The Key Trilogy

by Nora Roberts

  “So you should thank me. Your friend over there will know I could turn considerably more than the appraised value in this current market.”

  “That handshake binding?” Brad wondered.

  “It is.”

  “Without a full inspection of the property, I’d say you’d have gotten ten percent over appraisal. Minimum.”

  “More like fifteen.” Though he’d been carefully silent during the transaction, Flynn spoke up now. “When you publish the local paper, you know these things. There’s a hotelier who’s tried to buy it up, turn it into a resort. He got close a couple of times,” Flynn continued conversationally. “But something always screwed the deal. Bad luck for him.”

  Rowena met his quiet look, and smiled. “Indeed. Would you care to go through some of the house now, Jordan?”

  Before he could open his mouth, Flynn tapped his watch. “We’re running a little short on time.”

  “Ah, well. Soon, then.” She took Jordan’s hand as well, squeezed it once. “You must see more of it, and the views, of course, from the terraces and balcony and parapet.”

  “I’ll look forward to it. I’ll bring Dana and we’ll . . .”

  He trailed off, staring at her, the way she stood. Slim and quiet and somehow apart from the rest of them.

  And he saw the woman standing on the parapet under a gleaming moon with her dark cloak billowing in the wind.

  “It was you. All those years ago, I saw you.”

  “I saw you.” She touched a hand, very gently, to his cheek. “A young, handsome boy, so troubled, so full of thoughts. I wondered when you’d remember me.”

  “Why did I see you? Why didn’t they?”

  “They didn’t need to.”

  HE wasn’t sure what it all meant, and Rowena had left him wondering. What he needed, Jordan decided, as he let himself into Dana’s apartment, was a little time to get his thoughts into some sort of order.

  Maybe he should write them down, as he had with the sequence of events. He would sit down at Dana’s computer and just let it flow.

  But when he walked into the bedroom, he heard the shower running. He hadn’t noticed her car parked out front, which meant, he concluded, that his mind was somewhere else. He poked into the bathroom to let her know he was there.

  Her scream could have shattered brick when he tugged back the shower curtain.

  With one hand over her heart, the other shoving at her dripping hair, she gasped for air. “Why don’t you just make that squeaky violin music and finish the job?”

  “Hey, it’s not like I’m wearing a dress and carrying a knife. I just wanted to tell you I was here, so I wouldn’t scare you when you came out.”

  “Yeah, better to scare me when I’m wet and naked and helpless.”

  He pursed his lips. She’d always looked good wet and naked. “Helpless?”

  “Okay, maybe not helpless.” She reached out, grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “Get in here, big guy.”

  “Tempting, very tempting, but I need to talk to you about some stuff, and we need to get to Flynn’s.”

  “Talk later, hot, steamy sex now.”

  “It’s really hard to argue with that.” He toed off his shoes.

  She waited until he stepped in behind her, then handed him the soap and an over-the shoulder invitation. “Wash my back?”

  “I can start there.”

  “Mmm. I’m going to get all . . . slippery and . . . slick and . . . That’s not my back.”

  He slid his soapy hands over her butt. “It’s behind you, so it counts.” Bending his head, he skimmed his teeth over her shoulder. “You’ve got the most incredible body. Have I mentioned that before?”

  “Maybe once or twice, but I don’t mind redundancy under certain circumstances.” She dipped her head back as his hands sleeked up her torso, slithered over her breasts. “Such as that.”

  “Then I’ll risk repeating myself.” He turned her around. “I love you.” He laid his lips on hers. “I’m so in love with you.”

  With a sound of pleasure and joy, she hooked her arms around his neck, poured herself into him.

  Water sluiced over them, and the steam billowed up. Flesh slid over flesh, and soapy hands glided to tease and arouse. Lips rubbed and nibbled, then began to hunger.

  Her heart was so full she wondered it didn’t burst like light and rock the room. “It’s different.” She kissed his mouth, his throat, his mouth. “It’s different now, knowing you love me.” She fisted her hands in his hair to draw him back an inch. “It’s different now, when I can tell you I love you.”

