“Do I remember Kyphas being there?”
I tried to shrug it off. “Yeah.”
“Then you did not have a true celebration.” Wow. He real y knew me. Which was probably why he decided to stop with the self-torture and focus on more important matters. “I have a present for you.”
“You do?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Is it here?”
“In fact, it is. Wel , it should be. I meant to check if everything had worked out as planned before I —”
“Oh, baby! Okay, okay, this is great!” I realized I was jumping up and down and clapping my hands. And that Vayl real y liked the extra bouncing that caused.
I stopped when he said, “I wil need to make a cal . But you should be able to open it”—he motioned to our general nastiness—“as soon as we have changed.”
I rewarded him with another round of bouncing and, since his clothes were ruined anyway, a bone- cracking hug.
No, not his, mine. But damn, did my back feel great afterward!
I said, “I have to go. Shower. Dress. Clean up. You too.
Fast, okay?” I kissed him, hard, on the lips. “Oh, did I say? I love you.”
There was a hint of gold in his emerald eyes when he said, “I do not suppose you would ever have to tel me again. But I am glad to hear the words.”
“Great. Okay. I’m outta here!” And I was off to the showers. Because, hey, it was my first birthday with a boyfriend whose idea of fun was to whisk me off to an exotic island for weeks at a time. Who knew what his idea of a great gift would be?
Al the way through my shower I tried to guess. Because surprises tend to gut me. And then I’m left standing, or sometimes lying there, looking like a candy-assed fool. So what could it be? He definitely liked the threads, so maybe a whole new wardrobe. Oh! What about another trip? That would be pretty boss. Like maybe sailing around the world.
Or backpacking through Alaska.
By the time I’d washed the last spot of blood from myself and my clothes, I’d made up my mind. Unfortunately, due to the surprise nature of the surprise, the decision had fal en into direness. Vayl was about to present me with another piece of jewelry. Probably something along the lines of a five-tier diamond necklace that I could wear, yeah, nowhere. Gack.
I practiced my thankful face in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. It didn’t work until I pasted on the Lucil e persona.
“No, real y, Vayl, you shouldn’t have.” Spit. “Are you kidding? It’s gorgeous!” Rinse, swish, and… spit again.
How much did safety-deposit boxes cost? And if I hung on to it until E.J. graduated from high school, would it bring enough at auction to put her through col ege?
I shoved my legs into a pair of olive-green khakis and told myself not to be disappointed. On top went a sleeveless white tee over which I threw a green cotton button-down and my white jacket. Black boots. Grief. Bolo.
And the forearm shield. I fil ed my pockets with extra clips, pasted a smile on my face, and went to knock on Vayl’s pasted a smile on my face, and went to knock on Vayl’s door.
“Come in, Jasmine.”
I’l admit my heart did a happy flip when he said my name. But when I entered the room to find him lounging in the chair by his empty fireplace, reading the note I’d written him while he was throwback Vayl, I nearly left again. His eyes stopped me. They were like liquid copper. The walk past his bed to the chair opposite his felt like a marathon because those eyes never left me. By the time I sat down I was breathless. So I waited for him to talk.
He laid his hand, with the note in it, across my legs.
“You must have been furious with me. And yet you wrote me this.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even think there’s a word for how fast Cole had to talk me down. But even in the middle of feeling like my head was going to explode I knew it wasn’t your fault. And later, when you saw my picture and you wanted me?” I looked down at the glass-topped table that sat between us. Wanted to grab one of the mints that sat in an elegant little bowl in its center, just to give my hands something to do besides clutch each other as if they’d never feel his fingers lace through mine again. I said,
“It helped a lot.”
Vayl folded the note and slipped it into the pocket of his black silk shirt. He rose so fast that I had to move my head to keep him in focus. His cane slammed against the tile as he walked to the balcony door and stared through the glass.
“What you must think of me.”
I watched him. Waited for him to turn around. He just glared into the night, his jaw tight with emotions he couldn’t unleash. Unless he wanted more people to die tonight.
