“Go ahead,” I said, setting my bag down on my desk. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted you to know I got in contact with a towing service in Los Angeles that did what you asked. Alix’s car is at her house now, they took the credit card no problem. Also, I started a background check on that guy you two mentioned. Besides what I already know, he’s one sick puppy. Seriously, Alix was lucky to get away from that asshole.”
“Thanks, Vince. Like I said, keep this off the books, it’s a personal family deal. But I’ll comp you for your time.”
Vince laughed and nodded. “Sure. Hey, if you get a chance, think Alix could introduce me to that girl I talked to on the phone? That Aussie accent, man . . . ”
I shook my head, laughing. “We’ll see. I just wanted to say thanks, and that tomorrow I should have that sound file for you. Alix is editing it down right now, she knows not to cut out anything but the end portion after I knock him the fuck out.”
“I’d have her chop off anything if you threaten him,” Vince commented. “I take it you nailed him pretty hard, you don’t want to be copping to threatening his life too. Even if he deserved it.”
“I don’t think I did, but if so, I’ll make sure that’s clean too. Thanks, Vince.”
“No problem.”
* * *
After a quick stop on the way home for a little gift for Alix, I parked in front of my condo at exactly five fifty-six in the evening. Holding the package in my hands, I walked up the single flight of stairs to the upper floor where my condo was. “Alix, I’m home!”
What greeted me at the door was arousing, touching, and humorous at the same time. To start with, my condo was spotless. I’m not a dirty man by any means, but there’s a difference between when a single bachelor cleans for living and when a woman cleans with intent. I could see my face in the marble tiles of my entryway, but I barely noticed.
Instead, my eyes were filled with the sight of Alix, wearing her other t-shirt and jeans, on her knees, her hands folded in her lap and her hair pulled back out of her face, looking up at me. “Welcome home, Kade.”
I knelt down and helped her to her feet, touched as she winced from her numb calves and feet. “How long have you been kneeling there, waiting for me?”
“A few minutes. When you said you’d be home by six, I wanted to be ready in case you were early.”
Remembering the package I had in my free hand, I handed it to her. “By the way, this is for you.”
“What is it?” Alix asked, a smile breaking out on her face. She opened the bag and tilted her head, lifting the pot out. “It’s beautiful, Kade.”
They were. Creamy white petals, soft as a baby’s breath, curved elegantly from stems to be rimmed in deep red. They were rare, they were amazing, and they were for Alix. “I learned about them when I first heard you being called an English rose. I thought it was funny at the time, since you’re as American as apple pie, but it gave me some ideas. As I read casually, I learned a bit about English history.”
“I wasn’t much into English history when I was in high school,” Alix murmured. “I did American as my requirement.”
“Starting in 1455, the House of York and the House of Lancaster fought over who would be the King of England,” I said. “In classic tales, the Yorkists were represented by a white rose, the Lancasterians a red rose. The wars went on and off for thirty years, until in 1485, Henry VII put an end to the wars. His symbol was a red rose with a white center. It’s actually still used as one of the royal symbols of England.”
I pulled Alix close, wrapping my arms around her waist, inhaling the soft scent of her hair. “It’s the Tudor Rose, Alix.”
Chapter 15
Alix
I watched, entranced as the figure skaters jumped and twirled across the ice. They weren’t that high a level, nobody there was ready for the Olympics any time soon, but it didn’t matter, they were still graceful while at the same time athletic. “It’s beautiful, but also so intense,” I said, watching the skaters’ faces which were etched with effort as they tried to maintain position. “I’d never noticed that before watching it on TV.”
I was in the Lloyd Center, one of the biggest malls in Portland, big enough that in the center of it there was an ice rink. I don’t know how expensive it was to run an ice rink in the middle of a shopping mall, but it certainly made for some interesting viewing.