She nods back and we continue eating, and Dare is late again.
This time, Eleanor looks up. “Don’t bother sitting down,” she snaps. “I’ve warned you before. If you’re late, don’t bother coming.”
Without a word, he turns and walks out.
“Excuse me,” I murmur, and I follow.
I hear Eleanor calling me, but I don’t turn around.
Dare’s strides are long, but I run to catch him.
“Wait,” I say breathlessly, and I pull at his arm.
He’s patient as he stares down at me.
“Let’s go eat in town,” I suggest. “Together.”
He smiles at this and glances at the dining room.
“You know she’ll be upset if we do.”
“I don’t care,” I answer honestly.
We ride to town in Dare’s car.
“Will you be all right tomorrow night?” he asks. “You won’t know anyone.”
“I’ll know you,” I tell him. “You’ll be there, won’t you?”
“If you want me to be.”
“I do.”
“Consider it done, then,” he says quietly, and he motions for a waiter. “She’ll have dessert,” he tells the skinny man.
I’ve done a terrible thing, he said.
“What did you do?” I ask bluntly, as I take a bite of cake. “What is your secret?’
Dare startles, then almost laughs.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he answers. “Because you’re here and the past is gone.”
I almost believe that it’s that easy.
We finish our dinner, and drive back to Whitley and when we’re in the car, Dare hums.
I close my eyes and listen, and soak in the sound. I think it’s the song he played on the piano, and when we get home, I ask him to play.
So he does.
The salon is quiet and dark, and his notes drift on the air like snow.
I sit next to him, content to soak in the sound, his scent, his air.
If he’s the air, I’ll happily breathe it.
I almost float away on his song, and when he’s done, the silence is loud.
He walks me to my room.
“Some things are best left alone,” he reminds me at my door.
“But what it…”
He shakes his head, interrupting me.
“Trust me.”
I wish I could.
But he did a terrible thing.
And I have to know.
Chapter 22
When I stare into the mirror, a woman looks back. A woman draped in red silk, a woman with thick lashes and full lips.
“You look beautiful,” Finn tells me as he straightens the clasp of my necklace.
“Thank you, but anyone would look good in this dress.”
He can’t argue because he’s not real.
“What do you think will happen tonight? A dance? A sacrifice? Will you have to drink goat’s blood or bathe with a thousand virgins?”
I roll my eyes.
“Doubtful. But if you were here, you’d have to do the Macarena.”
He grabs his chest and falls onto the bed. “I would refuse.”
“Then it’s a good thing you aren’t here.”
“You’ve got this,” he announces. “Even without me.”
I’m not so sure.
But I have no choice other than to just go.
I find the great room and discover that it’s been transformed into a ballroom.
It’s draped with white tulle and sparkling lights, with candles and pungent flowers.
I find Eleanor, dressed in a conservative black dress and pearls, chatting with a small group of men in suits. Her lip is as stiff as her back, and I decide she must never relax. I scan the room for the most important face, and it doesn’t take long to find him.
Dare is in the back, sitting at a table in the shadows.
He’s here just like he promised.
He’s watching me, his dark gaze impenetrable. In his black tux, he’s impossibly handsome and I find I can’t look away.
He’s got a glass tumbler in his hand and he sips at the amber liquid, and it looks to be something strong, like scotch.