by Anna Lowe
“Captain who?” Cynthia murmured, pretending to disapprove of the tomfoolery. But the happy glint in her eye gave her away.
“Captain Spectacular,” Dell roared. “Now back up and give a master his space, Cynth.”
She sighed, muttering, “Cynthia.” Then she rejoined the others, taking the seat at the head of the table in her quietly regal way.
“Et voilà,” Dell announced soon after. “Lunch is served.”
The curry was delicious, the chicken masala a work of art, and Anjali had never tasted anything as good as that mango chutney.
“Oh my God, this is so good,” Jenna murmured, licking her fingers.
“It is,” Hailey said, accepting a second portion from Tim.
Quinn waved her arms from her basket and sucked on her lion’s tail.
“I have to say, you do give my mom’s cooking a run for the money,” Anjali admitted. “Just don’t tell her I said that.”
She couldn’t wait to introduce Dell and Quinn to her family. The good news was, her parents and one of her two brothers were planning a trip to Maui. Which was perfect, since Anjali was in no rush to return to Chicago anytime soon.
Cynthia dabbed at her lips with the napkin she insisted on calling a serviette and nodded at Dell. “Mr. O’Roarke, you’ve outdone yourself. In more ways than one.”
Dell raised a cocky eyebrow. “Is that a compliment, Cynth?”
“It might be if you don’t ruin it,” she sniffed.
Anjali pursed her lips, not quite sure whether to intervene. Surely Dell was pushing too far. Cynthia, along with Connor, was the pride’s alpha, after all.
Jenna hid a smile, reminding Anjali of what she’d said on the walk over. They love teasing each other. And you know what? I think Cynthia needs it.
Boy, does she need it, Hailey had agreed.
So Anjali sat back and watched Dell and Cynthia banter, moving her head like a spectator at a tennis match.
“All right, then. Compliment away.” Dell grinned.
“Maybe I changed my mind,” Cynthia shot back, looking prim.
“Come on. What was that about more ways than one?”
Cynthia drew her lips in the tightest possible line and finally nodded. “Your cooking, as usual, is superb.”
Anjali elbowed Dell before he ruined that with a comment, and miraculously, he held his tongue.
Cynthia gave Anjali a look of approval that said something like, I can’t understand why you put up with him, but I see you’re a good influence. God knows he needs it.
Dell leaned forward and fluttered his eyelashes at Cynthia. “And the other part?”
The dragon shifter spent a long time composing her words before speaking. “Quinn. You’re very good with her. Responsible, almost.”
Dell cracked into a huge smile and cupped a hand to one ear. “What was that again?”
Anjali rolled her eyes. “Responsible. Almost. But, Dell?” Her voice held a note of warning.
He looked at her expectantly.
“Like Cynthia said — don’t ruin it.”
Cynthia nodded in approval while Dell heaved a sigh. “What fun is that?”
Connor cracked up. “I think you found the right woman, buddy.”
Cynthia nodded firmly. “I think you did too.”
Dell slid his arm around Anjali’s shoulders. “I know I did.”
Anjali found herself grinning just as broadly. She’d certainly found herself the right man. One who reminded her what was important in life and helped her make the most of every day.
Connor studied Dell. “So, no nights out. No messing around. You really think you can take care of Quentin’s kid?”
“My kid,” Dell growled.
Connor was quiet for a moment, assessing Dell. But then he nodded gravely and tapped two fingers to his brow in a little salute. “I never thought I’d see the day, but I guess I was wrong. Hats off to you, man.”
Tim cracked into a big grin. “Does this mean we get to be uncles?” He turned to Joey and tousled his red hair. “I mean, to a little tiny baby, not to a big guy like this.”
Dell looked at Joey. “I don’t know. You think they’re responsible enough to be uncles, Captain Spectacular?”
Joey shrugged. “Mostly.”
“Mostly?” Connor protested.
Jenna grinned and patted her mate’s shoulder. “Mostly.”
Anjali snuggled Quinn closer. She loved this family already. The gruff warmth of the men, the genuineness and confidence of the women. The sweetness of Joey, and how everyone took pains to include him. Even Cynthia she could relate to, in a way.
