It was then that her friend brought out the knockout, championship punch.

“I felt the touch, Ken. With you and Nate.”

The air left her lungs in one swoop. The room tilted, and she grabbed onto the arms of the chair to keep from falling. “What did you say?”

“That night we did the role-play in the bar? I touched both of you and got electrocuted. That’s why I fell.”

“Impossible,” she whispered. “It can’t be.”

Kate bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I know we all made a pact I’d never tell either of you if I felt the touch with any men. I hate the idea of manipulating Fate or your feelings. I’m not supposed to get involved because it’s up to each lover to choose the other—touch or no touch. But I couldn’t let you walk away from this. Nate is your soul-mate. He belongs to you.”

Kennedy moaned and wrapped her hands around her stomach. In seconds, her friends were by her side, hugging and supporting her weight as the knowledge crashed over her.

She was meant to be with Nate.

Kate had never been wrong. Her touch was special, though they always joked about her being sort of a witch, they’d never doubted her ability to make a love match.

They were meant to be together.

The knowledge helped cement all the backed-up emotions the past three weeks had thrown at her. She’d been so wrong. So cowardly. Even after he’d stripped her barriers in front of the mirror, she’d still run away and ended up hurting the only man she’d ever loved.

But it was too late. Wasn’t it? The floodgates opened, and all her frustration and rage and pain poured out. She jumped from the chair and paced back and forth, muttering vicious curses from English all the way to the zingers in Italian she’d learned from Maggie.

Arilyn waited in semishock. Kate looked impressed by her vocabulary.

“Why can’t I do anything the normal way? Girl meets boy. Falls in love with boy. Girl is happy. I’m twisted. I made him be happy with someone else on purpose!”

Kate murmured in sympathy. “I know. I tried to do the same thing.”

“I have to do something! Go to him. Tell him. Beg his forgiveness.”

“Go,” Arilyn said.

“What if he doesn’t want me back? What if I hurt him so badly he’ll never forgive me?”

Kate squeezed her hand. “My mom once told me there are no guarantees in this life, but if you don’t try, you’ll always be empty. Tell him how you feel, sweetie. That’s all you have control over.”

Kennedy nodded. “Yes. Thanks guys.”

She tore out of the office.

“HEY DUDE. MIND IF I hang out here for a few hours?” Connor asked.

Nate straightened his jacket and threw on a touch of cologne. He’d gotten much better at not overdosing. “Sure. How come you’re not at the bar with Jerry or the apartment?”

His brother looked away. “Jerry went out with Ed tonight. Haven’t seen you in a while, so I figured I’d drive up. Sorry if I busted in.”

“Nah, I’m just meeting Mary over at Mugs for a burger. Gonna be an early night, so why don’t you stay? We’ll hang when I get back and watch Breaking Bad on Netflix.”

“Cool.” His brother studied him with a weird look on his face. “You like this girl?”

“Mary? She’s nice. We’re having fun.”

“What about Kennedy?”

Nate flinched. He still wasn’t able to hear her name aloud without a bodily reaction. At least he had finally learned to control his automatic erection. “What about her?”

His brother dragged his foot and seemed uncomfortable. “Well, one minute you’re declaring love for her, and the next you don’t mention her name.”

The tide of emotion that swept over him caught him like a fierce right hook. God, he missed her. Her laugh, scent, walk. Missed being in her presence and arguing with her. But that was over. And he was moving on.

He squared his shoulders. “She wasn’t into me. I’ll get over it.”

“Yeah, you’ll get over it. Trust me, bro, much better to commit to a woman more like you. Mary’s nice. And she’s . . . safe.”

“Yeah.” Damn, this whole conversation was depressing as hell. If he didn’t fire up some sparks with Mary quick, he was going to have to tell her it wasn’t working. Maybe he just needed a little more time. Get over Kennedy. Keep it slow and steady. It’ll work out. If not, he’d date someone else, again and again, until he met the right one. At least he felt more comfortable in his skin. “Gotta go, I’m late. See you when I get home.”

He headed toward Mugs.

KENNEDY DRAGGED HER PALMS down her skirt and hesitated outside the door. Eating crow was not her favorite thing, but she’d crawl on her damn knees if he’d forgive her.

