“You know I couldn’t keep him here,” she said, already accepting the fact that she’d die alone, so might as well start talking to herself as soon as possible. “He needed to—”
“Who are you talking to?”
Audrey yelped and half rose from the chair, then saw it was only Seda coming from the kitchen.
“God, Seda, you scared me half to death. How did you get in here?”
She held up her keychain. “You gave me a key to the back when you first bought the place, remember? I came for my morning coffee and saw you were closed, and when you didn’t answer the phone, I got worried.” Seda looked around and double checked her watch. “It’s after ten. Why are you closed? I knocked on the front door, too. Were you sitting here the whole time and didn’t hear it?”
Audrey shrugged, pulling her phone from her pocket and seeing there was indeed a missed call. “I wanted to take a day off is all.”
“Are you and Erik going to do something unconscionably romantic and fun today?” Seda stopped and looked around, finally seeming to notice the gaping chasm Erik left behind and frowned. “Where is he? Oh my God, Audrey, where is he?”
She started to go upstairs, but Audrey waved her back. “He’s gone. I sent him off to try and get his revenge on the witch who cursed him, so he can have closure.” Her voice cracked and she pressed her hands against her eyes so she wouldn’t cry. She needed to be grateful for what time she had with her enchanted Viking, not ruin those sweet moments with regret. “I knew all along it wouldn’t last forever, but now that he’s really gone, I miss him so much.”
She wasn’t grateful at all. She was greedy and wanted more moments, thousands of them. The thought of having to hash over their few memories for the rest of her life made her want to curl up and die right then. She was full of regret, brimming over with it.
Why had she been such a noble idiot? They should be together right now, heading toward the beach on their first day off since they met. Damn her forever for idiotically thinking she knew what was best for him, and for the curse for making him have to listen to her.
“What do you mean, he’s really gone?” Seda asked, seeming almost as upset as Audrey. Her voice grew shrill. “What do you mean you sent him away?” She wrung her hands and paced anxiously to the window, peering down the street. “And why did he go? I thought for sure I was right,” she muttered.
Audrey was too depressed to give much thought to Seda’s weird outburst and even weirder mutterings. How could she have sent Erik off without making sure he had a cellphone first? Now she had no way to obsessively write and delete messages to him, or just stare mournfully at his number, willing herself not to call and beg him to come back. The worst of it was she had no way to call and beg him to come back, which she sorely wanted to do. Seda stared at her, tapping her toes for an answer.
How could she explain that she didn’t want to keep him here under the control of that stupid curse any longer? For whatever reason, she’d been granted the glorious power to make him do whatever she wanted, and it had been fun while it lasted, but now that she honestly loved and cared for him, she only wanted what he freely gave. How could she live with a man she thought only stayed with her because he had to? Though every pore ached to have him back, she couldn’t, wouldn’t command him to come back. But she wanted to. Opening her mouth to try and explain everything to Seda, she burst into tears instead.
“Oh, damn it, I’m crying again,” she wailed.
She grabbed a handful of her expensive logo napkins and mopped at her tears, biting down hard to stop the embarrassing display. She had never felt this way about anyone before. Being without him, even this one day, was agony. Would she ever feel close to normal again?
Seda absently patted her back and continued pacing. “How do you feel?” she asked.
Audrey gaped at her, still swabbing at her unending flood of tears. “How does it look like I feel?”
“Then why in the hell did you send him off? I thought for sure you loved him.” Once again Seda dropped her voice, staring out the window some more. “And he loved you too, I know he did. At least I thought he did.”
“I do love him. So much, I think it’s going to kill me.”
“Then you shouldn’t have sent him away. But why did he go, that’s the thing? He seemed happy.” Seda turned away from the window and grabbed her shoulders. “Oh, you idiot. If I was right and you ruined it, who knows what could happen? We have to get him back and figure this out.”
Audrey finally realized her friend was acting stranger than usual, and her odd preoccupation with her love life over the last few weeks finally struck a nerve.
“What’s with you, Sey? You seem to want him back more than I do,” she said irritably, wishing she would just go and leave her to wallow in her sadness.
“So, you do want him back?” Seda asked, sounding relieved. “And you do love him? We just need to find him, then. How far could he have got in one day?”
“Seda, you don’t understand. Of course I want him back. But I can’t force him to be with me, no matter how much I want him.”
“You aren’t forcing me to do anything.”
Audrey whipped her head around at the familiar deep voice. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of Erik standing in the kitchen doorway, but she couldn’t find her voice to say anything to him. Her heart soared as he filled up the place with his masculine presence, and she longed to throw herself at him, wrap her arms and legs around his big, taut body and never let go.
“The back door was open,” he said sheepishly.
He stepped forward and put his finger under her chin, closing her gaping mouth. When her teeth clicked together, her brain clicked back into gear and she stepped away, clenching her hands into tight fists to keep from reaching for him.
“Did you forget something?” she asked, deliberately keeping her voice cold, even though her tear streaked face and the fact that the shop was closed would be a dead giveaway to her heartache. Seda jabbed her in the ribs, and she moved out of her reach, ignoring the disappointed hissing sound she made.