Hailey raised a glass. “Well, then. A toast. To the day Connor never saw coming.”
Everyone laughed, and Tim chimed in. “To Dell, and to Anjali. May she keep an eye on him so we don’t have to.”
Everyone raised their glasses, and Cynthia finished the toast in a quieter, more serious tone. “To friends. To love. To destiny.”
Her voice was sad but steady, and her eyes drifted off into the distance. Anjali glanced at the other women. Did they have any hope of helping Cynthia find a new love someday?
“To destiny,” everyone murmured before sipping their drinks.
Silence settled over the group as everyone drifted into their own thoughts. Then Connor’s eyes slid to Cynthia’s, and they both nodded at the same time.
“So, that’s that, then. But there is one thing,” Connor said.
Anjali gripped Dell’s hand. That sounded a little ominous.
“What?” Dell demanded, catching Cynthia’s gaze.
Cynthia tilted her head toward Anjali’s necklace. “The pearl.”
Everyone went quiet, and even Quinn tightened her tiny hand around Anjali’s finger.
“The pearl,” Anjali murmured, cupping it in her hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dell took a deep breath as Anjali held out the pearl at the end of her necklace.
Destiny, a deep voice boomed in his mind.
In the past, he might have scoffed or shrugged that off, but not any more.
Destiny, he thought, touching Anjali’s hand.
She flashed a smile. “Told you it was real.”
He nodded. “No kidding. We definitely need to track down the ladies of the Maui Kids Foundation.” Then he turned to Connor. He’d explained what he could on the trip home after the shifter fight, but there were still so many gaps to fill.
He contemplated his friend for a second longer, letting his thoughts drift. Like to how much he owed his friends for forcing him to rise to the challenge of his life. Without them, he might still have Quinn, but he might not have become a better man — or a decent father, or a guy who deserved Anjali.
Connor nodded toward the pearl. “We’ve been looking into where it came from. None of the ladies who prepare the prizes remembers anything about a pearl. They didn’t seem to know they had anything valuable in there. ‘Just little knickknacks,’ is what they said.”
Dell snorted. “Knickknack? Tell that to the wolf Anjali fought off.” Then he winced, because that wasn’t her fondest memory. Still, he was proud as hell of his mate for standing up to Brody and his pack that day.
A true lioness protecting her cub, his inner beast hummed.
“Definitely not a knickknack. It’s one of the pearls of desire,” Cynthia said.
Anjali looked pensive. “Dell mentioned that, but I still can’t get my head around it.”
Hailey pulled out her own pink-tinted pearl. “Believe me, I felt the same way.”
“It all goes back to a Hawaiian legend,” Jenna explained. “Well, maybe more than a legend.” She looked at the dark pearl she pulled out. “It’s the story of Nanalani, the lonely daughter of the shark king, who yearned for a way to visit her lover without wreaking havoc on humans. Together with the spirit of the sea, she put a spell on the pearls.”
Dell looked off into the distance. He’d heard the story several times but, wow. He never thought it
would have anything to do with him.
Hailey picked up where Jenna left off. “It’s kind of a sad story. Nanalani had many lovers, but she never found her one true mate. Over the years, her lovers passed away, and one by one, she threw the pearls back into the sea, saying… What was that line?”
Cynthia filled in the rest. “‘Now I am alone again,’ Nanalani said to the god of the sea. ‘I give you my pearls, not to keep, but to safeguard for another worthy lover who needs their power someday.’”
Jenna nodded and pointed at Anjali. “That’s you.”
Anjali’s eyes went wide. “Me?”
Dell couldn’t help but kiss her cheek and whisper, “You.” He might not be worthy, but Anjali sure was, and he’d spend the rest of his life making sure she knew that.
“Did it heat up?” Jenna asked.
“And glow?” Hailey chimed in.
Anjali looked around, nodding in surprise. “I could feel this…energy. This power. A lot more than I would have had on my own.”
Tim smiled and kissed Hailey’s hand. “Believe me, that power was yours. The pearls only magnify what’s already there.”
