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“A long time ago,” he said gently, “my family and I, we convinced ourselves that the curse didn’t apply to me.”
“What curse could you possibly be talking about?”
“Love never lasts in our family,” Brock said simply. “Ourwomenfallinloveatfirstsight.Theirmennever stay.”
“I have news for you. You’re not a woman.”
Brock covered Cyn’s hand with his own. “Since I met you, I have been giving fervent thanks for that to any force in the universe who would listen to me. I am the only male in the family, at least who stayed around, as far back as our stories go. I am also one halfoftheonlysetoftwochildren.Nooneelsebefore my mother had the courage to love and then lose twice.”
“There, that’s different. If there is a curse, it couldn’t apply to you.”
“We all thought that could be, until I fell in love, too. I was in love once before you, my darling Cyn, a long time ago. I was nineteen. She was eighteen. She was as perfect in her own way as you are.” A pair of tears trickled down his face. Sadness seeped through his bones. “But my sweet young love died.”
Cyn blanched. “How, Brock?”
“Slowly. Very slowly. A drunk driver smashed into our car. I got out in seconds. I tried to get her out. They tried for hours to save her. After half an hour, she lost consciousness. At least then she stopped screaming.”
“Oh, Brock, I’m so sorry. This — this is why you never married?”
“At first, yes, of course, but we all talked it over, the women in my family and I. They lost the loves of their lives when the men left, and it was never through death. If the curse did doom a man in the family, surely it would be the same. I might lose the womanIadoredbutnotbecauseshedied.Whathappened to my young love was nothing but a terrible coincidence. In the end, I never thought much about it. Then … ”
“Then, Brock?”
“I never met anyone who mattered much. I didn’t have to worry about death coming to someone I loved because I didn’t love anyone. Until you.” He mustered a listless smile.
“Oh, Brock, no. You can’t believe this.”
“Most of me doesn’t,” Brock admitted. “I still can’t shake this awful feeling of foreboding seeping into my very bones. I love you with everything in me. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach … I could take the chance of you leavingme.Thistimewithyouisworthanythingthat could happen. Except me bringing death into your life.”
“You will not lose me,” Cyn vowed. “I will not leave you in any way, not on my own two feet and not in a coffin.”
When Cynthia Van Deventer Smythe decreed how things would be, you believed her. And every ounce of his being wanted to believe her. So, he did. At least, most of him did.
They drank their tea, even smiling a little at the look on the faces of the youngsters as they discovered that old fuddy-duddies could love too.
Brock washed the teacups while Cyn went to get dressed.
Suddenly, she screamed. Adrenalin raced into his system.
A second later, however, before he could even reach the room her scream had come from, she broke into a full-throated laugh that rolled out and kept on tumbling.
He skidded to a halt and struggled to get his hurricane heart under control.
“Van left a visitor behind,” Cyn called. “The poor dear must’ve been so befuddled.” She walked out of Van’sworkroomwithapuppyinherarms,laughingly dodgingenthusiasticcaninekisses.“Ithinkit’sPepe. He scared me half to death before I realized it wasn’t a monster in the closet. Who but Pepe could cause this much trouble? I’ll run him home.”
“I’ll take you, and drop you back here on my way to the Martinez party.” A little more time with her. That’s what he needed. He could bask in the cool calm she wore like an elegant cloak.
“Oh, I heard about that party. It’s raising money for the Toronado Animal Rescue League. Young Pepe here would appreciate it if you pulled out all stops on that fundraiser. Seduce the tastebuds of the partiers so completely they’ll forget to keep their wallets closed.”
Brock nodded and even managed a smile.
He brought his catering van around to the front of the apartment building and handed Cyn up and in. He set a course for his niece’s home.
Laughing, Cyn held Pepe up to the side of Brock’s face, where the puppy embarked on his attempt to set a record for the wettest chef’s cheek ever.
Brock managed to shake off a little of his black cloud.
Chapter Thirty-One
