“The leaves told me over and over again Nate was cheating,” Irene said. “I even asked him about it, but there was never any proof until the very end. It didn’t make sense for me to just ignore it, but I did because there was no evidence.”

“You think he took your memories?” Kaden asked.

“It never occurred to me before, but if you can do it…”

Kaden cringed.

Irene took a deep breath. Part of her wanted to get up and jump into the river and never look back at this man, but the other part of her wanted the truth.

There had been magic in his reading.

“Try it on me,” she said.

“What?” Kaden sputtered and covered his face with both of his hands. He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

“You want to know, don’t you?” Thanks to his aura, she already knew the answer.

He nodded slowly.

“So, make me forget something.”

Kaden searched her eyes. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Last night,” he said, eyes gleaming with fresh tears. “I helped you up from the chair and you held on to my hand longer than you needed to.”

A lump formed in Irene’s throat. She couldn’t stop thinking about his touch, but she hadn’t realized he’d internalized it, too.

Kaden took a deep breath and said, “Just forget it all.”

Irene closed her eyes. She blinked them open. He winced.

“Well?” he asked.

She shook her head. The moment was still clear in her mind. “It didn’t work.”

Kaden shook his head. Then he laughed quietly. “I was so sure it happened.”

Irene found herself at once relieved and disappointed. If Kaden had been able to do what he feared—if he’d been involved in her brother’s death—it would’ve explained the tea leaves and given her an excuse to put this all aside and force him from her thoughts.

And the more time she spent with him, the less she wanted to do that.

“Now that that’s settled…” She jumped up and offered him a hand. He accepted, and after he was on his feet, neither of them let go.

“We’ve got to stop holding hands,” Irene said.

He laughed. “Do we?”

At first, she didn’t respond, and Kaden faltered. “I can back off if you want,” he said.

But Irene still didn’t let go of him. “I’m not even sure what you’d back off of,” she said. “You’re just… really nice? Honest? A breath of fresh air in a town full of gloom?”

“You’re a gardener and a poet,” Kaden said.

She hit him on the shoulder. “I’m serious. What kind of man tells a woman he might have stolen her memories and not remembered it?”

“I’m glad I came into your shop,” he said. “I couldn’t face all of this alone.”