Cursed by Love Read Online Free PDF

heart jumping.
    “No doubt.” She lowered her chin to hide
her blush.
    As the light changed, he cupped her
elbow. His warm and steady hand propelled her forward. Heat from his touch
tingled along her arm. “You’d never seen it at your grandmother’s before?”
    “Never.” She sighed with relief-tinged
regret when they reached the other side of the street and he released her.
    ”You don’t know how long she owned it?”
    “The hatbox I found it in was covered
with dust, and the jade was wrapped in yellowed newspaper. My guess is that it
had been stored away for a good long time.” Even now, Molly recalled how her
head had buzzed expectantly when she lifted the lid on the old box.
    “And there wasn’t anything denoting
provenance?”
    “I’m not sure I would recognize
provenance if it had a big red bow tied around it. I’ll look again.” She dared
another peek at him from under her eyelashes. “Does your grandfather have any
documentation?”
    “I’ll ask.” Gabe sighed and shook his
head. “And apologize. Sometimes Granddad embellishes his stories, and normally,
well, it’s best not to put much stock in them.”
    “But this time you can.” Molly grinned
and Gabe grinned back. They could keep doing that all night long, for all she
cared. What an amazing dimpled smile he had, especially when his eyes joined in
that way. She had to question the compulsion that made her want to make him
smile more often.
    “This time I can take it to the bank,
literally.” A fleeting look of relief passed over his features.
    They descended the concrete steps to the
underground garage. Emerging from the enclosed stairwell, their footsteps
tapped in unison, echoing an eerie downbeat that had Molly checking over her
shoulder again.
    Relieved to reach her destination, she
stopped beside her canary yellow Volkswagen Beetle, unlocked the door with a
beep, opened it, and carefully set the Lotus inside. “Thanks for helping ward
off the potential robbers, and muggers, and thieves. Oh my.”
    He looked at her with raised brows.
    “You know, like ‘lions and tigers and
bears’? From The Wizard of Oz ?” She rolled her eyes. Really, she spent
way too much time with children.
    “I do know.” His eyes crinkled at the
corners, preventing her from feeling like a complete dork. “It’s one of my
niece’s favorites.”
    “Yes, anyway.” She cleared her throat.
“It was nice having someone to share the news with a little while longer.”
    “Don’t you have someone at home who’ll
be eager to hear? Husband? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Significant other?”
    “No one like that. I’m going to go tell
my mom about it first. How about you? Wife, mother, child?” She looked away
with feigned disinterest.
    “None of the above. But my grandfather’s
probably pacing the floor, waiting for all the details. He’ll be so excited
when he hears that he’ll forget he’s eighty-two and suffers from arthritis,
bursitis, psoriasis, and colitis. If there’s a story on the news tonight about
an old man breaking several bones and suffering a stroke from doing too many
cartwheels, you’ll know the announcement was well received.”
    They laughed together, and Molly reveled
in the warmth of the moment. “I know what you mean. I’m so thrilled, I keep
wanting to jump up and down and hug myself.”
    Definite interest flickered through his
eyes. “If you need any help with that, I’d be happy to lend a hand.” He waited
a beat before adding, “Again.”
    For a single second, Molly would have
been oh, so delighted to take him up on the offer. But the first few notes of
“When You Wish Upon a Star” interrupted them again, an audio
bucket-of-cold-water, reminding her of the unfavorable first impression he’d
made. She pulled her cell out of her tote just to check, but she wasn’t the one
receiving a call.
    How could she have forgotten he’d been yelling at someone? Not a wife, thank heavens. Good to know he hadn’t been kissing