His hands went along the waist of her jeans. “Do you know what I thought when I first saw you?”
“What?”
“That you are much too pretty to spend your time hidden away harvesting. You ought to be somewhere in a red evening gown making men grovel for your attention.”
“You thought that while we chased chickens?”
“I saw you before that, when I was talking to Milo.”
“Oh.” She wondered what she’d done at the time to conjure up images of evening gowns.
He took her right hand, brought it to his lips and kissed her fingertips, then her wrist. She’d never known that people kissed hands that way. It was enthralling.
“What did you think when you first saw me?” he asked.
“I thought I would have an easy time falling in love with you.”
He smiled. “Even if you knew that you probably shouldn’t?”
Those were the words she’d said to him when she’d been under the influence of the truth serum. “Back when I first saw you, I didn’t know that I shouldn’t.” She curled her fingers around his. “You think all Empowereds are bad. Give us a chance to prove there’s an exception.” She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth. “I want you to trust us. I want to trust you.”
“I know.” He shifted his weight, pushing her closer to the fridge. His hand still held hers. “And that makes what I have to do next even more difficult.”
His hand tightened around her wrist. She didn’t understand, at least not until she saw the handcuffs in his other hand.
“No!” She tried to yank her arm away from his grip but couldn’t, couldn’t twist away from him when his weight was pushing into her. She could only watch as he clasped the handcuff around her wrist and closed the other end on the fridge’s handle.
“Sorry,” he said and stepped away from her.
She gritted her teeth. “You promised!”
“I promised not to hurt you, and I won’t.” He picked up his shirt from the floor and put it on. “But I don’t think your parents will stay away for two weeks. As soon as it occurs to them that you’re naive enough to set me free, they’ll burn rubber back here.”
She felt her pocket for the key. It was gone. How had he gotten both the handcuffs and the key? The answer came to her immediately. He’d taken the handcuffs when she’d gone to the bathroom for the first aid kit. He’d only kissed her so he could retrieve the key from her pocket.
So unnecessary. “Why are you doing this? You could’ve just walked out the door. I can’t stop you.”
He buttoned up his shirt with quick motions. “You wouldn’t have let me take half the food, and I’m going to need it. Water bottles too. And other provisions. I’m guessing we’re several days’ hike from civilization. I don’t suppose you have a map anywhere?”
“You want to go somewhere? I can tell you where to go.”
“Harsh.” He opened the cupboards and took stock of the cans there.
She yanked at the cuff. “Leaving me cuffed to a fridge for two weeks is hurting me. You’re breaking your oath.”
“When I go, I’ll leave the key by the front door. You’ll be able to drag the fridge over there and get it.” He disappeared into the hallway.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. He would see reason. He had to. “I explained to you about the vision,” she called. “You can’t leave. Something bad will happen if you do.”
He came back wearing a jacket. He carried a pillowcase and had one of the family’s camping backpacks with an attached sleeping bag. “Will something bad happen to me or someone else?”
“Does that matter? Do you only look out for yourself?”
“Today I am.” He opened the drawer, pawed through the utensils, and took out the can opener. “If you only have one of these, I suggest you ration the food in the fridge.” He slipped the can opener into the backpack’s side pocket.
She yanked at the cuff again, not because she thought it would break but because anger made standing still impossible. “I’ve never doubted my father’s visions until now. But there is no way we were supposed to end up together.”
Enzo dropped cans of food into the backpack and pillowcase. “Look, I hate to break it to you, but I’ve dealt with more psychics than you have. Their visions don’t lead to good things. They lead to passwords for bank accounts, nuclear arms sites, and secret telephone numbers so that they can bribe and blackmail people. They don’t have visions to keep people safe on their honeymoons.”