  “Then it’s always going to be different, because I’m never going to stop.”

  Their mouths met again.

  It was different. Every touch, every taste, every need was gilded with a sense of belonging. Water showered over them as he anchored her, as he slipped inside her. The beauty of it brought her a thousand sweet aches.

  Hers now, he was hers now. And she was his.

  She held tight, and matched him beat for beat.

  Emotions swamped him, sensations drowned him, and all he could see was her. The dark eyes, the sleek hair, the strong mouth, and water streaming down her face like tears. She held him, body and heart. And, he realized, she always had.

  He felt her tremble, heard her breath shudder and catch, then her eyes went beautiful and opaque as she came.

  As she tightened around him, he pressed his mouth to hers again, and gave himself to her.

  After, a long time after, they simply stood holding each other.

  “This is good, Jordan. This is really good.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Even though the water’s getting cold. I feel all lazy and sleepy. I wish we could slide into bed instead of getting dressed and going over to Flynn’s.”

  “If you’re too tired to go—”

  “That’s not it. I just want to lie around in bed with you.”

  He drew her back. “I can’t argue with that either.

  “But we’re going to get dressed and go over to Flynn’s because lying around in bed would be wrong.” She kissed him lightly. “Jesus, the water is getting cold.”

  He reached behind her and switched it off. “We can go over, then leave early and come back and lie around in bed.”

  “Good plan.” She stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel. “So, what’s this mysterious mission you went on today?” She wrapped her hair in the towel, grabbed a second one.

  He held out a hand, thinking it was for him, but she started drying her legs with it. He shook his head, got yet another towel for himself.

  “We’ll talk about it later.”

  “What’s wrong with now?”

  “Because we’re in the bathroom, naked. It’s just not the right place for it.”

  “That’s silly. We’ve had naked conversations before. In fact, we’ve had some very interesting naked conversations. Where did you go, and why did you need Brad and Flynn along? Because I know they went with you. I have ways of getting that sort of information.”

  She grabbed a bottle of body cream and poured some into her hand.

  “I’ll tell you later. You’ll appreciate the fact that we get into this in a more appropriate setting.”

  “See, now you’re making me crazy.” She slathered on cream. “Which forces me to grill you. You were gone for hours. Where did you go? What did you do?”

  “We went to a titty bar and drank cheap booze while women with fascinating man-made breasts slid around on long, shiny poles.”

  “You think that’ll irritate me and I’ll leave you alone, but you’re wrong.” She took the towel off her head and finger-combed her hair. “Personally, I don’t have a problem with guys going to strip clubs and making jackasses of themselves. So you might as well tell me the truth.”

  “Fine. Here and now, then.” He picked up his pants, dug the jeweler’s box out of the pocket. He held it out to her, flipped up the lid with his thumb.

  “Oh, my Jesus Chr
ist,” she said and sat down heavily on the lid of the toilet.

  “Yeah, that’s romance. You like it or what?”

  She had to swallow. “Depends.”

  “On what?” He scowled, turned the box around to study the ring. It looked great, he decided, but there was never any certainty with women. “I figured you’d like this better than the standard diamond. But if you’d rather go that route, I can exchange it.”

  She shivered, but she didn’t feel cold. Not in the least. “Then that would be an engagement ring you’ve got there.”

  “What the hell do you think it is? Would you stand up? This is just a little too bizarre.”

  “Sorry.” She got to her feet. “I wasn’t sure what it meant.”

  “It means marry me, Dana.” He had to push his dripping hair back. “It means I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. I want to make children with you, and grow old with you.”

