Key of Valor
Page 57
He lifted his head and grinned at her. “And then some.”
“You’re so handsome. I keep thinking you look like one of those slick-looking guys in my hairstyle magazines.”
He grimaced. “Please.”
“Really. You could use a trim, though.” She spread her fingers in his hair. “I could take care of that for you.”
“Ah . . . Maybe sometime. Or other.”
She gave the hair she held a friendly tug. “I’m very good, you know, at what I do for a living.”
“I’m sure you are. Absolutely.” To distract her, he pressed a kiss to her collarbone, then rolled aside. “I really did come by to talk to you.”
“You can talk while I give you a trim. Hairdressers are like bartenders. We’re trained to talk and work at the same time.”
“I bet. But this probably isn’t the best time. We should get dressed.”
“Coward.” She sat up, wrapped her arms around her updrawn knees.
“I’ll accept that for the moment.” He rose to find his pants. “Zoe, last night—well, more accurately early this morning—I had an experience.”
The playful mood vanished as she scrambled to her knees. “Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?”
“No.” He picked up her top, held it out. “You’re going to need to stay calm while I tell you.”
He dressed while he related the story.
Her initial fear had abated. He was unhurt, she could see that for herself. And he was steady, God knew. Maybe just a little too steady.
“You think he was using Jordan and Flynn against you—or wanted you to think they were against you.”
“That sums it up.”
“He doesn’t understand people, or love, or friendship. He doesn’t understand you, that’s for certain, if he thought that would make you feel isolated or frighten you off. It just made you more involved.”
The faintest smile ghosted around his mouth. “You seem to understand me.”
She studied his face. “I don’t know that I do, but I do understand how you are with Jordan and Flynn. Why did he pick that night? Because you were young, because it was near the Peak? Everything means something now. We’re so close everything means something.”
He nodded, pleased that their thoughts were running along the same lines. “I think it was both. While we were young, and more easily molded. Before we knew you or Mal, before Jordan looked at Dana as someone other than Flynn’s sister. That was the night Jordan saw Rowena walking on the parapet at the Peak.”
He paused, smoothed the cuffs of his shirt. “I was sixteen that night, Zoe. The same age you were when you left home.”
“Oh.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if she’d just felt a chill. “You think that means something?”
“I don’t think we can afford to discount anything as coincidence. It was an important night for me, and for Flynn and Jordan. Didn’t seem like it at the time, really. Just one of those reckless summer nights. But we were on that brink where you step away from childhood, toward manhood. You were the same age when you took your step.”
“It was different for me.”
“Yeah. But maybe if Kane could have twisted what happened that night, at least in my mind, he could have twisted how I think about it now. And what I did after. How I feel about Flynn and Jordan has a lot to do with why I’m back here, and how I met you.”
“So if he’d driven a wedge between you, even had them hurt you—well, not them but what you believed was them, it might have weakened what we all have. Or even destroyed it.”
“I think that was part of the plan.”
Uneasy, she pressed her lips together. “He failed, so he’ll be angry.”
“Yeah, he’ll be angry. I don’t think any of us should spend much time on our own for the next few days. I want you and Simon to stay at my place.”
“I can’t—”
“Zoe, take a minute.” Already prepared for objections and excuses, he stepped closer and laid his hands on her shoulders. “Whatever has to be done to finish this is going to involve both of us. We should stick together as much as we can. And beyond that, I want you with me. Both of you.”
“That’s the tricky part. How am I supposed to explain to him that we’re staying with you?”
“He knows enough about what’s going on to accept it. And do you really think he’s going to object to the idea of easy access to my game room?”
“No. No, I don’t.” She eased out from under his hands, got to her feet. “Bradley, I just don’t want him . . . I know what this sort of thing is like for a child. After my father left us, there always seemed to be a man moving in for a little while.”
His face went stony. “This isn’t like that. It’s more important than that on every possible level. Zoe, you and Simon aren’t temporary in my life.”
Her breath clogged. “You need to slow down.”
As impatience pumped through him, his voice toughened. “Maybe you need to speed up. You don’t want me to tell you what you mean to me, what I feel for you?”
“How can either of us think clearly about that?” Desperate for breathing room, she moved over to twitch at the curtains. “You don’t know what I’m going to mean or what you’re going to feel after this is done. We’re caught up in something now, and it—it magnifies everything.”
“I was caught up in you the first instant.”
“Don’t do this.” Her breath hitched now as it squeezed around her heart. “You don’t know how this could hurt me.”
“Maybe I don’t. Tell me.”
“I can’t do this now.” Though she damned herself for a coward, she turned back toward him and shook her head. “Neither can you. We both have to go.”
He caught her chin in his hand, laid his lips on hers. “We’re going to talk about this, and a great deal more. But let’s deal with living arrangements for now. If you don’t want to stay at my place, I’ll stay here. But I’d like you to think about doing it my way. I’ll come by after work, and we’ll sort it out.”
Chapter Fourteen
BY twelve-thirty, Zoe was installing the track lighting in Dana’s bookstore. They’d made the decision to concentrate on one area of the building that afternoon until the final details in that section were complete. In a fast contest of rock, paper, scissors, Dana had won the round.
