Page 74 of Shadow Dance

“Can you blame him?” Jaime asks. He’s been quiet for most of the drive, listening to me stress over Lucky’s words.

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “But you don’t know Lucky. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“I don’t have to know him,” he says, turning off the car. “He sounds like the kind of guy who does what needs to be done. Honestly, I’m surprised none of them has been out here yet. I know who your family is.”

Of course, he does. Jaime strikes me as the kind of person who does his due diligence.

“You can blame me for that,” I say, fiddling with my seat belt. “We argued a lot about me moving to California, so by the time I got out here I was pissed off and petty and determined to prove them all wrong. Which sounds ridiculous now, but at the time I couldn’t imagine life without Callum and if they were going to keep giving me grief about it, I wanted to distance myself. Bria and I never lost touch, but things were rough with everyone else for a while.”

“What changed?”

“I got over myself, I guess. I missed them,” I admit. “And they missed me. But they still don’t like Callum, and he doesn’t like them, so it’s easier for me to go to them than it is for them to come here.”

Hearing myself explain this only shoves the dagger deeper. Theenmity between Callum and my family should have been a red flag, but I was so anxious to make it work, to see all those years of ups and downs pay off, that I ignored it.

“At least, itwaseasier,” I amend. “Callum’s weird about it now.”

“Because he wants to control you,” he says. “And he can’t do that if you’re across the country.”

“You must think I’m really dumb.”

“I think you’re in a shit situation that isn’t as rare as you believe,” he says carefully. “Anyway, I still find it strange that no one in your family followed up. The De Leons are no joke.”

“Well, I doubt they know what the De Leons are into. They only know Callum’s dad, who’s a dick, but straight-laced, and his side of the family back in New York. They come from old money, not a drug empire.”

I look up at Jaime. “You have to remember that I’ve been with Callum for over a decade. It’s not like Lucky or my dad has to vet some new guy I’m seeing. They know Callum, and while they don’t approve, they don’t know what he’s actually capable of. And I’m good at pretending everything is fine.”

“Not that good, if your brother saw through your bullshit today.”

“The black eye didn’t help.” Sighing, I unbuckle my seat belt. To my surprise, Jaime unbuckles his too. “Are you coming in with me?”

He nods. “I could use a little peace.”

We walk across the parking lot and up the steps toward the church’s heavy, wooden doors. The brisk November air cools my cheeks as I glance sideways at Jaime. It never occurred to me that he’d be interested in attending Mass, or that sharing something like this would be so deeply comforting. It’s like connecting on a different level.

Jaime pauses at the font of holy water near the entrance, dipping his fingers and crossing himself. I follow suit, sitting beside him in a vacant pew in the back. We’re a little late, so the priest has already begun, but just being here is a balm to my frayed nerves. The air smells faintly of incense, and sunlight filters through the stained-glass windows, coloring parts of the floor.

Gradually, my mind begins to clear, a sense of calm replacing my anxiety. When the service begins to wrap up, I stand up, pulling my scarf around my neck. But Jaime’s eyes are closed, his lips moving in silentprayer, so I sit again, not wanting to rush him. I’m glad we came here together, but my heart hurts knowing this will probably be the only time.

Afterward, Jaime turns to me in the car. “Callum asked me to bring you to the spa. For a massage. Said you needed something nice.”

“Because a massage makes up for everything else,” I mumble, rolling my eyes.

“Do you want to go?” he asks. “I hear there’s a nice one at the Claremont Hotel.”

“Not really.” I pull at one of the strings on my scarf. As nice as a massage sounds, knowing that it’s part of Callum’s shitty attempts to apologize sullies it. Besides, my face is still messed up, regardless of how much makeup I cake on. If Lucky noticed, everyone will. I don’t need the people at the spa pitying me, maybe even thinking Jaime’s the one who hurt me.

“You wanna go back home, then?” He glances at my black silk blouse, jeans, and heeled boots. “You’re not exactly dressed for hiking.”

“I wish we could go somewhere to be alone,” I blurt. “I just want to hang out for a while, pretend like …”Pretend like we’re together.

He stares at the windshield, drumming his fingers slowly over the steering wheel. “I know a place.”

Chapter 22

Jaime

Ibring Maeve to Wolf and Analisse’s house. They’re not coming back until tomorrow morning, but they wouldn’t mind anyway. Wolf’s harassed me about my singleness for years. He’d love that I was bringing a girl over. He’d probably love even more that it was Cal’s girl.

---