  She’d thought her heart was full, but it hadn’t been. There was still room, so much room for him. “Oh, well, that clears things up nicely. It’s a beautiful ring. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. You were only wrong about one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I don’t mind the time and place, Jordan.” She looked up at him now with a brilliant smile. “I don’t mind it at all. In fact, if you would put that on my finger, I’d like it to be the only thing I’m wearing for the next few minutes.” Holding out her hand, she took one quick, catchy breath. “I’d really love to wear that ring. I’d love to marry you, and all the rest of it, too.”

  He took it out, set the box aside, then lifted her left hand. “This is one more beginning for us.”

  “I’m looking forward to the rest of them.”

  He slipped the ring on her finger. There was a little buzz of heat, then a lovely spread of warmth where the gold circled her finger. “It’s beautiful. It even fits.”

  “Yeah? None of us knew your ring size, so that’s a bonus.” He turned her hand, watched the stone sparkle. “It looks good on you.”

  She rose to her toes, took his mouth with hers. “You’re so full of surprises.”

  “You’ve got that right. I might as well tell you the next one. I bought—or I’m buying—Warrior’s Peak.”

  She blinked twice, very slowly. “Sorry. I thought you said you were buying the Peak.”

  “That’s right. I want us to live there. I want us to make a family there.”

  “You . . .” Though her knees wobbled, she didn’t give in and sit down again. “You’re not going back to New York?”

  “Of course I’m not going back to New York.” Bafflement moved over his face. “How the hell am I supposed to be married to you and live in New York while you run a business in the Valley? Dana.”

  “I thought . . . It’s where you live.”

  He cupped her chin, unsure if he was impatient or amused. “You think I’d ask you to move to New York, throw away your store before it even gets started? I was never planning to go back there to live anyway, but if I had been, this would’ve changed it.”

  “You weren’t going back?”

  “No. There was a time when I had to leave. This was the time when I had to come back. I need to be here. I need to be with you.”

  “I would’ve gone with you,” she managed. “I want points for that.”

  “We’re not going anywhere. If the Peak doesn’t suit you, we’ll—”

  “You’re just trying to get points back.” Overcome, she laughed and threw her arms around him. “You know it suits me. God, this is fantastic. It’s amazing. But please tell me that’s the last surprise. My head’s going to spin right off my shoulders.”

  “That’s pretty much it for now.”

  “Let’s get dressed, get over to Flynn’s.” She pressed her hands palm to palm and stared at her ring. “I can’t wait to tell everyone.”

  “Flynn and Brad already know.”

  “Men.” She flicked them away with a wave as she walked into the bedroom. “They don’t know anything. Boy, oh, boy, wait until Malory and Zoe get a load of this ring! I’ve got to find a really cool outfit to set it off.”

  “I like the one you’re wearing now.”

  She shot a look over her shoulder before she dived into her closet. “See? Men don’t know anything.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  WHEN Moe dragged Flynn into the house, they heard the single, high-pitched scream. Moe bared his teeth, Flynn bared his, and they raced toward the kitchen prepared to taste blood.

  Malory stood in the center of the room, her hands crossed over her heart, laughing like an idiot.

  “Where is he? What did he do? Son of a bitch.”

  “Who?” Malory braced herself for Moe’s leap of love but wasn’t prepared to have Flynn lift her off her feet. “What?”

  “You were screaming.”

  “Oh. Okay, Moe, down you go. Flynn, put me down. I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine.” Other than the fact that she was flushed with embarrassment and trying not to giggle. “I thought I was alone.”

  Reaction set in and made Flynn short of breath. He dropped Malory back on her feet with a little thump as his arms started to tremble. “You stand in the kitchen and scream when you think you’re alone?”

  “Well, not usually. But look! Just look.” She did a fast-time step, followed by a neat little pirouette.

  Clueless, Flynn tried again. “You’ve realized you want to fulfill a childhood dream and become a dancing star of stage and screen?”

  “No!” With a laugh, she whirled Flynn into a circle that had Moe leaping again. “Look. We have a floor. A wonderful, beautiful hardwood floor.”

  She executed what Flynn thought might be some sort of clog dance. “Sounds like wood, all right.”

