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“In that case,” he said, a little breathless, a little giddy, “I love you.”
She carried his love for her in her chest. As if she’d swallowed the sun. And all she could think was I hope it’s the same for him. That he doesn’t just hear the words, but that they stay somewhere safe behind his ribs—a light that doesn’t burn out.
Rich, warm spices filled the crisp air—clove and cinnamon and ginger—along with peat smoke from the bonfires.
ribbons wrapped around the ash trees to mark the occasion.
He’d preferred emotions muted by soil and centuries.
“I will love you,” Clark promised her, “even if you never break another curse. Even,” he repeated, “if you write a song and want to sing it directly in front of me.” She blinked up at him. “That’s quite a promise.”
That, right there, he said, pointing at Clark’s scornful face, is exactly why you’re going to come along. Anything you react to that strongly has something you need buried beneath it.
Sometimes his face made her want to punch his mouth with her mouth.
And I realized, all those pages of reflection and advice, all the cross-outs and footnotes. Gran didn’t care in the end if either of us
decided to follow in her footsteps. She wanted us to know her. And she wanted us to believe in our ability to change things, to help people.”
Riley knew the answer to a question she had never asked. Did you ever worry that you made the wrong choice, sending him away? There was never a choice. The right person didn’t make you choose.
“You’re cursed as long as you believe you’re cursed.”
“The one you thought was magic.”
It sounded so innocent in ways Riley wasn’t—painting a picture of someone who chased shooting stars and tossed coins in a fountain. But digging into the etymology of the word, magic meant transformative. And in that way, the adjective fit perfectly.
“But I don’t owe you a career you admire or a partner you approve of. I need you to hear me, really hear me, when I say that I’m through having my life measured and weighed against your ambition.” He took a
“And if you can’t accept that—and don’t change how you treat me—I’m done.”
If the last few months had taught him anything, it was that just because something hurt didn’t mean it wasn’t healing.
If instigating opportunities for harmless, heated banter with her boyfriend was wrong, she didn’t want to be right.
“Tha gràdh agam ort,”
“It’s the stomach-swooping, breathless, terrifying thrill that happens at the top of a roller coaster, that single frozen second at the peak right before you descend. The release of all that buildup, the mounting pressure. The hardest part is over—you’re already falling, but it’s okay. It’s good. It’s what’s supposed to happen.”
The next morning, Riley and Clark woke up to find that for the first time in three hundred years, indigo angel’s-trumpet had bloomed on the grounds of Arden Castle.
“Oy. Would you lot quit faffing about in there?”
No one would believe she’d earned two advanced degrees from Ivy League institutions only to end up this stupid.
the one and only time Clara had taken a leap of faith, she’d landed with a spectacular
Unfortunately, like grain alcohol, unrequited love grows more potent with time.
“So this is how it feels to be well and truly fucked.” “I get that a lot,” said a low voice behind her.
recently completed my doctorate in art history,”
Analysis and curation let her keep art at arm’s length
