Page 41 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“Rule number two,” Hattie said, beginning to pace. “We avoid overlap in the lab.”
“I work long days here, Hattie.”
“And I have class,” she said. “I’ll be here in the late afternoons and evenings. At least at first, according to Phina. When I arrive, you leave.”
That, he didn’t like. But she was only being practical.
Because it was no secret who Noble’s father was—where Noble had grown up—it was not uncommon for folks to ask if he’d still been living at the castle when the murder attempt happened. If he knew the girl who’d been sent away. If the rumors about her had been true. Minimizing contact with Hattie would also minimize the likelihood of someone learning thatshewas that girl.
“I’ll do my best,” he said, “but I won’t interrupt important work just to avoid you.”
“That’s fair,” Hattie conceded.
“Rule number three,” Noble said. “Court faces.”
Hattie stopped pacing.
Court faceshad been Hattie’s aunt’s way of reminding Hattie, Noble, and Raina of their etiquette training.Manners, please, she’d scold.Use your court faces!Of course, her insistence always resulted in the trio pulling funny expressions—tongues out, eyes crossed, noses wrinkled—and breaking into giggles.
If the memory warmed Hattie, she didn’t show it. “Agreed.”
“Do you think you can manage that?” he challenged.
“Of course, I can.”
His frustration flared, words coming out unbidden. “You didn’t in Waldron.”
“I—excuse me?”
“You put all the burden on me.”
“Yeah, well, you deserved it,” Hattie replied tartly. “Besides, you love to be the martyr.”
Noble clenched his jaw hard enough to crumble stone. He might’ve had a knack for getting under Hattie’s skin, but where his quips needled, hers sliced to the bone.
“I agree to court faces,” she continued, “if you agree not to bring up the past—even in private. It’s too…” She didn’t finish her thought.
“Rule number four: no nostalgia,” Noble confirmed.
Hattie wavered. “Unless…” She worried her lip. “Unless it’s an emergency.”
“What constitutes an emergency?”
“Being found out,” Hattie supplied, “or threat of death?”
“Understood.”
“I think that about covers it for now.” She held out her hand. “Are we in agreement?”
Reluctantly, he took her hand in his. Her fingers were long and graceful—too delicate for his calloused palms—but he heldon anyway, savoring the touch like it was the entire world he held. Inside the blue rings of her irises, the black orbs of her pupils reflected the twinkling stars shining through the glass dome of the lab, an entire galaxy contained in her gaze.
For a moment, the Fates themselves seemed to cease breathing.
Unbidden, Noble’s attention sank to her mouth. Her lips were a rich mauve that deepened toward the center, where the tissue was tender and beckoning. Twelve dark freckles dotted her pout, perfect imperfections. Sensing his stare, her tongue traced the same path as his vision, wetting the blooming bud of her bottom lip.
They were still tethered by their hands, arms bobbing slowly up and down with their handshake agreement, their silly attempt at control.
“I thought of another rule,” Hattie croaked, her fingers still enveloped in his. “No touching.”
