I was caught off guard. I thought for sure she was going to say The Little Mermaid. “You showed her Splash?”
She nodded. “We’ve made her watch so many 80s movies I’ve lost count. Some of them don’t hold up well to the questions of an eight-year-old.”
“I’m going to need an example,” I prodded.
“Dirty Dancing. She doesn’t understand how dancing could solve their problems.”
I’d never really considered it from that point of view. “Well, it’s not as if the dancing solved their problems. It’s more that dancing freed them to be who they were supposed to be.”
“And then what?” Zoe challenged. “What happened after their dance? It’s not as if they had anything in common, or even lived in the same place. Sami saw that movie when she was twelve and completely ripped it apart.”
“I ... don’t know.” Now I was frustrated. “My aunt showed me a lot of older movies like that when she would visit. Dirty Dancing. Pretty Woman. Sleepless in Seattle.”
“Yes, Sami has ruined all those movies for me,” Zoe agreed. “She’s a total thief of joy sometimes.”
That made me laugh. “You’re not fooling anybody. You obviously love her.”
“I do love her,” Zoe confirmed. “That doesn’t mean she’s not a snot. She gets it from her father.”
I had an idea that she got it from her mother, too. “We need to focus on the book. I think answers can be found there.”
“I think you’re right,” Zoe agreed. “How do we find answers on the book’s location?”
That was the problem, and I had absolutely no idea. “I don’t know. We need to think.”
“And eat,” Zoe said, snapping her fingers to get Collin’s attention. She grinned when he glared at her. “We’re hungry and unless you guys are going to start smacking each other with your tails, we’d like to order.”
“Oh, geez.” I slapped my hand to my forehead. “I can’t believe she just said that.”
“Yeah, get used to it,” Paris intoned. “She’ll say things that are a whole lot worse before the end of the day.”
Now that was something to look forward to.
Ten
“Whore!”
We were just finishing up lunch when Collin exploded in the kitchen. I had every intention of ignoring the outburst. Zoe, however, apparently thrived on chaos.
“What are you doing?” I asked when she started toward the swinging door that led to the staging area behind the eatery.
“I want to see who the whore is,” Zoe replied simply.
She was a mage, I reminded myself. She could take care of herself. Despite that, worry about what might happen if she made another tail joke had me on my feet and following. I needn’t have worried, though. Zoe wasn’t in the middle of a “to the death” fight with my favorite food supplier. Instead, she stood at a window and stared out, a hand on Collin’s back, as if commiserating with him.
“Do I even want to know what you guys are doing?” I asked as I shuffled closer, my eyes immediately going to the couple on the lawn in front of the window. It was Claire and a man I didn’t recognize ... and they looked chummy. “Who is that?”
“Her latest conquest,” Collin replied, gripping a dish towel so tightly his knuckles turned white. “She’s a philandering ... cheating ... diabolical ... whore!”
He was so vehement I was taken aback. “Um ... I thought you wanted out of the marriage.”
“Yes, Izzy told me about that,” Zoe soothed. “You were tricked into marriage, correct?”
“She’s evil.” Collin’s voice was barely a whisper.
“To me that seems to indicate you should be happy she’s moving on with Sven.”
“Sven?” I arched an eyebrow. “How do you know who that is?”
“Oh, I don’t know who he is. He just looks like a Sven. He’s blond.”
“Are you saying all blond men look like Svens?”
“I don’t actually pay attention to men with blond hair,” she admitted. “For some reason, I’m only attracted to dark men.”
“I hear that.”
She smirked. “Collin here, though, has been trapped in a marriage that makes him unhappy. If his wife is moving on, that means he can, too, right?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. In truth, I hadn’t given the situation all that much thought since I’d first found out about it. Collin and Claire were so antagonistic toward one another that it was best not to question either one of them about the state of their relationship.
“You should be happy that she’s moving on,” Zoe pressed. “Now you can, too.”
“I ... of course.” Collin forced himself to look away from the window and flashed Zoe a wan smile. “I am happy. This is a good thing.”
“You should pick someone to date,” Zoe instructed. “Not me, of course. I’m married. However, Paris might be a good choice.”
Paris, who had slid in behind us, made a horrified face. “What did you just say? I’m married, too.”
“Yes, but you have terrible taste in men,” Zoe reminded her. “Heath is your only good choice. I thought you might want to make another bad one for old time’s sake.”
“Oh, I hate you,” Paris muttered.
I knew she didn’t mean it. They were old friends and enjoyed annoying one another. Zoe seemed particularly good at it. They reminded me of Aisling and Jerry, who also needled one another until someone — usually Jerry — started screeching. They would also die for one another. It was simply the way they interacted.
“Speaking of hate, I have an idea that you’re going to hate,” Zoe continued. “It involves breaking and entering.”
I was both intrigued and fearful. “You don’t want to try and infiltrate the reaper council to find that book, do you?” That seemed like something she might enjoy.
“No, but I’m not ruling that out. I was thinking we would break into Adam Grimaldi’s house instead.”
I was taken aback. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why not? You said he’s out to lunch with Cormack and that other dude. Stanley or whatever.”
“Renley,” I automatically corrected.
“Yeah, I don’t believe that’s a real name. It’s like one of those celebrity