“You’re so handsome. I keep thinking you look like one of those slick-looking guys in my hairstyle magazines.”
He grimaced. “Please.”
“Really. You could use a trim, though.” She spread her fingers in his hair. “I could take care of that for you.”
“Ah . . . Maybe sometime. Or other.”
She gave the hair she held a friendly tug. “I’m very good, you know, at what I do for a living.”
“I’m sure you are. Absolutely.” To distract her, he pressed a kiss to her collarbone, then rolled aside. “I really did come by to talk to you.”
“You can talk while I give you a trim. Hairdressers are like bartenders. We’re trained to talk and work at the same time.”
“I bet. But this probably isn’t the best time. We should get dressed.”
“Coward.” She sat up, wrapped her arms around her updrawn knees.
“I’ll accept that for the moment.” He rose to find his pants. “Zoe, last night—well, more accurately early this morning—I had an experience.”
The playful mood vanished as she scrambled to her knees. “Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?”
“No.” He picked up her top, held it out. “You’re going to need to stay calm while I tell you.”
He dressed while he related the story.
Her initial fear had abated. He was unhurt, she could see that for herself. And he was steady, God knew. Maybe just a little too steady.
“You think he was using Jordan and Flynn against you—or wanted you to think they were against you.”
“That sums it up.”
“He doesn’t understand people, or love, or friendship. He doesn’t understand you, that’s for certain, if he thought that would make you feel isolated or frighten you off. It just made you more involved.”
The faintest smile ghosted around his mouth. “You seem to understand me.”
She studied his face. “I don’t know that I do, but I do understand how you are with Jordan and Flynn. Why did he pick that night? Because you were young, because it was near the Peak? Everything means something now. We’re so close everything means something.”
He nodded, pleased that their thoughts were running along the same lines. “I think it was both. While we were young, and more easily molded. Before we knew you or Mal, before Jordan looked at Dana as someone other than Flynn’s sister. That was the night Jordan saw Rowena walking on the parapet at the Peak.”
He paused, smoothed the cuffs of his shirt. “I was sixteen that night, Zoe. The same age you were when you left home.”
“Oh.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if she’d just felt a chill. “You think that means something?”
“I don’t think we can afford to discount anything as coincidence. It was an important night for me, and for Flynn and Jordan. Didn’t seem like it at the time, really. Just one of those reckless summer nights. But we were on that brink where you step away from childhood, toward manhood. You were the same age when you took your step.”
“It was different for me.”
“Yeah. But maybe if Kane could have twisted what happened that night, at least in my mind, he could have twisted how I think about it now. And what I did after. How I feel about Flynn and Jordan has a lot to do with why I’m back here, and how I met you.”
“So if he’d driven a wedge between you, even had them hurt you—well, not them but what you believed was them, it might have weakened what we all have. Or even destroyed it.”
“I think that was part of the plan.”
Uneasy, she pressed her lips together. “He failed, so he’ll be angry.”
“Yeah, he’ll be angry. I don’t think any of us should spend much time on our own for the next few days. I want you and Simon to stay at my place.”
“I can’t—”
“Zoe, take a minute.” Already prepared for objections and excuses, he stepped closer and laid his hands on her shoulders. “Whatever has to be done to finish this is going to involve both of us. We should stick together as much as we can. And beyond that, I want you with me. Both of you.”
“That’s the tricky part. How am I supposed to explain to him that we’re staying with you?”
“He knows enough about what’s going on to accept it. And do you really think he’s going to object to the idea of easy access to my game room?”
“No. No, I don’t.” She eased out from under his hands, got to her feet. “Bradley, I just don’t want him . . . I know what this sort of thing is like for a child. After my father left us, there always seemed to be a man moving in for a little while.”
His face went stony. “This isn’t like that. It’s more important than that on every possible level. Zoe, you and Simon aren’t temporary in my life.”
Her breath clogged. “You need to slow down.”
As impatience pumped through him, his voice toughened. “Maybe you need to speed up. You don’t want me to tell you what you mean to me, what I feel for you?”
“How can either of us think clearly about that?” Desperate for breathing room, she moved over to twitch at the curtains. “You don’t know what I’m going to mean or what you’re going to feel after this is done. We’re caught up in something now, and it—it magnifies everything.”
“I was caught up in you the first instant.”
“Don’t do this.” Her breath hitched now as it squeezed around her heart. “You don’t know how this could hurt me.”
“Maybe I don’t. Tell me.”
“I can’t do this now.” Though she damned herself for a coward, she turned back toward him and shook her head. “Neither can you. We both have to go.”
He caught her chin in his hand, laid his lips on hers. “We’re going to talk about this, and a great deal more. But let’s deal with living arrangements for now. If you don’t want to stay at my place, I’ll stay here. But I’d like you to think about doing it my way. I’ll come by after work, and we’ll sort it out.”
Chapter Fourteen
BY twelve-thirty, Zoe was installing the track lighting in Dana’s bookstore. They’d made the decision to concentrate on one area of the building that afternoon until the final details in that section were complete. In a fast contest of rock, paper, scissors, Dana had won the round.
