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Oh. My. Heart. This man.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

He looks at me. “What?”

“When we break your curse. First thing we’re doing is walking down to that tree.”

He studies me for a long moment. Then his fingers curl around mine. “I should like that.”

I squeeze his hand.

“Good. It’s a date.” The words come out before I can stop them. A date.

I just told the cursed man sitting beside me that we’re going on a date. Awesome. I should probably throw myself out a window.

Gabriel raises an eyebrow. “A date?”

“An appointment. An outing. A walk. Don’t make it weird.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” His expression suggests he’s dreaming of exactly that.

I clear my throat. “So. Anything else you want to see?”

He looks at the laptop, and then back at me. “Actually, I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

His brow furrows. “I beg your pardon?”

“Ask your question.”

“Ah.” He pauses. “Why did you come here?”

I blink. “To Winchester House?”

“Yes.”

“Because I inherited it.”

“Obviously. But you could have sold it without moving in.”

I shrug. “Needed somewhere to go.”

He waits for me to elaborate. The man spent a hundred and forty-three years as a statue. He’s probably the world champion of waiting.

“My life kind of imploded,” I admit.

“So you’ve mentioned.”

“Yeah. Well. It wasn’t pretty.” I pick at a loose thread on the sofa cushion.

“Lost my job. Found out my boyfriend was cheating on me. Then my apartment flooded.”

Gabriel’s expression darkens. “Your gentleman friend was unfaithful?”

“Gentleman is a generous description.”

“What happened?”