Page 103 of Rituals & Rivalry

For the rest of the day, I get to think about that. Even if she doesn’t really belong to me, in moments like these, she does.

Chapter 31

Aurora

“Hello?” I pretend to pick up my phone and walk out to my backyard—a place that’s severely underused by our family. It’s pretty out here. Nothing crazy, but there are trees for miles, and my mother put out some patio furniture and twinkling lights that don’t really show up this time of day.

Those gorgeous shedding trees are the problem—and exactly the reason Sterling is here, in his cute sherpa-lined jacket, raking up the leaves.

“There’s a strange man in my yard,” I say into my phone, smiling. “Freakishly tall—some would say too tall, really. Big blue eyes. Probably hung like a horse.”

Sterling glares at me and stands upright. “I bet there’s no one on the other line.”

“You’d win that wager.” I slip my phone into my pocket and approach him slowly. The morning light shines into his face, making his eyes even brighter, and glistens across his chiseled cheekbones. “I didn’t know you were coming today.”

He lifts the rake. “It’s that time of year.”

“Hm…” I run my fingers over his soft jacket collar, standing on my tiptoes to close the gap between us. “I guess it is.”

He lifts an eyebrow, smirking. “I’m working, miss.”

I blink up at him innocently. “And when do you get off?”

He sighs and leans closer, our noses touching, and I find myself flat on my feet once again. I should probably be worried about someone spotting us. My entire family is inside, and it would only take one glance out the window to realize that Sterling and I are…

Something.

Even admitting that—something—scares the hell out of me. If you have something, you can lose it.

“You’re a terror,” he whispers.

Before I can think of a response, he tackles me and pins me beneath him, and I’m giggling all the way down. Right into a pile of leaves. I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this carefree and safe, with his hand cradling the back of my head to protect me in the fall.

The light shines from behind his head, illuminating him like a god, and my heart swells. Too big. Too full.

I open my mouth to say something, but I don’t know what. My feelings? That would be too hard. And somehow, too easy. Sterling makes everything feel easy, even though there’s still something bubbling under the surface. Something tells me he’s more complicated than I could ever imagine.

“What are you thinking?” he asks, sincere and soft, gazing at me as if I matter.

This is the moment.

I can admit I’m falling for him, too. He would probably smile and kiss me, and maybe he’d fuck me in the leaf pile. Or, more likely, he’d suggest we go back to his place—he’s always been a little classier than I am.

But I can’t. I’m not ready, and worse of all, I worry I’ll never be. My mom is happier now. Leo will probably come around. But everything is temporary. My dad is still gone. My magic is too. Even with Sterling looking at me like he gives a fuck about whatever I’m going to say—like he might be the only one who does—I can’t give him what he wants. Even if I’m starting to want it, too.

If I admit I want him, I’m opening myself up to losing him, and I can’t go through that.

So, I smile and kiss the tip of his nose instead of saying any of the things weighing on my chest. “You look handsome today. That’s all.”

He chuckles and helps me off the ground, dusting off my backside. Leaves are still clinging to my hair as I wander inside. It would be easy to brush them off, but I keep them there as a little reminder of a moment I want to keep forever.

It will stay with me even after he leaves.

As expected, my mom is sitting at the little round table near the big windows in the kitchen, the one with the perfect view of the backyard. She has a teacup in hand, and she watches me over the rim, her eyes sparkling.

“You’re cute together,” she says.

My pulse goes racing. My mother and I are both artists, and like her, I can admit that Sterling and I would be cute together. A pretty picture. But we’re not together, and I haven’t even told him how I feel, much less her. Hell, I’ve barely admitted it to myself.