“I didn’t forget anything,” he said, getting right up close to her, putting his hands on her arms when she tried to pull back. “I did recall that I don’t let anyone control my decisions for my own happiness, though. I came back because I want to be with you.”
She was overjoyed at his pronouncement that he wanted to be with her, but stunned by his angry tone. Since she was pinned by his strong hands, she only looked up at him questioningly, unable to understand how he’d managed to come back when she clearly commanded him to go.
“What do you mean?” she asked, glancing sidelong at Seda, whose eyes practically bugged out of her head, her hands clasped before her as if she was waiting to see if her favorite team made its winning goal in overtime. Deciding there was nothing she could do about her best friend’s annoying presence, she lowered her voice. “How are you even here? I commanded you to leave. I do actually control you.”
He shook his head, his voice softening. “Not anymore. Not for a while now. I pretended because—” he stopped and looked at her so longingly, she couldn’t keep herself from edging closer to him. “Because I love you, Audrey. I want to be with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything, and I came back to make you see that. If you send me away again, I’ll go, but I won’t go far. I’ll still come every morning and help you bake. I’ll convince every customer to buy a dozen or more, clean up every evening when we close, and then ...” He tugged her into him so their bodies finally touched and Audrey closed her eyes, letting his touch and words soothe away the pain she’d felt at his absence. “I know you don’t want me the way I want you, but I’m going to try and make you change your mind.”
Her eyes flew open, and she caught a glimpse of Seda rolling her eyes before she turned back to Erik. She wanted to twine her hands behind his neck and pull him down for a kiss that would end all this confusion, but she pushed at his chest and stepped back, completely befuddled by wh
at was going on.
“But what about —” Grabbing handfuls of Erik’s shirt to keep herself from running her hands up and down his delicious chest, the chest belonging to the man who’d just confessed his love for her, she continued, needing to be sure. “What about, you know, the curse? I do want you, oh my God, you’ll never know how much. But I sent you away so you won’t have unfinished business, so you won’t resent me one day because I kept you from getting your revenge.” She dropped her voice to a whisper due to Seda continuing to hang on every word. Why was she even still here? Feeling the tears start again, she shoved feebly at him. “Did I not word it right last time? You have to go. I command it.”
“Didn’t you hear him, you dummy?” Seda shouted, jumping on her toes like a deranged chihuahua. “He doesn’t have to do what you say. The curse is broken, you can’t order him around anymore.”
They both turned to her, gobsmacked at her outburst. She turned bright red and ran her hands through her hair, a crazed look of determination mingled with fear on her face.
“I never told her about that,” Audrey told Erik, then narrowed her eyes at Seda. “How do you know about that?”
She looked worriedly at Erik, and grabbed Audrey’s hand, backing them both away from him. It wasn’t like Seda to act so nervous, and Audrey pushed her into an armchair and sat in the one next to her, waving at Erik to sit as well, as he seemed to be adding to her nerves. Seda swallowed hard and twisted the edge of her top before finally speaking.
“The reason I know so much is because I’m the one who cursed him.”
Chapter 18
“I mean, not really me,” Seda hurriedly explained, scrunching herself into the farthest corner of the armchair when Erik rose from his seat. “I’m not actually the witch who cursed you into the painting. A reincarnation, or more like a past life. It’s not like I’m completely her because I only remember some things, and I certainly don’t have any urges to keep cursing people or practicing witchcraft. I’m still me,” she said pathetically, taking a deep breath before continuing.
“I started having these bizarre dreams. Really bad nightmares. That’s how I knew you owned a ship,” she explained to Erik. “And how I knew why you were cursed. I knew you were supposed to act possessive, which is why I made you go to that party, to watch you two go bonkers when someone else flirted with one of you.”
“You had dreams about my life?” he asked, confused. Audrey felt the same, and prodded Seda to continue.
“Listen, you guys, I thought I was going crazy. I went to three doctors, and a shaman, and finally a past life specialist, trying to figure it out.”
“You?” Audrey asked incredulously. It was impossible. When she recalled why the witch cursed him, she felt cold all over and tugged her hand away from Seda. “You slept with Erik?”
“No!” She put her face in her hands and laughed. “I mean, that’s one of the things I don’t remember at all, and I haven’t had any dreams about it, either. Why do you think I kept hounding you for details? This woman did some really dark stuff that I have to be tormented with every time I go to sleep, you’d think I could recall some of the good stuff, too. But no, just her proclivity for sticking men in paintings.” She looked at Erik, who sat stock still, fists clenched. “If she weren’t at least partly me— I mean if it weren’t my neck, I’d say to strangle the cow. If my dreams are correct, you aren’t the only one she did that to.”
Audrey stood up and took Erik’s hand, forcing the tightly clenched fist to relax so she could clasp her fingers together with his. Her best friend looked so tortured, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. If what she believed was true, she couldn’t let Erik take his revenge on her, even though Seda herself seemed to think she deserved it.
“Does that mean she’s dead?” Audrey asked, squeezing his hand and trying to infuse him with calm. “If you’re another incarnation of her, that means she’s dead, right?” If she hadn’t been holding so tightly to Erik, her cursed five hundred year old Viking, she wouldn’t believe the conversation she was having.
