Page 90 of Magic and Matrimony

“Idiots. You’re all idiots,” Fitz laments, cutting him off.

I’m holding the taco in one hand, so I can’t just twist off my ring. I push at the underside of it with my thumb, lifting the ring away from my skin. A gust of breath leaves my lungs and my head swims.

“Piper?” Ambrose tosses his half-eaten taco in the box and shoves it at Morty. He grabs my shoulders, lowering his head to look me in the eye. “What is it? Are you getting sick again? I knew I shouldn’t have taken you out so soon after your curse hit.”

“Ambrose,” I whisper. “Look at your finger.”

He holds up his hand with a frown. “Why?”

“Move your ring, dummy.” Fitz is eating one of the tacos now. I guess she changed her mind.

Ambrose pulls at his ring, the gold glinting in the sunlight.

“Fuck.” His head jerks up, and he stares at me. He grabs my hand and tugs gently at my ring, revealing a swirl of black ink that forms a ring of ivy around my finger. It’s different from Josephine or Ava’s fated bond mark, but it matches the one on Ambrose’s finger.

“Holy shit.” Ambrose throws his arms around me and squeezes me tight to his chest. There’s a crunch and Ambrose stills. “There’s a taco smashed against my stomach, isn’t there?”

“Yes.” My voice is muffled against his shirt. Laughter bubbles up, and I tip my head back. “Do you know what this means?”

“I’m going to have to do laundry when we get home?” Ambrose smiles down at me, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

“Your curse doesn’t work on me.” Actually, it means his curse is broken. And if his curse is broken, then so is mine. I don’t quite understand why my curse still hit me the day before, but maybe that’s why my last bout only lasted a day.

Ambrose’s smile fades and his throat bobs. His eyes move to my lips. “I can kiss you.”

The only other time we kissed, I commanded him to do it. It was a mistake, and I didn’t have his permission. This time, he’s asking me. Even if he was still cursed, I would kiss him. I already love him, so there’s not much that can change on that front.

What difference does it make? He’s it for me.

“Please kiss me.” I nod, my heart racing.

I don’t even care that my hand is holding a smushed taco that’s soaking into both our shirts between us. Ambrose can kiss me. Our breaths mingle, and then his mouth is on mine. The kiss is so soft. Just a sweet brush of his mouth against mine. A gentle exploration that still has my knees going weak. My magic glows in my chest, reaching out and twining with Ambrose’s magic until I can’t tell where I begin and he ends. It quickly turns from gentle to demanding, and I sway into him, drunk on his taste. This kiss is one of freedom and a promise of our future.

We’re both breathless when he finally pulls back.

“Do you think I’m perfect and feel like stalking me now?”

“I think sometimes you’re ridiculous. Also, that’s perfectly who you are, and I love that about you.”

Ambrose grins and squeezes my ass. He straightens and looks at me, all the joy leaching out of his face. I start to worry I have taco on my face.

“What?”

“Why did you get sick if we’re bonded? It didn’t break your curse?”

I’d had that thought minutes before. Fitz and Morty have moved on. They’re almost to the edge of the bridge now, running off with our box of tacos. I pull my hand free and shake off the mess, although half if it is now on our clothing.

“Because you hadn’t given in,” Fitz calls back, as if she’d been waiting for the question. “You don’t fight love. It’s more powerful than any curse, than any magic. They never learn,” shegrumbles to Morty, who nods in agreement as they walk off the bridge.

Ambrose laughs. He picks me up and twirls me around before setting me down and kissing me again. He dips me, his hand cradling the back of my head. It’s like something out of a film.

“I love you, Piper Roth, and I’m never letting you go.”

He grabs my hand, his finger tracing over my wedding band and the fated mark hidden underneath. “Fated in the stars. I guess Mabel knew what she was talking about in that wedding chapel.”

41

AMBROSE

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