His smile faded into a grimace. “So you know. Was it the mailbox? I just realized that my name was on the mailbox. When you left the house yesterday.”

“No, it wasn’t the mailbox,” she replied. “Never mind what it was. What difference does it make? You lied to me. You led me on. You tried to seduce me so that you could convince me to convince my grandmother to sell her building.”

He held up his hand. “That’s not true. I tried to seduce you because you’re beautiful and sexy and irresistible. It had nothing to do with real estate, believe me.”

“You are a snake. A-a sleazeball. Slime.” She turned to walk away, but Alec reached out and caught her hand.

“When I came into the shop, I did have business on my mind. But then you were her-the woman I’d met on the sidewalk earlier-and business didn’t seem to matter.”

“So then you don’t want to buy my grandmother’s building?”

“I didn’t say that. But my interest in your grandmother’s building has nothing at all to do with my interest in you-at least not anymore.”

“I’m supposed to believe that? Your father has been waiting like a vulture to swoop down and snatch that place out from under her. He’s filed lawsuits and bribed city officials and worried my grandmother needlessly. She cares about the people in that building. They’re her friends and there is no way she’ll ever leave them to your mercy.”

“I’m not the bad guy here,” Alec said, holding tight to her hand. “We’re not going to turn them out on the street. We’ll find them new apartments, and we’re even prepared to offer them a generous settlement for agreeing to move. Believe me, they won’t be homeless.”

“Because they all have a home. In my grandmother’s building.”

“Your grandmother got that building when my grandfather wasn’t of sound mind. He was distraught over my grandmother’s illness and he would have done anything to make her well. Including letting himself be taken in by a charlatan.”

Sabina gasped at his accusation. Sure, she didn’t have much faith in her grandmother’s power, but that didn’t give him any right to insult the family honor. “As I recall, that was the basis of the lawsuit your father brought seven years ago. And the judge threw it out. Your grandfather gave my grandmother a run-down storefront with eight shabby apartments above it. It wasn’t any great gift. It’s only now, when the building is worth millions, you’ve decided you want it back.”

“We’ve wanted it back for years. This is nothing new.” He paused, drawing a deep breath. “Arguing about this isn’t going to get us anywhere, Sabina. Let’s find a place where we can talk and I’ll explain my offer.”

“Why? So you can take advantage of me again?”

“Hold on there. Now you’re rewriting history. I may have kissed you first, but you were a willing participant after that. You enjoyed it as much as I did.”

“I was confused,” Sabina said. “And misinformed.”

“Really?” Alec reached out and slipped his arm around her waist. He leaned closer, so close she couldn’t twist away. “You know who I am, so you’re no longer misinformed. And you know what I want, so there should be no confusion. Now, what are you going to do, Sabina?”

His eyes dropped to her mouth and Sabina felt a thrill of desire race through her body. The attraction between them was undeniable. Even now, in the midst of her anger and indignation, she still wanted him. The air seemed to vibrate around them and she could hear her pulse pounding in her head.

He reached out and ran his fingertip over her lower lip. Sabina shivered. She wanted him to kiss her, to prove to her that none of this made any difference. But she’d already misjudged him so completely. How could she trust that he wouldn’t fool her again?

“This doesn’t have to be the end of us,” he said. “Let me make my offer to your grandmother. If she refuses, then that will be fine with me. I won’t push. Except to convince you to have dinner with me again tonight.”

He leaned forward, but Sabina stiffened in response. “I won’t kiss you,” she said, twisting in his embrace.

“Yes, you will,” he murmured. “Maybe not now, but you will kiss me again.”

His arrogance pricked her temper. “I won’t kiss you. I’ll-I’ll curse you.” Sabina twisted out of his arms. “I, Sabina Amanar, granddaughter of Ruta Lupescu, curse you. May all your luck be bad. May-may all your dreams be nightmares. And-and may you fall in a hole and break your leg!”

At first he looked a bit shocked. But then a smile broke across his face and he laughed out loud. “That’s it?” Alec said. “That’s all you have?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t hear a lot of conviction in your voice.”

She sent him a murderous glare before walking away. For the first time in her life, she wished she actually possessed some special powers. Whether her curse took or not didn’t really make a difference. She’d made her feelings about Alec Harnett perfectly clear. He was to stay away from her and her grandmother.


“SHE CURSED ME.”

Simon Harnett leaned back in his chair and linked his hands behind his head. “The old woman?” he asked.

“No, her granddaughter. It seems that Sabina is even more powerful than Ruta.” Alec maneuvered over to one of the guest chairs, his crutches slipping on the hardwood floors.

“Did you break your leg after the curse or before?”

“It’s not broken, just badly sprained. And it happened after the curse. I was playing basketball with some friends day before yesterday and I stepped in a hole.”

“On the court?” Simon asked.

“No, on the sidewalk on the way to my car.” He lowered himself into the chair, groaning at the ache in his ankle. The pain was exacerbated by exhaustion, which was probably due to lack of sleep. He hadn’t had a decent night’s rest since she’d issued the curse a week ago. And he’d lost two deals in as many days.

Alec was ready to cry uncle. Sabina Amanar was obviously more powerful then he could have ever imagined. “I’ve been thinking we might want to make alternative plans. I mean, why sit on those properties when we don’t know if the old lady is going to sell?”

“Are you giving up already?” Simon asked, disdain dripping from his voice. “One little curse and you get scared off. I was cursed every year and I never let it bother me.” He shook his head. “When I put you in charge, I thought I could trust you to get the job done.”

