Read Online Cursed by Shyla Colt - Free Book Online

been happy to grant her wishes. With their hectic schedules, she usually only saw Colton at night or for lunch. Neither was very conducive to a real date. This would go a long way toward easing the nagging concern that he only wanted her for her spellwork. Gran hadn’t brought up the fact she was dating an Edgeworth since their chat on the porch, but she didn’t need to say anything to make her disapproval known.
    Avalyn used her peripheral vision to study Colton. Things between them were going well. He was still the funny, kind, well-mannered man he’d been when they’d first met. It made her nervous. Jeez, how screwed up am I?
    Life had taught her to wait for the other shoe to drop, at least when it came to love. They’d talked about her powers briefly, but never in depth. His easy acceptance of who she was and what she was capable of wasn’t natural. She chided herself. Enjoy your time with him and chill. You’re ruining things before they have a chance to really get started. She forced her tense muscles to relax and rested her head against the seat. She turned to the right and watched the scenery dance by.
    When they pulled up, she read the cream-colored oval sign that read Baxter Botanical Gardens . A large glass building with a dome sat in the distance. It was surrounded by a vibrant array of colorful art created with plants. The frog made up of two different shades of green was whimsical. Her spirits rose as she drank in the beauty, and the tranquility washed over her.
    She turned to look at Colton, shocked at the look of revelry that appeared on his face.
    “Coming to this place is one of the few vivid memories I have of my mother. She loved flowers and kept a food garden in the backyard and a flower garden in the front. I remember spending a lot of time helping her outside. It was really just an excuse for me to play in the mud, but she always made me feel like what I was doing was important.”
    A sweet smile curled the corner of him lips upward, warming her heart. There were few things as touching or telling about a man as the way he treated his mother. It was obvious Colton had adored her.
    “She sounds like she was amazing.”
    “She was. I wish you could’ve met her. I know she’d love you. She was very into living off the land and giving thanks to God and respect to the people around you. Even after all these years, those things are etched into my mind. I was lucky to have her for six years, but I would’ve loved to have many more.”
    A twinge of apprehension struck. It was her family who was partially responsible for the premature death of his mother.
    Was this the moment when he’d ask her to remove the curse?
    He slipped his hand in hers and tugged. “Come on; it’s even more beautiful inside, and I have a special surprise I think you’ll love.”
    She allowed herself to be pulled along behind, clamping a lid tight on the negativity. It wasn’t like her to dwell on things like that. There were things in the universe that loved chaos, but they were barking up the wrong tree. She imagined the white light of healing beaming down on her, vaporizing the negative vibes and restoring her balance. Tonight she needed to meditate.
    She gave his hand a gentle squeeze with the hope she was conveying her appreciation. He’d really thought outside the box.
    While cookie cutter dates like dinner and a movie or the local bowling alley were always fun, special outings like these were relationship-defining.
    For weeks, she’d been going back and forth, asking herself if being with Colton was worth the lukewarm reception she was getting from her gran, the pitying looks from her mother, and the guilt that twisted her gut on a daily basis. It might seem silly to some, letting the opinions of others affect her so much. But family was forever and supposed to come first. Dating Colton went against everything she’d been taught. Still, she couldn’t deny the message from Viola or the uncanny feeling she was