Page 98 of Twisted Gift

I glance at the screen in the living room. “He’s still set on this one, huh?”

He shrugs. “I don’t get it either, but the kid loves that talking cartoon sponge.”

I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him again before I walk into the living room and sit next to where our son is watching television from the playpen. He was born just over a year ago. Adam Maxwell Donovan. He’s absolutely perfect.

Adam crawls onto my lap, and we watch the cartoon until breakfast is ready. I turn the television off and carry Adam to the table, getting him settled in before I sit across from his father.

We eat breakfast, chatting about our upcoming week. As I get up to clear the table, the doorbell rings. I frown. “Are you expecting someone?”

He shakes his head, rising from his chair and kissing my cheek on his way past. “I’ll get it.”

I finish clearing the table and let Adam go back to watching television while I tidy up. I offer a polite smile when he comes back into the kitchen with a man and woman I’ve never seen before.

“Oh, hello.” I look at my husband. “Are these friends from work?”

“Sweetheart, you should sit down.”

My brows tug together. “What’s wrong?”

He holds out his hand, and I take it, letting him guide me to a chair at the dining room table. The woman stands against the wall, watching me, while the other man sits in the chair closest to me.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” I say, panic creeping into my voice. “Who—?”

“Aurora,” the man says, catching my attention.

“What?” I shake my head. “My name is—”

“Aurora,” he repeats, grabbing and holding my gaze. “It’s time to remember.”

I run those words through my head a few times, and then the world goes dark. Photos flash across the backs of my eyes. Scenes at a hotel with the people in our dining room, scenes of people I’ve never seen before but feel like Iknow. I’m not sure how long it goes on for, but the longer the photos dance across my eyes, the more I remember.

“Who are you?”

“You may call me—”

“Tristan, there are more important things to deal with right now.”

“I’ll deal with what I decide needs to be dealt with, Skylar.”

Oh my god.

“I’m the leader of the fae, Aurora.”

This can’t be real...

“You’re afraid because you can’t control how you feel.”

“You’re talking like this isn’t affecting you.”

“I’m not the one fighting it.”

“Don’t you wonder why I am? This isn’t—I can’t see any way for this to work out well. I don’t understand why I feel whatever this is for you because I know I shouldn’t. You would think that might deter me, that I might be able to walk away from this because of everything that’s happened.”

“But you can’t.”

“Shut up. Just... shut up.”

Our first meeting. Our first kiss.

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