Page 23 of Secrets Unveiled

I lift the tickets for her to grab, our fingers touching for a brief moment, but the shock that I feel the moment our skin touches, traveling from my fingers straight to my core, is unexplainable. Did she feel that too? Why, after all these years? Why has this invisible string between us suddenly appeared, pulling me closer and closer to her? She looks so different now. So grown up, so independent and capable, so painfully stunning, she could bring the King of England to his knees with just one look. I’ve been enamored with her since the first time I laid eyes on her but always kept my distance out of respect for Saxon. Now, I’m having the hardest time reining in my desire to claim her fully as my own.

“Be careful. If you need anything…” I don’t finish my sentence; I just look down at the beautiful woman before me and pull open the door to let her out. She doesn’t leave right away. She stares at me as if I’d just grown three extra heads.

“That’s it? Just be careful? No ‘Where’s the exhibit at?’ ‘What’s his social security number?’ or ‘When will you be back?’” Crossing her arms over her chest, she cocks her hip to the side, suspicion written all over her face.

“I don’t need to ask you those questions to get my answers. I have his name. Now go and have fun.” I give her a mischievous wink. All I need is his name, and I can find out who his third-grade teacher was, what his favorite color is, or what he ate for breakfast on January 21, 2003. I know my way around a computer, and she knows just as well as I do that I will know exactly who Dante Macari is before the end of the night.

Rolling her eyes at me, she steps up to me as I lean down, allowing her to give me a kiss on the check before exiting the office.

“Don’t wait up for me.” She throws me a wave over her shoulder before grabbing Ophelia’s hand and practically dragging her away from Owen to her Audi. I chuckle to myself, watching as the girls get themselves situated in the car and zoom out of the parking lot. I hadn’t noticed Owen and Brooks approaching my sides.

“What’s the plan, big man?” Owen breaks my trance, and I turn to head back into the office and retrieve my laptop from my bag. I don’t like using the office computer for these things; I need access to programs only the software on my laptop can give me.

“We’re going to figure out just who this Dante Macari really is.” Both Brooks and Owen give me devilish grins before Owen closes the office door behind him, flipping the lock on the top. Let’s get to work.

SAGE

Leaving the garage, a sick sensation in my gut twists its way to my chest.

I don’t need to ask you those questions to get my answers. I have his name. Now go and have fun.

I’ve known Saint for a long, long time, and this statement alone should mean nothing to the average person, but for Saint, this was a cryptic message. Driving down the road, I squeeze the steering wheel so hard my knuckles start turning white. The feeling of unease tenses my shoulders. I wouldn’t put it past Saint to show up at the exhibit just to “check on me” as Saxon would say.

Saxon is out of town for the next three days doing God knows what. After learning about his and Saint’s secret activities over the past couple of years, I’m nervous about what he is doing out of town. Plus, he took Finn with him, and everyone knows Finn is the silent friend, but he’s the one you call when you need some sketchy shit done. Frankly, he scares me a bit, and I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Frieda to grow up in the same house with him. With Saxon being gone, Saint is my unofficial, official babysitter, and it’s left me on edge, especially because of what happened three days ago.

“What was up with Saint? I know he’s always been protective of you, but he seemed different just then, don’t you think?” Ophelia asks me as she adds another layer of her lipstick in the mirror. I haven’t told a soul about Saint and me. She’s my best friend, yes, but I can’t take the chance of Saxon finding out through the grapevine.

“Ugh, Sax is out of town, and of course, he assigns Saint to babysit me. You know he takes his bromance with my brother seriously.” She chuckles at my response, nodding a few times in agreement.

“You could say that again. He’s almost worse than Sax at times, with how protective he is. Seems odd, doesn’t it?” She doesn’t let me respond before she continues on. “God, I can’t imagine having Sax as my older brother, then having Saint as well. I would lose my damn mind.” I let out a soft chuckle. If she only knew the truth.

I love my brother—hell, I love Saint too—and I can’t express enough how grateful I am to have both of them care for me in the way they do. Always keeping me safe and watching out for me is everything my father would want, and for that, I thank them. On the other hand, I can’t help feeling like I’m smothered or weighed down by their constant hovering. They’re like two helicopter moms, not willing to let the wheel go enough for me to experience my own life. Being protective of someone you love is normal. Being protective to the point you hinder their ability to live their life to the fullest? Now, that’s not normal.