His car was parked outside. But when she knocked, it was Connor who opened the door, and his expression told it all. Pure dislike and judgment. Uh-oh. What had Nate told him? Everything? Pieces of it? Maybe she should start by apologizing to his sibling first. Oh, God, she sucked at this whole thing, so she opened her mouth and said the first word that came to mind.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He didn’t budge. “Nate’s not here.”

“Oh. Oh, okay. Can I come in for a minute?” He didn’t look happy, but he let her in. She didn’t have the patience to sit, so she paced back and forth in his small kitchen. “Do you know if he’ll be out long?”

Connor walked to the refrigerator, grabbed a beer, and kept his back turned. “Probably. He’s out with Mary.”

Ouch. She breathed through the panic that she was too late and definitely knew Connor was majorly pissed at her. Time for some truth. “I’m not sure how much Nate told you about us. You mean the world to him, and I was hoping we could talk. I’d like to explain what happened. Maybe get your advice?”

He tipped the beer back, swallowed, and faced her. A shiver wracked her body. Pure ice mixed with disdain gleamed in his eyes. She was in definite trouble. “No need to talk, I’ll give you my advice right away. You did a good job making him over. Also did a good job working him over. You almost broke him, you know that?”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I made a mistake. I need to make it right.”

“I called it from the beginning. Beautiful women think they rule the world. They take what they want with no thought to hurting someone, and then leave you in a broken pile at the door. Nate wanted to believe it could work. I warned him, but he took a chance and look what happened. Why are you back? To screw with his head some more?”

She began to shake. “I swear to God, I never wanted to hurt him. I got spooked. I’d never fallen in love before. I forced him to leave so I wouldn’t break his heart later, but I realized all this time, I was just afraid of him leaving me. I was a coward. I need to tell him the truth.”

“It’s too late.” He set his jaw as if making a decision. “He’s involved with Mary now. They’re sleeping together.”

The blood drained out of her as if a vampire had feasted and left only the shell. Too late. She was too late. She felt his brother’s gaze trained on her face, as if judging her reaction, but she didn’t care any longer. Her voice barely worked.

“Is he happy?”

“Yes. Don’t ruin it by coming back into his life. Just leave him alone.”

She managed to nod. He was right. Nate deserved his own brand of happiness, and if he had found it with someone else, it didn’t matter. Not the touch. Not her own broken heart.

He was sleeping with her.

Nausea lurched in her gut. She had had her chance, and she was too late. The least she could do was not swoop in and destroy something fragile, something that could be good for him and make him happy. Happier than she could.

She moved in a fog. Her hand paused on the doorknob. “Connor?”

“What?”

“I love him. He deserves . . . everything.”

Then she left.

NATE GOT TO THE restaurant and grabbed a table. Mary still wasn’t there, so he ordered his Darth Maultini. This time, the bartender didn’t question him, and he realized he was making Verily his home. Weird. He’d lived with his brother for all that time, closer to work and on the edge of Manhattan, but it never felt like home. Just a nice spot to rent.

Genevieve’s bungalow was warm and filled with a joyous vibe he’d gotten used to. The entire town had cast a spell on him. He loved taking a walk in the evenings and stopping for ice cream, or to people watch at the dog park. He’d purchased a gorgeous piece of art at the local gallery, and started to make casual acquaintances at the Purple Haze and Mugs. He even craved getting out of work on time, or at least, mostly. Wayne was getting a little pissy at his sudden longing for home, but he was playing with formulas and doing research outside the lab for the first time in his life.

Now if only he could fall in love with Mary.

A shadow fell over the table. “Hi, Nate.” Her smile was easy and warm, and he automatically stood up to kiss her, but she turned her head at the last minute so he only snagged her cheek. She slid into the booth and clasped her hands on the table that he’d already wiped down for excess crumbs. “How are you?”

“Good. You look pretty.” Her short blond bob was chic and sleek, framing a round face with bright green eyes. She was slim and fit, and favored more casual clothes such as jeans, T-shirts, and comfortable shoes. Much more his type. Much better than a fashionista who’d always outshine him in public events. This woman was more his match.

“Thanks.” Her gaze darted around the place, and he caught nervous vibes. Was she getting impatient taking it slow? Should he up his game tonight? They’d stuck to kissing and holding hands, never needing to go further, but maybe she was questioning his intentions? He remembered a Glamour article that said men needed to make a move by date four or the woman lost interest. What number was this? Six? Crap, he was way behind.