“You said it. You’ve been after Ruta for years and she’s never wavered. Unless she gets into some financial trouble, she’s there to stay. And her granddaughter has plans to stay long after she’s gone. I think we better consider doing the condo project. We don’t need Ruta’s building for that.”

“Have you even made an offer?” Simon asked.

In truth, whenever he’d been around Sabina, the last thing he thought about was business. His mind became consumed with touching her and kissing her, testing the limits of their attraction to each other. “Well, not formally. But I’ve already been turned down.”

Simon stood up, bracing his hands on his desk. “Don’t come whining to me until you’ve tried for at least five years. Then we’ll talk.”

Sensing the meeting was over, Alec got to his feet and tucked the crutches under his arms. But there were still things that needed saying. “You gave me this job because you wanted me to make the big decisions. If I decide to do the condo project, then that will be my decision. And if you don’t like it, then you’re going to have to find someone else to run this company.”

Simon slowly sat down, a scowl on his face. His father was stubborn. But he’d also gotten used to the lifestyle of a semiretired real estate mogul. Weekends in the Hamptons, golf with his buddies and winters down south. “Are you going to make an offer?”

“I’m going over there now. But first I’m going to get her to remove this curse.”

Alec hobbled out of the office and grabbed his briefcase from the receptionist’s desk. “Did you call a cab?” he asked.

Karen nodded. “Security said he’s waiting out front.”

Alec turned for the elevator. But it was impossible to hang on to his briefcase and the crutches. Karen hurried out from behind the reception desk and took it from him, then rode the elevator down.

“So she cursed you,” Karen mused, staring up at the lights above the door. “My grandmother has this neighbor who goes to a psychic healer and she’d probably be able to break the curse. Would you like me to call her?”

Alec smiled politely. “I think I can take care of this myself.”

Getting into a cab was tricky, but after a few stumbles, he was comfortably seated. Only then did he realize he was sitting in a familiar backseat. Photographs lined the interior of the cab and Mario Capelli’s face stared back at him from the rearview mirror. “Ruta’s?” he asked.

Alec didn’t even want to consider the sheer luck it took for him to get inside Capelli’s cab for a second time. He could only take comfort in the fact that he was relatively safe considering Capelli and Ruta were friends. “Yeah, Ruta’s,” Alec replied.

“She’s not home. I took her to New Jersey this morning. She’s doing a brunch for a family reunion. She’s very popular as party entertainment.”

“I’m not interested in seeing Ruta. I have business with her granddaughter, Sabina.”

Mario’s grin grew wider. “Now, there’s a beautiful girl.”

“Beautiful, but dangerous,” Alec muttered. “Very, very dangerous.”

“Ah, but what woman isn’t? When they have the ability to steal your heart away, it’s a frightening thing. But once it happens, you realize that it’s better off in their keeping.”

“That’s a pretty sappy sentiment,” Alec said.

“I believe in romance. I believe that for every single guy, there’s a gal out there waiting to be needed. And for every gal, there’s a guy waiting to be saved. Look around you. I know what I’m talking about.”

Alec scanned the photos, the smiling faces of at least a hundred couples, young and old. “And you think Sabina and I are one of those couples?” He chuckled as he held up his hand in protest. “She cursed me. In the past week, my life has gone straight to hell and she’s the cause.”

“I never said it was going to be easy,” Mario replied.

As the cab headed downtown, Alec leaned back and closed his eyes. No, it wasn’t easy. The entire thing had been confusing and frustrating. But it had also been exhilarating and crazy. It had been seven days since he’d last seen Sabina, and he’d spent almost every waking hour thinking about her, wondering what she was doing and where she was going. He’d looked for her face on the street every morning on his way to work. He’d visited her favorite coffee shop, hoping that they might run into each other.

Hell, their relationship had begun and ended in a twenty-four-hour span, yet Alec felt as if he’d known her so much longer. In the past, women had come and gone without much fanfare or fuss. He’d preferred to keep his social life uncomplicated. But Sabina had been nothing but trouble.

Maybe that’s what he found so intriguing. With any other woman, he would have walked way. But there was something undeniable about his attraction to her. She was worth the trouble-or at least she had been until she’d cursed him.

Alec lost himself in a lazy replay of the time they’d spent together, rewinding their encounter in his kitchen over and over again. If he hadn’t decided to suddenly grow a conscience, they may have ended up in bed. Even now, the thought of losing himself in that beautiful body sent a wave of heat pulsing through his veins. Whatever relationship he had with Sabina Amanar might be over. But he preferred to believe that it was just beginning.

“Here we are,” Mario said.

Alec was surprised at how quickly the cab ride passed. Either Capelli was a terrific cabbie or Alec had been caught in a long daydream. He grabbed a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to the cabbie. “This may be over pretty quick. Wait ten minutes and if I don’t come out, you can leave.”

“Sure thing,” Mario said.

Alec grabbed his briefcase and crawled out of the cab, but without Karen’s help there was no way to carry it. Instead, he kicked it along in front of him, the rough sidewalk scratching the Italian leather.

The bell jangled as he stumbled inside, the briefcase making an entrance before he did. But he didn’t find Sabina behind the counter. Instead, he found the same salesgirl, her hair now streaked with blue. Alec drew a deep breath and balanced himself on the crutches. “Where is she?”

Chloe pointed up. “Second floor, apartment 2B. You can use the stairs. They’re right through that bead curtain.”

“Stairs,” Alec muttered as he moved to the back of the shop. It took him nearly five minutes to navigate the doors and stairs up to the second floor, throwing his briefcase from landing to landing, the air stuffy and warm. By the time he got to 2B, he was exhausted.