Dell nodded immediately. “Like strength. Determination. Guts.” He could go on and on, but Anjali was blushing, so he left it at that.
Anjali glanced at Quinn. “Well, if that was me, it was only thanks to this little one.”
Cynthia shook her head. “Children can bring out the best — or worst, I suppose — in their parents, but as Tim said, only what’s already there. Deep in the heart, it’s there.”
Anjali’s throat bobbed, and Dell stroked her hand. He could relate to the shock of discovering a side of himself he never guessed he had. He kissed Anjali, then Quinn, and closed his eyes. It was another perfect Maui afternoon, and the shade of the porch was breezy and calm. Most everyone who meant anything to him was there, and everyone was safe and secure. Especially Anjali and Quinn. How had he lived without them for so long? He kept them in the circle of his arms, inhaling their intermingled scents.
My mate, his lion rumbled. My child.
He took a deep breath. Was it really possible for life to feel this good?
A stab of sorrow hit him, but he rerouted it to the part of his soul roped off for Quentin. His brother might not get to see Quinn grow up, but Dell would do him proud. He’d do Lourdes proud, too, and raise their daughter well.
When he opened his eyes again, Anjali was smiling softly.
Our daughter. Her thoughts floated through his mind.
He might have drifted off on another cloud of happiness if it hadn’t been for Jenna piping up. “Your pearl is such a beautiful chocolate color. I’ve never seen one like that.”
Anjali looked down at it, but it was Cynthia who spoke. “A rare Tahitian pearl, I believe.” She smiled. “Do you know what it symbolizes, Mr. O’Roarke?”
He tilted his head. “What, Cynth?”
She sighed, as she always did, and drew out her full name. “Cyn-thi-a. And brown pearls, Mr. O’Roarke, stand for being dependable. Reliable.” She heaved another exaggerated sigh. “Although, how you ended up being associated with any such thing is beyond me.”
He laughed. “It’s beyond me too. But you know what?” Cynthia waited for the punchline, only this time, he was dead serious. “It’s destiny.”
Anjali smiled, and the tension in her shoulders loosened up for the first time since the business part of the meeting commenced. Quinn grabbed for the pearl, and Anjali moved it gently out of reach, giving the baby her napkin to play with instead.
Never had he felt more like his brother — the responsible, reliable one. Then Dell corrected that thought. It wasn’t so much that he had become more like Quentin. He had just become a better version of himself. Maybe that’s why he felt so damn good.
“A pearl of desire…” Anjali murmured.
Dell felt a wisecrack building on the tip of his tongue — something like, Yep. Desire, baby. Let me take you home and show you. But he swallowed the joke away and nuzzled Anjali instead. “There are lots of meanings to desire.”
Dozens, in fact, and his heart filled to near-bursting with every one.
Jenna chuckled. “He’s right. And not just the hot and heavy kind.”
Dell nodded. “Like in Buddhism. There’s kama tanha — wanting something that feels good.” He paused, looking at Anjali, Well, yes. Being with her felt good. Really good. “Then there’s bhava tanha — wanting to become something.” He stopped again because, damn. That fit too. The desire he’d always had to rise above himself, though he’d never managed to do so until now. “And vibhava tanha — wanting to get rid of something.”
Anjali snorted. “I can relate to that.”
He wondered if she meant Brody or the shackles of the corporate world. But either way, each fit.
“Desire can mean a lot of things,” Jenna whispered, gazing into Connor’s eyes. “Like love.”
“Dedication,” Hailey added, resting her head on Tim’s shoulder.
“Sacrifice,” Cynthia whispered, looking at Joey.
Dell considered that one. Yes, love came with sacrifice, but the reward was better than anything he’d ever dreamed of. He smiled, looking at Quinn. Then he glanced around and considered Chase, whose eyes had drifted off in the direction of town.
“Yearning,” Dell added to the list, wondering if his friend was thinking of Sophie. He’d really have to do something about that soon. But then Connor spoke, and everyone went perfectly still.
“Greed. Another form of desire,” Connor said.
A second ticked by before Dell muttered what everyone had to be thinking. “Moira.”