Seda paled and closed her eyes. “She’s dead. She got driven off a cliff somewhere. I only get flashes of it, but it was pretty gruesome. It’s probably why I’m so scared of heights.”
“Why did you do it?” he asked coldly, his eyes flat.
“She,” Audrey corrected, earning a grateful look from Seda. “It’s not really Seda who did it, it’s just some past life of hers, right?”
“Yes, I think so. I drove up to San Francisco and met with this specialist and that’s how he explained it. He said I probably wouldn’t have remembered anything if I hadn’t found the painting at auction. But the more I kept dreaming, the more I realized I was meant to find the painting. I think I’ve been following it around since I— since she cursed Erik into it. I mean my different past lives have been following it, trying to make up for what the witch did.”
“Holy crap, Seda.”
Audrey sank into the chair next to Erik, still clinging to his hand. She looked at him and searched his eyes, trying to see what he felt about all this. His face was set in hard lines, but when his eyes met hers, they softened. He was still with her.
“Why did she do it, then?” he asked, returning his gaze to Seda, but a tiny bit less forbidding.
Seda clapped her hands, her face going from tormented to delighted. At Erik’s wide eyed glare, she settled herself down somewhat before explaining.
“I think I finally have it all pieced together,” she said. “I guess Erik used to be kind of a … well, free with your favors, right?”
He cleared his throat and frowned, not letting Audrey’s hand go when she tried to wriggle out of his grasp at hearing that. “What of it?” he said. “That was a long time ago, ages before you were even born, Audrey.”
“The witch got wind of all the hearts you broke,” Seda continued. “And found you for herself.” She turned to Audrey. “That part I don’t remember at all. None of it. But she was sick of all the women from neighboring towns coming to her and crying about how he let them down, and wanting to buy potions to make him love them.”
“They did not,” he interrupted. “That’s a wild exaggeration.”
“They did, and it’s not,” she said, cheeks pinkening. “Anyway, she wanted to find out for herself if you could love or not, and I guess when she failed, she stuck you in the painting.”
“As punishment for not loving her?” he asked, outrage renewed with vigor. “Or those few disappointed village women?”
Seda rolled her eyes. “She was definitely a piece of work, and I agree it was an uncalled for reaction, but be honest. It was more than a few, wasn’t it? My dreams have been pretty accurate about everything else.”
“That’s enough,” Audrey said, feeling sick. “That doesn’t matter anymore. But what if you hadn’t bought the painting? What if I hadn’t needed his help? He’d still be trapped.”
She felt dizzy at how close she might have come to never finding the man she so dearly loved. If Seda hadn’t bought the painting on a whim, he might still be in a dark storage room somewhere, or left to hang on a wall for another five centuries. A tear trickled down her cheek, and she blinked when Erik brushed it away.
“It’s all right now, Audrey. You freed me, that’s what’s important.”
“Agh, that was the whole point of it,” Seda said, jumping up. “You didn’t come out because Audrey cried on the painting or wished for your help! You came out because you two are fated to be together. You couldn’t be freed until you were finally with the one you could truly love. That was the actual curse. And you had to do what she said until you realized it, then you were free to do what you wanted, right? Am I right? All my past lives have been moving that painting around trying to find you your soulmate and now we finally did it.” Seda bounced up and down, looking from one to the other.
Audrey gasped. If Erik was truly free of the curse, he had come back because he wanted to, it was all his decision, which was
what she had wanted all along. And that other thing, could that possibly be right?
“Am I your soulmate?” she asked Erik.
“Of course you are,” he said without hesitation.
He pulled her onto his lap and held her close. Her heart filled with happiness, knowing it was true. She’d known it from the moment he hauled her over his shoulder like a bag of flour and carried her down the steps. The moment she saw him standing in the middle of the shop as if he owned the place. The reason she’d inexplicably always thought of him as hers was because he was hers. Their souls were meant to be together, and through hundreds of years and a vicious curse, they’d miraculously found one another.
“Of course you are,” Seda repeated.
“Leave,” Erik bellowed, pointing to the back.
Seda nodded meekly and scampered away. “It’s not like I don’t have plenty of work to do, trying to find the other men she cursed into paintings,” she called, finally leaving them alone.
Audrey buried her face in Erik’s shoulder, breathing him in in great gulps, grateful it was really him and not just his pillow. What had she been thinking?
“I’m so glad you came back,” she said, trying to get closer to him on his lap. “I’m sorry I sent you away.” She leaned back and smacked him in the bicep. “But why did you go if you didn’t have to listen to me anymore?”
“I thought you wanted me to go. You said you didn’t need me and it hurt my pride.” He made an embarrassed face. “And I do still need to listen to you. The thought of making you unhappy is like boiling oil being poured over my heart. I’d do whatever you said if I thought that’s what you really wanted.”
Audrey sighed and rested against him again. “We’ll have to work on that,” she said. “Because I can be pretty stupid, apparently. Let’s make a pact to be honest and discuss our feelings instead of randomly deciding we know what’s best for each other.”
Valhalla Cupcakes Page 18