Aidan stepped back, gasping. “I should probably go.”
Jeff smiled. “Don’t you want to come in for a little while?”
“No… I mean, yeah, I do.” He laughed. “If I do come in, it won’t be for just a little while.”
Jeff closed the gap between them. “I’d be okay with that.”
Aidan gulped and fought the urge to push Jeff inside his condo and follow him to his bedroom. “Man, I want this to be right. I want to do the right thing.”
“Who says we’re not?”
“You ain’t making this easy on me.”
“I was hoping to make it hard.”
Aidan started to reply, caught the playful glint in Jeff’s eye, then laughed. “Um, yeah, no problem there.” He kissed Jeff once more. “I don’t want to rush you.”
“You’re not.”
“It’s only been a few weeks. I don’t want you waking up hating my guts.”
“I’d never do that.”
Aidan squeezed his eyes shut while his brain and body each vied for control over the situation. “Hey, I let you pick out clothes for me. That’s a huge step right there. I’ve never let anyone do that for me. In some cultures that would make us married already.”
Jeff laughed. “Okay. I can settle for that. For now.” He kissed Aidan one last time. “Drive safely.”
Aidan waited until Jeff closed the door to return to his car. In his brain he chanted dumbass, dumbass over and over again.
Big freaking chicken, that’s what he was.
At least Jeff seemed patient. That was a good thing.
* * * *
Bera grinned when Aidan left Jeff’s. Nope, the big doof hadn’t taken him yet. Perfect. That made life much easier. Now she had to figure out when to grab the guy. She couldn’t let Aidan spot her following them around, either.
She thought she’d managed to allay the worst of Ryan’s suspicions with that cock and bull story she fed him and Will about the guys who killed Abby and what happened to the lone survivor when he returned to Tavares. They seemed to believe her.
The amulet Boorman had given her helped with that. If she’d had only her amulet from The Firm, no doubt Ryan would have seen right through her.
This should not have taken this long. She wouldn’t screw up her next opportunity.
Chapter 6
Kal tried to not let her mom catch her sneaking peaks at her BlackBerry while they were at the cake tasting party.
This is sooo boring.
A quick trip to Vegas was looking better all the time. Yes, all her life she’d dreamed of Mr. Right on his white steed and a storybook wedding. What she’d gotten was a reluctant archdemon who had to pop her cherry to get rid of the wraith inside her, becoming his soul mate in the process.
Not that she was complaining, because an eternal life with Will Hellenboek was pretty dang sweet, to say the least. The problem was, with reality shaving the pretty edge off the dreams, the wedding didn’t matter to her anymore. What mattered was surviving the sugar coma her mother and best friend, Becky, were determined to put her into sampling wedding cakes.
“What do you think about that one?” her mom asked.
Kal tried not to roll her eyes. “It’s chocolate.”
“No, Kalypso Kid, it’s not chocolate. It’s ‘Viennese Mocha Truffle.’” Becky grinned.
Kal’s will gave out. Her eyes rolled. “It’s chocolate. It’s good chocolate, but it’s still chocolate.”
I so never should have told Mom that Ryan volunteered to pay for everything.
Even though her mother hadn’t met Ryan, she was already gushing over him as if he was an adopted son.
Without a budget to stick to, her mother went nuts. It was a small secret between Kal and Ryan: a wedding gift, he’d explained when he presented her with a corporate credit card to use for all the wedding expenses.
Both realized it would be more comfortable to not tell Will that part.
Her mother didn’t care, it meant she could throw the wedding she’d always envisioned. Another set of samples was placed before them. Kal never realized cake tasting parties were so popular, and she wished she’d eaten a decent, protein-packed lunch beforehand.
Her mom pointed to a red velvet sample. “What about this one?”
“The term, ‘bleeding armadillo cake’ comes to mind. And that would be a firm no.” Kal tasted it anyway because it was her favorite flavor of all the ones offered so far.
