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“I assure you, it was considerably less amusing at the time.”

“Right. Sorry.” I’m not entirely sorry. Because come on. If you’re going to curse somebody, at least get creative.

Although I suppose turning a ridiculously attractive man into an ugly gargoyle is pretty creative.

I study Gabriel. His handsome face. His broad shoulders. The ridiculously defined muscles of his bare chest. The sweatpants that are doing absolutely nothing to disguise the fact that he’s built like a Greek god. A very grumpy and well-endowed Greek god.

“Okay,” I say. “Well, the good news is that we’re not living in the eighteen hundreds anymore.”

“An observation I have made myself.”

“We have resources.”

“Such as?”

I grin.

“The internet.”

Gabriel closes his eyes.

Ten minutes later, I’m sitting cross-legged on the floor with my laptop open on the coffee table.

Gabriel is beside me.

Well, technically, he’s sitting on the sofa behind me, leaning forward to peer over my shoulder. He’s obviously fascinated, but trying very hard not to appear fascinated. But he is.

“What is that?”

“Google.”

“Sounds like nonsense.”

“It’s a search engine.”

“A what?”

“A thing that helps you find information.”

“Like an encyclopedia?”

“Sure. Except bigger.”

“How much bigger?”

“Pretty much everything anyone has ever wanted to know is on here.”

He considers that. “That seems potentially dangerous.”

“You’re not wrong.”

I type into the search bar. HOW TO BREAK A CURSE. Instantly, results appear.

Gabriel leans closer. “Good heavens.”

I grin.

“Right?”