Page 67 of Curses & Cold Brew
“Grazie, tesoro.” Nerine snapped her fingers, and ice water filled our glasses magically as she walked away, leaving us marveling.
“I heard Trattoria Occulta was going to be the talk of the town, but this is next level.” Iris picked up her water and took a sip then focused on me. “Tell me about hell. Other than what you said in your letters.”
“Those were hardly letters. I didn’t even get to tell you about all the wicked things I was imagining about you during those long hours in court.”
She planted her arm on the table to prop up her chin. “Okay, forget hell. Tell me about that instead.”
“How about I show you later?” I offered, reaching into my pocket and taking out the gift I’d brought for her.
Nerves ignited anew as I slid the rectangular, red velvet box across the table.
Iris’s eyes went wide. “What is this?” She didn’t wait for an answer before opening it with a squeal. “It’s beautiful!”
The necklace was made of hellfire-forged gold with a flame queen opal. The flashes of reds, purples, and blues sparkled when she held it up to the candlelight.
“I have something for you, too.” She practically vibrated with excitement as she dug into her tote bag and pulled out a brown paper package. “I had Jordyn wrap it, but I poured the seal.”
I eyed the wax seal over a sprig of lavender. It was my sigil. She’d crafted it perfectly and in doing so made me feel more acknowledged than if she’d used my title or name.
This present was formein all that I was.
I carefully opened the package around the seal, intending to keep it, as I racked my brain as to what she had thought I, of allpeople, needed. After centuries of collecting and curating, there was nothing, aside from her in my bed. But the moment I lifted the box’s lid, I knew I was wrong. Inside was a set of beautiful stained-wood knitting needles, a protection spell carved in scrawling Latin up the sides. And inlaid in silver at the tops were iris flowers.
Tears pricked my eyes. I’d never felt more deeply seen. The gift left me speechless.
“Do you like them? I carved and stained them myself. Though, I did get the wood from Wyatt. He’s been spending a lot of time camping lately and brought back a branch from one of the oldest oak trees in the haunted wood for me, and?—”
I was on my feet and over to her side of the booth before she could even finish her sentence. I pulled Iris into me, pressing my lips to hers. She was stunned for a moment, and she wrapped her arms around me, a hand gripping the back of my neck to deepen the long overdue kiss.
“I’ll take that as approval,” she whispered against my mouth. “I really missed you.”
“I more than missed you,” I said, the knots in my stomach tightening.
All the plans in my mind unfurled, my lips on hers a silent promise that I’d be everything she needed and so much more.
My little witch.
My heart—one I thought would never be so full.
I was beginning to realize that there was more magic in Maple Hollow than just spells and curses. Something that felt a lot more like fate. No deal or scheme would ever feel as satisfying—as perfectlyright—as Iris’s hand in mine.
“What are you thinking about?” Iris asked with a knowing smile as I brushed my lips across hers again.
The last vestiges of my control were about to snap, and I was going to splay her across this table of expensive pasta and take her.
I cleared my throat. “Nothing.”
“I’ve been thinking about nothing a lot too,” she said, her fingers pressing tighter into my clothes.
Seven Hells. If we made it through the first course, it would be a miracle.
“So I guess this date concludes our deal,” Iris said, dousing ice on my libido. My gut clenched as her hand mindlessly drifted to her collarbone.
I swallowed thickly. “I suppose it does.”
When I’d called in our deal, I’d told her I was never letting her go. I’d told her I loved her, and she’d told me she loved me in return.
But what if something had changed in the time I’d been gone? Was love not enough? Was this it?