  “No more ugly linoleum for us. And look at this!” She whirled away from him and embraced the glossy new side-by-side refrigerator with the passion of a woman greeting a lover returning from the war. “Isn’t it wonderful? And see how it matches this?”

  While Flynn watched, she spun to the range.

  “It’s so beautiful.” She crooned it now. “So shiny and clean. And everything works. I tried all the buttons and dials, and it works! I actually can’t wait to cook something. I walked in, saw all this, and I just had to scream. They put in the floor, Flynn, and brought in the appliances. See the new microwave?”

  “Very sexy.”

  “It is.” Whirling into a dance again, she tried out a rhumba. “And we have pretty new cabinets with pretty glass fronts. I’m going to put pretty dishes in them, and sparkly glasses. It’s a kitchen. An actual kitchen.”

  He was getting it now, and the charge of watching her revel. She’d switched from the rhumba to . . . he wasn’t sure what. But she looked really cute. “What was it before?”

  “There is no name for what it was before. I’m so happy. I’m so grateful. You’re the most wonderful man in the world.” She caught his face in her hands and kissed him. “And I’m a terrible person.”

  “Why? Not the ‘I’m wonderful’ part, because, hey. But why are you a terrible person?”

  “Because I wouldn’t move in with you before you did this. I made the kitchen a kind of exchange. Remodel the kitchen and I’ll live with you. It was selfish. It worked,” she added, raining kisses over his face. “But it was selfish. You’re doing this for me. I know I said I wouldn’t move in until it was finished, and I even made snarky comments about the lamps up in the bedroom.”

  “Something about not being fit to light a cave inhabited by bats and blind spiders.”

  “Yes, that was one of them. Anyway, forgive me?”

  “Okay.”

  “I know it’s not quite finished. There’s still the counters and the backsplash and, oh, a few more things, but I don’t want to wait anymore. I’ll move in tomorrow, and we can start, officially, living together.”

  “I don’t want to live together.”

  Her face went blank.

/>   “What?”

  “Sorry, Mal.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “I don’t want to live together.”

  “But . . . but you asked me to move in with you weeks ago. You’ve asked me half a dozen times.”

  “Yeah, well.” He shrugged. “I changed my mind.”

  “You—you changed your mind?”

  “That’s right.” Casually, he opened the new refrigerator. “Wow. Look at all this room. And it is shiny.”

  She couldn’t do anything but stare at him. Her stomach had dropped to her feet, and those feet no longer felt like dancing. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand how you could just change your mind about something like this, from one minute to the next.”

  “Me either. Actually, I don’t think I really changed it, I think I just realized it wasn’t what I wanted.”

  “You just realized you don’t want me.” There was too much shock, too much anger for the pain to fight through. So she rode on the shock and the anger and stepped forward to give him a hard shove. “Well, that’s just fine.”

  “I didn’t say I didn’t want you. I said I didn’t want to live together.”

  “You can take your new kitchen and stuff it. If you can’t handle a committed, adult relationship then you can’t handle me.”

  “There you go, we’re right on the same page. Committed, adult relationship.” He pulled the box from his pocket, opened it. “This adult enough for you?”

  Her mouth dropped open, and he thought she’d never looked more beautiful as she stared down, dumbstruck, at the diamond ring.

  “Let’s be really grown-up, Malory. Let’s get married.”

  “You want to marry me?”

  “I do. Look, I already know my lines.” He grinned at her. “You look a little pale. I’m going to take that as a good sign. The jeweler said this was a classic, and Brad gave it a thumbs-up.” Flynn removed the ring from the box. “Brilliant-cut solitaire, blah-blah, whatever. You go for the classic look, right?”

  A latch kept trying to slam shut in her throat, but she forced it open. “Yes, I do.”

  “There, you know your lines, too.” He took her limp hand, slipped the ring on before she could say another word. “It fits. I didn’t think it would, you’ve got such delicate fingers, but it looks like we won’t have to have it sized after all.”