Page 26 of Cursed

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, frankly. What kind of father would unload that kind of information on his daughter, then stand back and expect her to upend her life to save the family? It’s not like she could make things right with the sweat of her brow or, God forbid, her intelligence and talents. No, she had to marry a guy who came up as bachelor-number-one and then sit back and . . . hope for the best? What kind of plan of action was that?

“Honestly, I think whatever happens will end up being the right thing,” Edeena said, and the resolution in her voice made his gut tighten. “I’ll go through the most likely partners from the list that Prudence is working through, meet them all, find one of them who’s a suitable match, and we’ll come to terms. The men of Garronia have a lot to recommend them, and in the end, a marriage is about finding a good partner.”

“And what qualifies as good?” Vince worked hard to keep his tone easy, his expression neutral.

“Kind, honest, respectful,” Edeena ticked off the answers as if she’d already given them a lot of thought. “Financially solvent. I’m blessed enough not to worry about money, but if my husband proves to be addicted to online gambling, that will cause problems I’d rather avoid.”

He nodded. “That’s all that matters to you?”

“That’s what matters most,” she said, and another twist of annoyance sliced through him. Her answers would have made sense if she was fifty years old, maybe. But she was young, beautiful, and full of life. What in her brief description had anything to do with finding a man who would make her laugh, make her heart race, take her on adventures? She could pick anyone in the world—hell, she had actual bona fideprinces on her list of possible fiancés—and she was going to net out with “financially solvent?” Clearly she needed an intervention.

Vince put his glass down, reached out a hand and pointed to the back door of the screened in porch. “C’mon,” he said. “There’s a feature of this coffee house that you gotta see.”

She peered from him to the brushy back plot. “That looks like it’s completely untended back there.”

“It is, but that’s on purpose. The owners of this shop are New Age and have a thing for meditation spaces. Let’s see if it’s still set up.”

“Meditation?” She stood, and they stepped out into the afternoon heat. The twisted trees of Pearl Island were built low to the ground, but the brush was thick wherever it could encroach into the landscaping, and that was certainly the case behind the coffee shop. There was a single flagstone-lined path that remained visible through the high grass, and Edeena willingly followed behind him past the thickest section of brush.

“Here you go,” he said, “a labyrinth.”

“A . . .” Edeena frowned, peering around. “There aren’t any hedges.”

He pointed to the ground which, though partially obscured by the tall grass, still showed the positioning of stones in a roughly circular pattern. “The goal is to walk along the labyrinth and follow the trail, see where it takes you, while working out your troubles.”

“From the looks of things, the owners aren’t terribly troubled.” Edeena laughed, but she gestured him before her. “You first.”

He shook his head. “Nope, we’ll go together, and you have to decide which way to turn—right or left.”

She frowned. “And if I make the wrong choice?”

He swept his glance over the flat space. “There aren’t any walls, Edeena. You can’t make the wrong choice. You simply turn around or, worst case, walk off the field.”

“Oh.” She flushed, then reached for his hand. “Sorry, you’re right.”

She moved around the first turn and hesitated as the path cut to the right. “How do you choose? I honestly am not ‘feeling’ whether right or left is the right direction.”

“Okay,” Vince said. “How about I ask you a question. If your answer is yes, you turn right. If it’s no, you turn left. Fair enough?”

She flashed him a delighted smile. “Fair enough.”

“We’ll start with an easy one. Do you love your sisters?”

Edeena grinned and immediately turned right, moving them around the circle. The next opening came in only a few steps, and she looked up at him expectantly.

“Are you enjoying America so far?’

“Oh, very much,” she said, turning right again. The path angled to the left without giving them an option, and it took another few moments for them to reach the next choice. By the time they did, Vince was ready.

“Did you enjoy the little stunt we pulled the other night, kissing at the Sea Witch?” he asked, and his voice had dropped a little. Edeena looked up quickly, her cheeks coloring, but she turned resolutely right, pulling him along. The next turn came all too soon, and she hesitated there, not looking at him.

“Would you mind if I kissed you again?” he asked. His words were quiet now, almost a whisper, but he watched the frantic beating of Edeena’s pulse in her neck as she turned left into the next passageway. She resolutely didn’t look at him again, however, focusing on the ground as she followed the curve of the stones. When the maze opened up again, she paused.

Vince didn’t say anything at first, and Edeena glanced up at him, her eyes liquid, her lips parted. Despite the bright sunshine and the fact that they were standing in an open back lot of the coffee shop, the moment felt completely secluded, almost intimate. Almost unbidden, his next words rushed out, low and intent. “Would you like me to do more than just kiss you?”

Edeena’s eyes seemed to dilate despite the bright sun, and she drew in her breath with a soft gasp. The blush washed further up her fair skin, but she tugged him along the pathway, definitively to the right.

A moment later, though, she stopped short. “Oh,” she murmured, looking around, clearly flustered. “We . . . we’ve reached the center.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I’m not sure if this has managed to clear my mind any, though. I confess I was . . . a little distracted.”

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