I’m pulled from my thoughts when Ophelia cranks up her newest favorite band through the Bluetooth speakers. “Chokehold” by Sleep Token blares, and I can’t help the smile she puts on my face as she sings along, gripping and waving her arms as if she’s front row at their concert. Looking at my friend, I envy her carefree personality. She’s always smiling and rarely does she ever show any emotion other than pure happiness. I want to bottle up her energy and carry it with me to use on my worst of days.

“Damn, his voice is like a squeeze to my heart! He sings with so much emotion it gives me chills! Am I right?!” she screams over the song to me, and I give her an agreeing smile. She’s right. The lead singer has the most unique voice I’ve heard in a while, and I can’t help but love their music as much as Ophelia.

We sing along as we continue to our destination, and we arrive more quickly than I expected. I guess having a mini concert on the way helped pass the time. I pull into an open parking spot across the street from where the art studio sits. We both do a quick makeup check before exiting the car and crossing the road to the entrance of the art exhibit. There’s a small line at the door, but after a quick five minutes, we show our tickets to the gentleman and make our way inside.

Immediately, we are greeted by a server who offers us flutes of sparkling white wine that we take without hesitation. The room is full of attendees of all ages. The massive showroom is clean, with white walls displaying numerous pieces of art. The room is dimly lit, but each piece of art has a small light hanging above it, illuminating the piece beautifully. Soft piano music plays off in the distance, setting the mood, and I can’t help but feel so at peace in this moment. Art, like books, is beautiful in the way that it shares emotions we are sometimes too scared to share with our voices. Authors, painters, and photographers experience their pain or happiness through their work, leaving it up to the viewer to interpret the true meaning behind each piece.

“Oh my gosh, this place is—” Ophelia’s cut off by a familiar deep voice that flows like silk from behind us. We turn to see Dante in an all-black suit with a black button up beneath his jacket, but it’s his eyes I can’t help but stare at. I hadn’t noticed in the club the other night, maybe because it was so dark, but his eyes are a deep shade of emerald. They are stunning. My father always said the eyes are the windows to the soul, and at this moment, I can’t help but feel a sense of unease, but I quickly push down the unwanted feelings.

“A bit ostentatious.” He finishes whatever Ophelia was about to say, but I don’t think ostentatious was the word she was looking for.

“No, not at all! I was going to say alluring,” Ophelia says quickly before she takes a sip of her wine.

“Sage, I’m so happy you made it. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again.” Dante leans in, giving me the smallest kiss on my cheek that makes my cheeks flush. He smells of dark spice and a hint of whiskey—it’s delicious.

“Thank you so much for inviting me. This place is truly stunning. This is my friend, Ophelia. Ophelia, this is Dante Macari.” I turn to Ophelia, who’s staring at Dante like she’s just seen her celebrity crush. Dante reaches for her hand, giving her knuckles a soft kiss before saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ophelia. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” The shade of red that spreads across her face is definitely not a shade that is in the sixty-four-count box of Crayola crayons. I try to hide my amusement at her sudden stunned state and nudge her arm to get her to come back to Earth.

“Oh, yes. It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you.” Ophelia practically stumbles over her words, making Dante grin as his eyes find mine once again.

“I have to make my rounds, of course, but please, enjoy yourselves. There’s wine, champagne, and food on the back tables. Please, help yourselves. I will come find you in a bit.” Dante brushes his hand down my arm, and he leans closer to me.

“You look absolutely breathtaking, Sage.” His warm breath fans over my earlobe, giving me goosebumps as his cologne, once again, fills my senses. His proximity is all-consuming. He has a presence that envelops you, making you feel as though there’s nobody else around. Like a cloud that’s swooped in and encased me in a shell. It’s unnerving but also comforting in a way. I briefly close my eyes, but the moment my eyelids touch, the image of another face fills my mind. Saint.

As quickly as he appears, he’s gone. When I open my eyes, Dante has already disappeared, leaving me, and an equally stunned Ophelia, left to wipe the drool off our chins.

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