Page 75 of RAKEish

Lux’s heart thudded erratically as she stood in the grand chapel, a bewildering mix of opulence and chaos swirling around in her. Scott’s mention of a broken body part reverberated in her head, her eyes darting involuntarily down his frame before snapping to his face. According to her dream interpretation, it had been a broken heart he’d brought to her in hopes she could mend it. But…given the antidote, that was no longer viable…so then…it must truly be—

“If he’s saying I have ten minutes to fix your broken penis, that’s not going to be enough time,” she blurted out. “I might be a doctor, but I’m not that kind of doctor. I’m not a penis doctor. I’m a brain doctor, and despite your brain seemingly residing in your penis since puberty, I don’t have the foggiest idea how to repair a broken…you know. Penis.” She gestured vaguely. “I told you my nightmares come true. You should have believed me. But no, you just had to insist on my telling you about your impending broken penis before breakfast!”

Scott’s face turned a shade of red that could rival the finest of rubies. “For the love of all that’s sacred, will you stop saying broken penis?”

“Sure,” she said. Penis. Penis. Penis. “I can see how my saying broken penis is traumatizing. My apologies. No more mentions of…your penile predicament. But—”

Laughter emanating from the altar interrupted her sentence. Rose was now in the comforting embrace of another man, presumably from the wedding party, and the two of them were laughing. Lux glanced back at Scott. She had the very real feeling a soap opera was unfolding right before her eyes.

Scott’s expression had shifted from embarrassment to amusement. “If you’re quite finished, let me assure you and—all Shiretopia—that my penis is just fine. My penis is magnificent. I have the healthiest penis one could ever possibly hope for. It’s my heart that is broken.”

“Oh.” She grappled to make sense of what he’d said. “Oh,” she echoed again as realization struck, releasing a sudden urge to either run or kick somebody. “So…this isn’t about your penis at all?”

He smirked. “Maybe a little bit. It doesn’t seem to be interested in anyone but you.”

In the short time between her removing any chance of him ever loving her, he’d fallen in love with another and had gotten his heart broken in the process. Had he found himself in love with Rose, only to learn she didn’t love him back? Had Lux just walked in on him being dumped at the altar? She glanced back at the woman in question. All signs pointed to yes.

But what did any of that have to do with her being hauled unceremoniously from her warm home to Shiretopia?

Unless the king was pissed she’d broken the curse, consequently shattering his son’s heart.

“I am a citizen of the United States,” she declared, her voice firm, trying to grasp at any semblance of control in this absurd situation. “I have rights. If you’ve dragged me here—”

Before she could continue her indignant proclamation, Scott reached out, his hand encircling her arm. With a gentle yet urgent tug, he guided her away from the prying eyes of the chapel and into the privacy of a small dressing room.

“Doc,” he began, his voice unsteady but resolute. “Before you say anything else, let me explain. The antidote to the curse didn’t work the way we were led to believe it would. Instead of me not loving you, I love you greatly. Which is why, if you’ve been wondering, you were so easily able to stop loving me.”

“You love me?”

He nodded. “So much it broke my heart not to have you love me back.”

“That can’t be.”

“I can assure you I’m telling you the truth.”

“The truth doesn’t make it less scary.”

“I know you’re more interested in a safe choice, but if you’ll gift me the chance to revive your love, I promise to never stop loving you and never stop proving to you that it is possible to reform a rake.”

“Scott, will you shut up and let me talk?” Lux said when he paused for a breath.

“Yes, dear.”

“I didn’t stop loving you. I love you so much I was considering hypnosis to get over it.”

“But how can that be?” Scott said.

“I don’t know. It was your curse. Your antidote. What happened after you ate the love knot?”

“I got on the plane, gave Rose the box you gave me, she sang the words to the music…”

“What? What happened next?”

“There was unexpected turbulence and when I opened my eyes, I had a strange sense of emptiness toward her.”

Lux gasped. “Do you think the singing of the anthem was the actual antidote? That the recipe was a red herring?”

“God, why didn’t I think of that possibility? I just assumed my sudden nothingness toward her was all tied up in my brain rebelling against my being forced to marry her. I assumed my emotions would return. I even shared what I was feeling—or more like not feeling—with her.”

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