Page 92 of Mr. Picture Perfect
I wonder if Cole’s asking something else. If his real question is about us. “I … I hope so.”
“Me, too.”
Suddenly I feel like he’s the paladin who secretly loves me, holding a sword to my throat, demanding me to let him set our secret free. I’m the cunning sorcerer with a puzzling past who can never fathom life in the spotlight, forever bound to the shadows.
He’s using his power to stare into my eyes, searching for the truth, determined to find it.
The tension between us is nearing a mathematical limit.
Our pressure variable is in danger of integer overflow.
A kiss is imminent—a kiss to answer the passionate tension that has swelled between us since our own movie began.
The second I lean in, recklessly choosing to put my lips on his, he cuts our power supply with three tiny words: “I told Malcolm.”
I freeze. It takes a second for his statement to land.
He winces. “I’m sorry, Noah. It’s been on my mind all night. I told him this morning at the McPhersons’. We were opening up to each other about the event, stressing over this and that, and it … suddenly felt right to just …confidein someone about us.” He sighs and looks away. “But it was wrong of me. I broke my promise to you. I feel shitty about it. I’m … I’m so sorry, Noah.”
I let it marinate in my thoughts for a moment, connecting and disconnecting from several conclusions, much like a CPU working out a troubling situation with RAM and an overwhelming request from a demanding piece of resource-hogging software.
Then quite suddenly the result arrives: “That’s okay.”
My tone of voice must throw Cole for a loop. “It … It is?”
“Malcolm is working with Mrs. Strong to ensure the event is a success. He has something at stake, too. Also, you already share a brief history of trust with each other after what happened this past Christmas. So, all factors considered, I believe he’s an ideal person for you to confide in. He’s the least likely to be reckless with our secret.”
After my speech, I can’t tell if it’s shock or amazement that floods Cole’s face. “Noah …”
“I appreciate that you told me so soon. And thank you for the apology for breaking our promise, but …” I frown. “Maybe it was unreasonable of me to demand such secrecy. Unfair, even. This isn’t an ideal set of circumstances upon which to begin and build a relationship. It’s much like the demon sorcerer and the curse that his parents invited onto their family by crossing a demon. He can’t help his situation. But he made do when he met the paladin, even despite the paladin’s rigid beliefs in what’s right and wrong. They are both a little right. They are both a little wrong. But they make do, and they can’t ignore how they feel about each other.”
Cole is surprisinglywithme. “That’s so true. Theyareus.”
“With the exception that I don’t know dark magic and don’t have the voice of an enslaved demon familiar in my brain.” I gaze into Cole’s eyes. “But I know I have my paladin. My goodhearted guy who will protect me … if all of this starts to get out of hand.”
Cole wraps me into his arms so suddenly, I make an uncomely squeak of surprise before settling against his firm, strong body. I try to glance one way or another, in search of anyone who might still be on the street and pay witness to this intimate moment, but no matter which way I turn, all I see is Cole’s chest.
Then I realize maybe that’s the point. It doesn’t matter who’s looking. It’s no one’s business what’s happening between us, even if I only partially understand it myself. Considering my clear lack of experience in romance, it’s no wonder I’m taking Cole’s lead in careening headfirst into whatever this is between us.
Whatever this is, it feels good. It feels right.
It feels a little scary, too.
But perhaps that’s just the variable of chaos I can’t hope to control in any formulaic makeup of our relationship.
“Maybe I’m the sorcerer dude,” murmurs Cole against my ear, sending shivers of delight up my neck and tingles over my scalp. “I think sometimes it’s my family who invited a curse on me. A curse I have to fight against and hope I don’t someday succumb to.” He squeezes me even tighter. His voice softens. “I’m not the perfect guy everyone thinks I am. Every day feels like a fight to do what’s right, except everything I do feels wrong. Maybe I’m fighting some kind of curse, too.” He lets out a gentle sigh, then places a sweet, sensitive kiss on the side of my head. “I sure hope the two of them end up together in the end.”
My fingers curl into the back of his shirt. “Cole?”
“Yes, Noah?”
“I want … I want to help you fight that curse. Whatever it is.”
“Hmm. You sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“Totally sure?”
