Page 44 of Luck Be a Genie

I could visit her, but I wouldn’t be able to just hop in my jeep and go see her, and I didn’t like that. Dice and I had gotten close over the last year. She had become like a sister to me, and I didn’t want to lose that.

I also wasn’t really sure about what job I would go for. Being a secretary wasn’t exactly my dream job, but I didn’t really know what my dream job might be either.

Rabble-rouser?

Malcontent?

Annoyer of genies?

As the days passed, Nick and I grew closer. We did many other fun things on the island that our concierge said were popular for tourists, but my favorite was the night we’d lain on a blanket on the beach, looked up at the stars, and just laughed and talked well into the morning.

He didn’t push or put pressure on me for anything, he just kept matching his actions with his words. A thing I found extremely attractive and sexy. I couldn’t help but wonder why guys thought women were such big mysteries. I thought we were pretty easy to understand, but then again, I was a woman. Well, part leprechaun, but mostly human.

Nick’s brothers came a few more times. They said they wanted to keep us company because they were afraid we were bored, but Nick told me it was to torture him. Also, because they really liked hanging out with me. I wasn’t sure about that, but Nick seemed pretty convinced.

I tried to keep helping them with whatever questions they had about women, the whole time feeling like some big fraud. What did I know about relationships? The answer was not much. Nick had had to be pretty persistent to even get me to take a chance on him. And before Nick, I’d only had a few relationships. All of them had ended for various reasons, mostly because I refused to give up on the hope that one day I’d be loved the way I needed to be loved.

As I glanced at Nick from behind my sunglasses, I was glad I had waited. And I was really glad I was so stubborn because it had encouraged me to keep going and not give up. Even when things had felt dark and hopeless.

I wasn’t much of a quitter, actually.

I really liked that about me.

“Are you ogling me right now?” Nick murmured, feeling my eyes on him somehow even though his were closed. “I left off my shirt and am risking a sunburn just for you today, sunshine.”

“I am fully ogling you right now. You are correct.”

He laughed, patting the little bit of cushion next to him, wanting me to join him.

“I think you have big dog syndrome,” I said dryly.

“What’s that?”

“You know, it’s where these big huge dogs actually think they’re the size of a teacup and try to climb on your lap?”

Nick grinned. “Are you asking me to climb on your lap right now?”

“No!” I said, laughing. “I’m saying I think you don’t realize how big you are. There’s maaayyybe an inch of space there. I won’t fit.”

“You’ll fit. Look, I’ll scooch a bit.” He moved a fraction of an inch to the side, which made me laugh again. “No? Okay, we’ll compromise. You step away a bit so your magic doesn’t interfere, and I’ll make this into a little clamshell lounger.”

“There are humans around,” I reminded him. I felt like I reminded him about this multiple times a day, but he always told me⁠—

“I’m actually hurt that you think my genie skills aren’t up to the task. I am a terrifyingly powerful genie, I’ll have you know.”

That. He always told me that.

“Yeah, I’m not really sure I believe you, but I’ll go just to humor you.” Getting up, I moved about five feet away from him and turned to watch him. We weren’t sure where the exact boundary was for my magic interacting with his, but it seemed to be about five feet in any direction.

Between one blink and the next, Nick had created a clamshell lounger. Smirking, he patted the space beside him again, and I rolled my eyes and joined him.

Smug genie.

I lay on my side next to him, but Nick wasn’t satisfied with the distance between us. He pulled my hips toward him and wrapped his arms around me, entwining our legs.

I loved how affectionate he was. He always had to be touching some part of me, and I was quickly becoming addicted. I don’t think I’d realized how touch-starved I’d been before. Even from Dice, who, though she was getting better, was not really an affectionate person. She was with Rhys, but no one else.

Nick looked at me with an expression so tender it made my chest ache. I freed one hand from his grip and touched his face, trailing light fingers above his eyebrows, then running my fingers through his hair.