Finally, Appa spoke quietly. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, it does. Jaya, you are brave to say all that you have said. I can’t say that I agree with it all, but I do respect you for saying it. There’s a lot to digest and think about, but the most important thing, I suppose, is that you must be feeling these things quite strongly to say them to us in this way.”

“You’ll always be our daughter, Jaya,” Amma said, her voice trembling at the edges. “We have much to discuss and perhaps some things to compromise on, but the most important thing is that we just want you to be happy.”

“I want that too,” Jaya said, smiling. She stepped in closer to Grey and leaned her head against his chest. “I want to be happy.”

Grey

She did it. She really, really did it. She wanted to proclaim to the world how she felt about him, and the fact that they were together. It felt like a dream.

Once she ended the call, she and Grey stood together in silence for a minute, gazing at each other, contemplating the future that lay before them like a glittering, unknowable treasure chest. Then Jaya wrapped her arms around Grey’s waist and looked up at him through the thick fringe of her eyelashes. “So, then. Do I have to beg for a kiss?”

“No begging necessary, Princess,” Grey murmured, bringing his lips down to hers until they were just a breath apart. Every nerve ending sang in joy. “Isn’t it funny? The beautiful princess did turn the beast into a man after all.”

“But here’s a secret,” Jaya whispered against his mouth, sending waves of desire down his spine. “The beast was the handsome prince all along. He just didn’t know it. Happy birthday, Grey.”

When their lips met, they kissed like they had never kissed before: hunger and longing and relief and love all rolled into one ecstatic moment. When they pulled apart, Jaya studied him, her eyes sparkling. “So this is it, then.”

“This is what?” Grey asked, stroking her cheek. He could hold her like this forever and never grow tired.

“Our fairy-tale ending.”

Smiling, Grey said, “Happily ever after.”

Acknowledgments

Escaping into the world of Of Curses and Kisses was such a decadent treat that most days spent working on this book didn’t even feel like work. When I wasn’t actively writing about Jaya and Grey, I was thinking about them, and when I was unconscious for a third of every day, they occupied my dreams.

A big thank-you to my editor, Jen Ung, my publisher, Simon Pulse, and my agent, Thao Le, without whose belief and optimism this universe wouldn’t exist.