Page 76 of Captivating Magic

Castor’s dark frown lightened Lo’s mood. “Not cool, man.”

“Why are you running from it?” he asked softly.

“Every female I’ve cared about has died and/or moved on. I’m not looking forward to the fallout from another relationship gone bad.”

“Why does it have to?” Alastair asked.

“Come on, Al. You know why. Guys like me, the ones always walking into danger, are a risk to anyone we care about.”

“You’re wrong, Alexander.” Rorie kissed his cheek. “You’ve got a lot of love to give, and any woman worthy of that love will not care about the risks.”

“Leave Al and run away with me,” he urged, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You, me, Mai Tais on the beach. What do you say?”

“I’d say Alastair would tear down the world to find and murder us both.”

“Just Alex, my love. You, I could never harm,” Al responded gallantly. “But I do love the idea of Mai Tais on the beach.”

She laughed as Castor released her. With a hug for her husband, she said, “You hate frou-frou drinks, darling. Admit it.”

“For you, I’d pretend to enjoy them.” He kept his arms locked around her as he gazed deeply into her eyes.

“And because I love you, I’d never make you,” she replied with an adoring smile. “Let’s go home, darling. It’s late, and I have something that requires your attention.”

Alastair’s answering grin was worthy of the devil and pure wickedness as they teleported away.

The wistful expression on Castor’s face said how much he craved a relationship like theirs, and Laslzo felt a kinship with the man.

“Maybe you should take their advice to heart,” Lo suggested. “It might ease the loneliness.”

“I’ve had my great love, boyo. It’s not fair to promise the next woman forever when I’m still crazy about the last one.”

“What happened?”

Castor took a long chug of his drink, making it appear his past trials still weighed on his heart. Finally, he said, “I faked my death and disappeared for almost a half century. My lover was shot in the heart by her half-brother and met her soulmate in the Otherworld.”

“My cousin Preston’s wife, Selene?She’sthe one you love?”

“She’s the one.”

Lo cast him a compassionate look. “Sorry, man.”

“I didn’t just tell you all that for my benefit, Thorne. You owe both Charlotte and Ebba one hell of an apology for marrying one when you were in love with the other.”

“Because Thornes only love once,” Lo said with a nod.

“Personally, I think that’s a load of shit. A secondary love may not be as consuming as the soulmate love, but it’s just as beautiful if it works out.”

“But all my family eventually found their soulmates.”

“True, yet Preston loved Rorie for a time, and Al loved his son’s mother. Both were content.” Castor shrugged. “Hell, Holly married another man before returning to Quentin.”

“Wait—”

“Separate timeline. Quentin and Francesca reset the one you remember.”

Lo’s brows met. “How often does that happen?”

“Not often at all. Seems to be specific to my line.” Castor removed the empty glass from Laszlo’s hand. “Refill, or are you good?”

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