God, he hated the bitterness in his voice. Of course, one touch from Anjali made his soul settle down, but still. Would that evil she-dragon ever leave them in peace?
Cynthia flushed, and the others all darkened.
“What?” Connor asked, catching Dell’s frown.
Jenna must have picked up on Dell’s glance in Joey’s direction, because she stood briskly and patted the boy’s shoulder. “Hey, Joey. How about we build a really cool castle in your sandbox?”
Joey jumped up. “Yay! A dragon castle.”
Anjali’s eyes went wide, following them as they went. Dell touched her hand. He had briefed her on everyone at Koakea — including the fact that Joey was a dragon, though he would only shift when he got to be a teen, and that Jenna was part mermaid, part dragon. But, yeah. It was a lot to digest at once.
“Okay, what?” Connor growled once Joey was out of earshot.
Dell pinched his lips, wondering whether to mention what Moira had revealed.
I know more about your little shifter commune than you know. Like the fact that my dear cousin is there, hiding out.
He looked at Cynthia, then at the others, weighing his words carefully. “Like I told you, Moira admitted to trying to buy Quentin off. She tried the same bullshit with me, and then she sent Brody and his thugs after Anjali and Quinn.”
Anjali frowned. “What does Brody have to do with Moira, and how was Lourdes involved?”
Dell looked to Connor, who’d been investigating over the past few days.
“From what we’ve been able to piece together, they had nothing to do with each other at first,” Connor said. “Then Quentin came along, met Lourdes, and chased Brody off.”
Dell looked down, quietly stroking Quinn’s cheek. Anjali’s fingers brushed his, keeping the anger he might have felt at bay. Still, nothing could stop the sorrow he would always feel. Not just at losing his brother, but at knowing that Quentin had never experienced the joy of meeting his destined mate. Lourdes had obviously meant a lot to him, but Quentin wouldn’t have left her if they were mates.
“But that meant Brody had to find a new gig,” Connor continued. “He came across Moira, who hired him for a few small jobs. But then Quentin died, and Brody went after Lourdes again. She fled to Chicago, where everything converged.”
“Even Moira?” Hailey aske
d.
Connor nodded. “Moira has been rebuilding her power in the shifter world and in the business world. She bought a huge share of the marketing company Anjali worked for. Apparently, it fits the business portfolio she’s been expanding.”
Tim muttered under his breath. “Business interests…”
Hailey frowned. “I can’t believe Moira bought out the company that ran those pictures of me.”
Anjali shook her head, as did Dell. It was amazing how destiny had brought them all together — not just him and Anjali, but their whole community.
“From what I figure,” Connor continued, “Moira and Brody were both out for revenge on Quentin. Brody for Quentin taking away his woman, and Moira for having been turned down by Quent.”
Anjali pulled Quinn a little closer, and Dell reached over, giving the baby her lion toy. He didn’t want to imagine what Brody or Moira might have done with his little girl.
Anjali tapped the tablecloth. “Coincidence?”
Cynthia shook her head. “Destiny.”
“Even with Moira turning up at my firm?” Anjali asked.
Cynthia shrugged. “It’s hard to tell what starts when. But once destiny gets a ball rolling, well…” She forced a thin smile. “What can I say? Destiny can be cruel to some, while it smiles on others.”
Dell’s mind drifted to how that applied to Cynthia, who’d lost her mate, then over to Quentin, and finally to himself. No matter how much he thought about fate, karma, or pure dumb luck, he couldn’t make sense of it. All he knew was what he had to do — namely, make the most of everything he’d gained. He would love Anjali like no man had ever loved a woman and be the best possible dad to Quinn.
“The question is, what exactly is Moira up to?” Tim asked.
Cynthia looked at Dell. “What else did Moira say?”
Dell took a deep breath. Was it right to tell her what Moira had said? It was clear there was a lot of bad blood between Moira and Cynthia. How deep did it go?
“She mentioned something about a cousin of hers…” he said. Cynthia hadn’t revealed to anyone she was that cousin, and he sure as hell wouldn’t be the one to blurt it out.