Somehow, the thought of a red cake at an archdemon’s wedding was just a little too much for Kal to bear. It would be hard enough getting through the ceremony without breaking into a giggle fit as it was. If Aidan so much as cracked a smile at her, she’d lose it.
Thank God her mother had accepted Will without hassle.
Her BlackBerry buzzed again, a text message from Jeff. Her mom and Becky were debating the lemon chiffon versus the key lime fondant while Kal quickly punched in an answer to his question. A moment later, a reply.
You need rescuing? :)
It was tempting. Sooo tempting. An excuse to duck out and let them pick, but she did want to at least have a say in this part. The food and the cake were things she’d have to eat. The dress she had to wear, and the tuxes and bridesmaid dresses she had to see in pictures. Everything else she could care less about.
I’ll let u knw. Tks.
This situation was reality bent into an irretrievably whacked pretzel of ginormous proportions. She had no idea where they were honeymooning. When she’d told Will he could plan that, Aidan had immediately jumped in and volunteered to make the arrangements. It was now officially a secret the men and her mother were keeping from her. It would have worried Kal except she knew Aidan well enough to know he would pick something sweet and nice. Just because he had horrible fashion sense didn’t mean he was a total doof.
Plus Will got the final say-so.
“Kalyani Martin, put that away!” her mother scolded.
Crud. Busted. “Mom, I am working, you know. The office has to be able to get in touch with me.” She played the guilt card. “I mean, my boss is the one paying for this. I feel like at the very least I should try to work when I can.”
Kal felt only a little guilty about that.
It had the desired effect. “Well, at least keep it out of sight. That’s rude.”
“We’re not having dinner. We’re tasting wedding cake samples.”
Becky burped and put a hand to her mouth. “Sorry. ’Scuse me. We still doing lunch later, Kaliente?” Becky had a never-ending list of nicknames for Kal.
Kal pushed away the remains of an “Ivory Elegance Vanilla” sample. “Yeah. If I’m not being pumped full of insulin at the ER.”
“I can’t make it, girls,” Laura told them. “I need to shop for groceries, and I want to get home to your father. He had another headache this morning.”
“When is his appointment?”
“Day after tomorrow. I’m sure he’s right that it’s migraines, but I’ll feel so much better to have a doctor tell me that.”
Kal suddenly lost what little appetite she had left for cake. “You know what? I’m done. I’m going into sugar shock. I want to leave room for a real lunch.” She examined the remnants and pointed. “That one, what was that?”
Becky consulted the list. “Vanilla Cake With Looey Lemon Crème Filling.”
“Done. Looey Lemon Crème it is.” Kal held up her hand, waving one of the “Let Them Eat Cake” staff over. They were just one of twenty tables full of prospective brides and their posses deciding what to serve on their big days.
“No, young lady, we’re not done,” her mother scolded. “That was just the flavor. Now you have to pick the style.”
Kal groaned.
* * * *
An hour later they bid goodbye to Laura in the parking lot. Becky followed Kal to a nearby restaurant. On the way, Kal called Ryan on her cell.
“Did you survive, love?”
“Barely. Looey Lemon Crème won. I gave
up with about twenty samples to go. I couldn’t take it anymore.” Ryan truly had seemed to put their little squabble behind them. She’d been worried when she called to him that morning to go to Columbus, but he’d greeted her with a smile and hug.
“Sounds wonderful, I’m sure. What’s next?”
“Lunch with Becky. If you’re not busy, why don’t you join us?”
For a second, she thought the call dropped. Then he said, “I’d love to. I’ll return the car for you. Just tell your friend I had someone drop me off so I could run you to the airport.”
“You’re good.” She told him where to meet them before ending the call. He’s a sweetie.
And after the friggin’ wedding, she would get him and Will and Aidan back together again for good.
* * * *
Ryan hung up and looked at the phone. He shouldn’t. It was wrong. Yet he couldn’t refuse a chance to spend time with Kal without Will around. He wouldn’t have to shield his thoughts and part of his mind could pretend.
You’re losing your emotional distance with her.
