed him, I could feel my curse lighten up. Not much, but I felt it. That need to fix him lessened the tiniest little bit. Like kissing him was somehow fixing him.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to make of that.”
She grabbed a cleansing wipe from the dispenser in her medicine cabinet and scrubbed at her face.
“If kissing him is how I fix him, I mean, I’m not opposed to that. But I’m pretty sure he is. He didn’t look too happy that I’d done it.” She paused. “He didn’t exactly look mad either. He mostly looked shocked. Like he hadn’t been expecting it. Which I’m sure he wasn’t.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t either. I don’t know what made me do it. The night was just so … good. Kissing someone is just a nice way to say thank you, right?”
Trip had his back leg over his head and was licking his undercarriage.
“You are not helping.”
She finished cleaning her face, brushed her teeth, then went out to check on Korrin. He hadn’t budged. She watched him a moment to make sure he was still breathing. He was.
Trip had followed her, so she gave him a small handful of treats, then went back to the bedroom, changed into shorty pajamas and crawled into bed.
She read two pages of her book before her eyes started to close, so she gave in and turned off the light.
As she lay there, thinking about how awkward the next day might be, the television came on, blaring the sounds of Gunsmoke.
Oh no. Not again. She rolled her eyes, flung the covers back, and stormed out to the living room. She snatched the remote out of Korrin’s hand.
He jerked back, clearly surprised by her arrival. Even Trip, who was sitting on the couch with him, looked startled.
“We’re not doing this. I need to sleep. So do you.” She turned the TV off.
“I was just going to—”
“Nope.” She hugged the remote to her chest. “Go to sleep, Korrie.”
“I’m not tired.”
Probably because he’d napped. She tried to think of something she could distract him with. Her gaze came to rest on the box Stella had given her. “There’s something you can do for me.”
He perked up. “What?”
“That box of stuff Stella gave me at the Bargain Bin. It needs to be sorted and organized. If there’s anything in there that’s ruined beyond repair, it needs to be set aside, that sort of thing. Would you mind working on that?”
“Sure, I can do that.”
“Great, thank you.” She brought the box to the couch. “Maybe do three piles. Unrepairable things, minor repairs, major repairs.”
He nodded and rubbed his hands together. “You got it.”
As he dug in, she set the remote on the end table, hoping he’d ignore it. She slipped off to bed.
The next time she opened her eyes, it was morning. She moved slightly, and her foot ran into a warm lump.
She blinked away the sleep. Trip was at the foot of the bed. At least he hadn’t completely abandoned her for Korrie.
Thinking about him made her realize it was very quiet in the house. Was that because he was asleep? Or up to something?
She went out to the living room to check. He was on the couch, burrowed under the throw.
And the box of stuff she’d left him to sort was empty. Everything that had been in it was neatly arranged on the other cushions. She rubbed at her eyes. Maybe she needed coffee—okay, no maybe about that—but none of it looked in need of repairs.
Even her curse was silent, so it clearly agreed with her.
She picked up a turquoise and silver necklace. She looked it over, unable to find a flaw. She inspected a strand of pearls that seemed ready to sell, a braided gold bracelet, a child’s watch, several pairs of earrings—nothing she examined was damaged in any way.
Had Korrie repaired these things with his magic like he’d done with the vase?
If so, his work was amazing. Honestly, the repairs were undetectable.
A new idea began forming.
Regardless of what had happened last night, she needed to talk to Gideon.