Stolen by You (Fated To Love You)

“Yup,” I croak. “Never better.”

“You’re actually being nice too,” Ash goes on.

“I’m always nice.”

“Ha!”

“I have to agree,” Taylen says, throwing in with Ash. “You’re usually quite sarcastic. Would your potential soulmate have anything to do with it?”

“This is a crisis,” Leandra mutters under her breath. We all hear her anyway. “A soulmate crisis.”

“It’s a curse crisis,” Taylen corrects.

“A soulmate crisis is a curse crisis, and a curse crisis is a soulmate crisis,” Toren points out. Yup, our usual voice of reason.

I feel like I have to step up to the plate. “Oh, I can be sarcastic. Like I could say that I’m glad you all had the common courtesy not to clog up my driveway. I’m also thrilled you’re all here, doing your best to help me figure this out and not throw it in my face at all that this is happening. You’re just the most perfect bunch of cousins and a brother that a guy could have. You too, Granny. You’re the most innocent grandmother on the planet. You never meddle at all.”

Granny snickers at me from behind her hand. “Are you getting emotionally involved, Kirian, and it’s making you ornery?”

“Arghh! Emotionally involved? It’s only been a day!”

“The curse doesn’t have a timeline,” Granny says helpfully. “Soulmates for a day, soulmates for life. You’re still soulmates either way. Why try to resist what can’t be changed?”

“If you do want a soulmate, you couldn’t do much better,” Ellis says, trying to sound convincing. She smiles in Lindy’s direction before she looks back at me hopefully. “She’s gorgeous, smart, and techy. Granny told us all about the hacking job she did while we were waiting for you to get here.”

“She’s right up your alley,” Ash says, siding with Ellis. Of course, he’s going to side with Ellis. The curse already got him, and he’s over the moon, stars-in-his-eyes style happy.

Lindy grunts beside me, and it’s clear she wishes she didn’t agree to come to this. I wonder if she’ll sneak off upstairs, head to my bedroom, throw the window open, hurtle off the roof, and go bolting down the road like she did last time.

God, that was seriously hot. What a woman.

“In the meantime,” Toren says, raising his brows and wiggling them at me suggestively and also very creepily. Toren isn’t good at being suggestive or secretive. Quiet, yes. But sneaky, no. “I think you might want to give Lindy a break from us. She looks like she needs a glass of water. In the kitchen.”

“Yes, we’re too much for anyone all at once,” Leandra says sympathetically.

Granny snorts. “Too much, my granny bottom.”

Dear lord. We all groan because none of us like that mental picture. Well, all of us except for Milo. He giggles, and Granny giggles too. Because, you know, she’s seventy going on seven.

Ash and Ellis give us sympathetic looks. I know they’ll be fighting hard in the family discussion to keep us together. Toren and Luna are happy together, so it’s a toss-up. Toren is logical too, and Luna is also very level-headed, so I’m not sure how they’ll spin the argument. Leandra and Taylen, I know, will be on my side.

I’m not sure when this became about sides or voting for us to give this a go, but it could be that I’m just thinking about it. As it is, thinking about Lindy disappearing and never seeing her again is making me freak out inside. I thought this was supposed to be them advising me about the curse or something. Jesus. Did I really know what this was about, or did I just want everyone under the same roof so we could talk about the curse, and they could all tell me that one way or another, it’s going to be okay?

One way or another.

As in, if I was willing to give this a try. And if Lindy was willing, which I’m sure she isn’t. I mean, we all just barged into her life like a tornado.

I’d be running if I were her.

Yet, she’s here. Still.

“A glass of water sounds great,” Lindy whispers.

I break out of my freaking internal meltdown, nod at my family, who is already regrouping in the living room and getting into a freaking game huddle—yeah, we’re a strange bunch—and lead the way to the kitchen. The rooms are all still pretty separate, given that the house was given a facelift which didn’t include a bunch of walls being busted down when it was updated.

“I’m sorry,” I say as soon as we get into the kitchen. “Seriously. I’m very sorry.”

Translation: I know you know I know you think my family is bat shit crazy. Also, shit. I hope they can maybe come up with something good to help us, but I highly doubt it at this point. Did I mention I was sorry? Because I’m seriously, very, very sorry that I dragged you into this, and I bet you’re sorry you ever opened the door to my crazy granny, took her crazy job, and got messed up and cursed in all this.