He knew it, too. As head of The Firm, his job was to stay emotionally detached and see to the better good regardless of his own desires.
He couldn’t with her. Not with this woman. Especially not after failing to save Abby’s life when she’d called out to him for help.
He waited, sending out his thoughts to locate Kal. Once she and her friend were seated at a table, Ryan appeared behind the restaurant and walked around to the front door, easily locating them inside.
Kal brightened and stood to give him a quick hug. “Ryan Ausar, this is my friend, Becky Williams.”
“Please to meet you, dear.”
Becky smiled and blushed. Kal sympathized. Even before she knew Ryan was the head archdemon, he’d had that supernatural effect on her.
“Hi, Mr. Ausar—”
“Please, call me Ryan.” He sat next to Becky, where he could easily look at Kal without appearing obvious. They had a good lunch, spent over an hour chatting. He reluctantly signaled for the check when they finished, refusing to let the women pay. If he didn’t get Kal back to Tampa soon, Will might come looking for her.
At least this way his illusion could remain intact for a little longer.
“Thank you for lunch, Ryan,” Becky said outside the restaurant. She hugged Kal and whispered in her ear, “He’s a cutie. Good thing I’m engaged.”
Kal blushed a little, the same thought having crossed her own mind more than once. “Have a safe drive home, Beck.”
When Kal handed Ryan the keys, he opened the passenger door and held it for her, then walked around and slid the seat back before climbing behind the wheel. Inside the car he looked at her. “Ready to go home?”
“You know, I think I’d like to ride with you to the office first.”
He hoped he hid his surprise. “Why is that, love?”
She settled back in her seat. “Well, for one, I’m stuffed. I need time to digest all that dang cake and lunch. Two, I’d like some time alone to talk with you.”
He started the car and they pulled out of the parking lot, headed toward downtown Columbus. “Why’s that?”
“The only thing saving you guys from me bugging you to be friends again is that I’m so busy I can’t tell my head from my heinie. Why can’t you all kiss and make up? I know why you walked away from Will and Aidan when Abby came along, but that’s water under the bridge.” Will and Aidan didn’t know Abby had been Ryan’s soul mate reincarnated. For some reason, Ryan didn’t want them knowing. Kal could understand it when Abby was alive, but now that she had been dead over twenty-six years… It didn’t make sense to Kal.
Ryan’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Love, we discussed this. It’s ancient history, and I mean that literally. No reason to dredge it up.”
“I will get the three of you back together.”
“Your life’s mission?”
“You’d better believe it.” She sat quietly for a while. “What did you do to my dad that night when he showed up at the shoot in Ohio?”
This topic was only a little less uncomfortable for Ryan, but not by much. “All I did was allow him to quit being afraid of the truth. As you yourself said, he feared his years dedicated to dogma would be proven wrongly spent. He’s always loved you. However, his training and beliefs blinded him in many ways.”
“He’s been having a lot of headaches lately. Did you see anything else?”
“I’m not a doctor. I have a lot of abilities, yes, but no medical training.” Ryan prayed Kal wouldn’t sense his obfuscation of the truth. Fortunately for him, she changed the subject.
“I have to come up in a couple of days with Will and Aidan for the tux fittings.”
“Just the two of them?”
“Maybe Jeff. I don’t want a huge wedding party, but Mom’s insisting on at least one bridesmaid besides Becky. If I give in, I’ll ask Jeff.”
“To be your bridesmaid?”
She saw his playful smile before she swatted his shoulder. “Duh. Jerk. I like Jeff, he’s a sweetie. He’d be a good groomsman. I need to decide who to give the other bridesmaid gig to.”
“Why not Purson or Gery? As a groomsman? Duh.”
She grinned. “Because they’ve already hinted they’d rather not be stuck in a monkey suit, as Purs called it.”
“Pity. Purs looks damned good in a tux.”
“Lucky you, you’re performing the ceremony or you’d be in a tux.” She grinned again, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re bound and determined, aren’t you, sweetheart?”
