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“LIAM!” THE DARK-HAIRED girl shrieked in excitement, running down the street into the arms of her boyfriend.
Liam had to take a step back from the force of her embrace. “Whoa there!” He chuckled. “You’ll knock us both over.”
“I don’t care,” Ciara said, holding onto him.
They hadn’t seen each other in nearly a month. She hadn’t known about his visit. It had been a surprise.
Liam couldn’t help but smile, holding his girlfriend in his arms. He inhaled her fresh scent.
A surge of happiness washed over him. He had missed her so much when he had been in Peru. He always counted down the days until his next visit.
This time Ciara hadn’t known he was coming. He had kept it a secret to surprise her. Thanks to a little help from Henry, it had been possible.
Liam’s heart was doing flips. Merely seeing her face was so intoxicating, enough for happiness to overtake his entire being. He loved her.
And she needed to hear that.
“I love you.”
It was the first time he had told her that. He had thought about it numerous times, but he hadn’t been sure until then, not sure if it was infatuation or love. But finally he knew for sure.
Based on the bright smile crowning Ciara’s face, she liked what she heard. “I love you, too.” Her voice was breathy and soft. Her eyes, gazing into Liam’s eyes, were glowing with passion.
His smile widened.
No girl had ever made him feel warmth like that.
He had known Ciara for years and had hoped to have her in his life for the rest of it. But having her there as a friend was no longer enough. He wanted her there as his girlfriend. And eventually, when the time was right, as his wife.
For minutes, the couple stood there in silence, as if they were alone in their own little bubble. Then he could no longer keep himself from kissing her.
His lips hovered over hers, teasing, before he finally pressed them against hers. His hands slid up to the sides her neck, and he stroked her face with his thumbs. Her hands flew up to his collar, pulling him closer.
It wasn’t their first kiss, but Liam couldn’t remember any of the other kisses feeling like that one. He held onto Ciara as if she would vanish otherwise. As if it wasn’t real.
The joy filling his insides, without a doubt, was unreal.
Liam’s eyes opened, and he blinked lazily, adjusting to the darkness in the bedroom. He turned around in his bed, expecting to see a dark-haired woman beside him.
Instead he found a blonde woman sleeping beside him. His fiancée.
Iris. That’s Iris.
It had all been a dream.
Liam’s eyes widened, and his breath got caught in his throat.
No way.
Dreaming about Ciara wasn’t startling.
What stunned him was that he had forgotten that visit. The one he had dreamed about. He hadn’t remembered the moment he had relived in the dream.
Except it wasn’t just a dream. It was his memory. An actual memory he hadn’t been able to remember for years. As if it had never happened.
But it had. All the details were back in his mind. The scent of her hair, the softness of her touch—all of it was back.
Liam ran his hand through his hair. Were there more memories he had forgotten? He hoped not.
How had he ever forgotten it? One of his most precious memories.
He blinked rapidly, his hands shaking, until out of nowhere realisation hit him. He jumped out of the bed and hurried to the bathroom in desperate need of a cold shower.
It didn’t feel real. He couldn’t believe he had thrown the memory away so thoughtlessly.
His head was spinning. Thoughts were twirling around in his head. Even the cold water hitting his bare skin wasn’t enough to clear his head.
He had been in Peru, working on a case. There had been an old cursed vault he had been investigating, and he had promised his boss he would get it open. He had wanted to impress his boss.
It hadn’t been worth the cost. Nowhere near worth it.
There had been text on the side of the vault. A solution for breaking the curse. An enchantment that could only be triggered by a memory.
Of course Liam had read it.
It had required him to choose one of his memories in exchange of a future memory that would show him how to open the vault. It had sounded so simple back then.
He had thought of all the memories from his childhood and school years. Picking a memory had been too hard. He hadn’t wanted to part with any of them.
He had been careless and had let the enchantment take any memory from his past. And it had been the memory of the moment he had realised he was in love with Ciara.
If the memory was back—and it was—the vault had to be resealed. The old curse had to be in place again. The excavation had to be over, unless someone had shut the vault by accident.
Once Liam finished in the shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. Seeing it was only five in the morning surprised him.
He hadn’t realised it was so early. Nevertheless, going back to bed wasn’t an option. Instead he got dressed and made himself coffee.
Time passed slowly, even though he could have sworn he had drunk the coffee within three minutes. On any other day he would have sat down and enjoyed the moment for at least ten minutes.
He couldn’t get his mind off the dream—the memory. It still hadn’t sunk in, but it was real. It had to be.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Ciara.
He needed to get the memory out of his head. Her out of his head. A run sounded like a fantastic way to get himself back together.
Pulling his long hair into a ponytail, he headed out.
***
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?”
Liam looked up to see Iris while removing his trainers. “I went running.”
Iris raised her brows. “For how many hours?”
“Two,” Liam said, as if it were normal for him. Then he stood straight.
“Is everything okay?” Iris’s voice filled with concern. She could tell something was bothering Liam.
“It’s just...” He hated what he was about to say. “It’s the murder scene from last night. I wanted to clear my head,” he lied.
Guilt hit him instantly. He wasn’t the lying type, but this time he couldn’t tell the truth. His entire relationship with Iris had only ever begun because he had given away that memory.
“Was it that bad?” Iris asked, pushing a loose strand of his hair behind his ear.
“It was bad.” He sighed. “But I’ll be fine.”
He and Iris would be fine, he thought.
Iris nodded. “You know you can talk to me, eh?”
Liam smiled, appreciating how sweet his fiancée was. “I know.”
Iris smiled, too, when she saw Liam smile. “Good.”
He took off the hoodie he was wearing, placing it down on the sofa. Then he pulled off the ponytail.
“Should we do some wedding planning today?” Iris asked with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.
“I...” He sighed, hating he couldn’t be as excited as Iris.
“We don’t have to.” Iris reached to touch his forearm. She ran her fingers up and down. “We can just watch a movie and relax. Does that sound good?”
Exactly what he needed. “Perfect.”
“But first, you need a shower,” Iris said, pointing to the bathroom. “You stink.”
They would be fine. Or so Liam kept telling himself.