“You’d better believe it.” She was quiet for several minutes. “Thank you,” she said. “I know I’ve said it before, but I mean it.”
“For what?”
“This. Everything.” She looked at him. “For putting up with me. For bringing me and Will together.”
Back to uncomfortable territory. “I’m sorry it wasn’t the best of circumstances. And I’m sorry for the duress you suffered.” He meant that with every ounce of his being.
Ryan felt her eyes on him and kept his firmly fixed on the highway. When she spoke, her tone sounded soft. “If Will had flat-out refused to do it, to remove the wraith from me, you wouldn’t have killed me, would you.” It wasn’t a question.
How much could he lie to her without her calling him on it? “He never would have let you die, Kal. You know that.”
“That’s not answering me. You wouldn’t have let me die. Don’t think I don’t see through your act.”
His mind whirled for an acceptable answer. “There was never any question in my mind that he would take you as his soul mate.”
They pulled up to a red light. He felt her hand on his arm. He tried not to fall into her dusty peridot green eyes, but she always had this power over him.
“You don’t have a soul mate, Ry. You lied that Will was the only one strong enough. I might not know much about you guys and how The Firm is set up, but I’m not a total idiot. You’re head of The Firm, that means you’re powerful. You also don’t have a soul mate.”
“Are you happy with Will?”
“Of course I am!”
“Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
She must have sensed that was all she’d get from him. She sat back, quiet for the rest of the ride, the better part of an hour. When they pulled into the garage at the network headquarters, Ryan turned to her and smiled. “Ready?”
“The office, I guess. It’s still early. I might be able to get some work done.”
“Right. Have everything?”
Kal grabbed her purse. “Okay.” She closed her eyes. Ryan fought the urge to lean over and kiss her.
“Until next time, sweetheart.” Ryan sent her back and closed his eyes. He wished he could bottle her scent forever.
* * * *
Aidan wasn’t in their office. Kal walked down the hall and found Jeff hunched over his computer. “How’s it coming?”
When Jeff straightened in his chair she heard his back pop. “It’s coming. How many pounds did you gain?”
“Ugh. Too many, probably.” She rubbed his shoulders for him while he closed his eyes and happily groaned. “Thanks for offering to rescue me.”
“No problem. Did you eat lunch?”
“Yeah, caught a bite with Becky.” She realized after she said it that she didn’t include Ryan’s presence in the retelling. She didn’t correct herself. “Where’s everyone?”
“Will and Aid are out on a normal job. Purs and Gery are scouting for a show.” He tipped his neck from side to side as she worked the kinks out of his shoulders. “That feels good.”
“We’re going to nickname you Quasimodo, you keep staying bent over that keyboard.” She gave him a final pat and sat next to him. He had the magazine laid out on his monitor. “Are you happy working here?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s good to relax and not stress out over stuff.”
She smiled, knowing full well what kind of “stuff” he meant. Stuff like their fathers harassing them. “And you’ve got Aidan.”
He blushed a little, but returned her smile. “Yeah. There is that. Thank you for asking them to hire me, Kal. I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, Doofalicious is totally gaga over you, don’t worry. Between him and me and Will, you’ve got job security.” She leaned back in her chair. “I mean, I’ve only known him a couple of months longer than you, but I think he’s a lot happier with you here.”
Jeff looked like he wanted ask a question. After a long moment, he spit it out. “Can you tell me about the soul mate stuff?”
Kal fought the urge to ask and lost. “You guys are—”
He shook his head. “No, not yet. We’re not even… you know. We just talk and spend a lot of time together right now. I really like him. A lot.” He turned to her. “You know him better than I do. I don’t want to look like a total jerk and just throw myself at him.”
Kal grinned. “Well, I’m pretty confident he really likes you, too. A lot. There’s not a bunch I can tell you. I don’t know a lot about the process. I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone.” She didn’t want to tell him everything that happened in her case. Even though it was the wraith in control of her, she still felt ashamed of how she’d acted while it possessed her. Only Will and the other archdemons knew the full story.
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