Page 40 of The Fear of Falling
A flash of discomfort crosses Eric’s face, but then he reaches for the check. “We’ll call this a business dinner.”
I snatch the bill before he can touch it. “This is friends getting together,” I counter. “I got this.”
“Thanks.” Eric visibly relaxes. As far as I know, Rose & Quill is bringing in decent money, mostly because of Dani’s book, butI’m going to assume my pragmatic buddy doesn’t love excessive spending. Not that two bowls of ramen is excessive, but he’s smart to be cautious.
We’re both quiet as we wait for the waiter to return with my card, which is fine by me. I’m eager to get to my hotel room and crash, though I’m wishing I had a whole weekend to recover from the last…year. I’ve slept in my own bed maybe a dozen times in the last six months, and while that’s never bothered me before, I’m feeling it now. This is one of the reasons I’m trying so hard to scale my business. Give myself some room to breathe so I don’t have to work eighty-hour weeks just to go to a friend’s wedding.
“How is your family by the way?” Eric asks, wincing when my scowl hits him. “Sorry. I was curious if they know you’re here in Utah.”
I shift in my seat, thoroughly uncomfortable. What’s taking the waiter so long? I thought for sure I’d managed to avoid this subject. “Uh, no. Not yet.”
“Are you going to tell them?”
“Of course.” But the words come out strangled. Iwasplanning on texting my mom at some point and letting her know I was in town, but I figured I would wait a bit. Make sure my availability has an expiration date. If she finds out I’m here for the next month, she’ll try to convince me to go to every family dinner and baseball game and piano recital. That would be as awkward for my nieces and nephews as it would for me, since they only see me for the occasional holiday, a day or two at a time.
“Things are still rough?” Eric wrinkles his nose in sympathy. I must have been making a face, or maybe he knows me too well.
“They’re fine,” I say with a heavy sigh. “But McKay has like six kids now, and Kimball is a partner at Dad’s firm so he’s as perfect as always.”
Eric frowns. “From what I can see, your company is already pretty successful.”
“But not the right kind of success.” I shake my head and run a hand through my hair. “They’re still waiting for me to get a real job and find a pretty wife who will keep me close to home. That’s never been my path.” An image of Avery flashes through my mind, but I ignore it. No matter how thoroughly she imprinted on my heart, that path leads to a dead end. Even if I do manage to hire people to consult with me, it’ll be years before I can stabilize things enough to have any free time.
No woman in her right mind wants a relationship with a man who’s never around, and that’s fine.
“Maybe you haven’t met the right girl,” Eric says with a shrug.
I chuckle. Maybe he shouldn’t say things like that when he’s as single as I am. Hedidmeet the right girl. Then he gave her up and made her cry.
The waiter finally returns with my card, and I get to my feet, more than ready to go to bed. We make it outside before Eric speaks again.
“Hey,” he says, offering a warm smile as well as a handshake. “It’s nice having you around again. Kind of feels like old times. Thanks for agreeing to come out here and help.”
I look at his hand for a few seconds, then pull him into a hug that he quickly returns. It’s a greeting we skipped this morning, instead jumping right into talking, but I’ve missed this guy more than I realized. I’ve missed the way things used to be, before life pulled us apart and I was on my own. “Thanks for asking me to come.” Even if I have to fight my attraction to Avery while I’m here, this trip is going to be good for me. I can feel it.
By the time I get to my hotel room, I am completely spent. Normally, I like to settle in and unpack, but I simply change out of my suit and collapse into bed, eager for a full night’s sleep.
It doesn’t come. I spend the night wide awake, mentally wandering the streets of Florence, the imaginary smell of chocolate in the air.
Chapter 16
Avery
Theearthrumbledunderfoot,trembling and knocking loose rocks from the cave’s roof. Mira tightened her hold on her blade, resisting the pull of magic that swirled through the air around her. The sky, once gilded with sunlight, turned dark with storm clouds, and Mira’s knife began to glow in the sun’s absence, the only light left on the bloodstained battlefield.
“Don’t move,” Kael whispered, his words falling thick and heavy. The gleam of Mira’s knife brought his battle-worn face into sharp relief as he stared at the cave’s entrance. “If we move…”
She didn’t need his warning. Not when the earth shook again, this time with heavy footsteps. Lungs heaving, heart racing, she gripped her knife and cursed her hands for being slick with blood and sweat. She couldn’t afford to lose her hold. The blade was her only hope, and its light seemed to pulse in time with her breaths, growing brighter with each footstep.
The creature emerged all too soon, first its smoking snout and fiery eyes, followed quickly by a body of jagged scales and leathery wings, enormous limbs and deadly talons that scorched the ground with each step. As it stepped into the howling wind, it turned that flame-cursed gaze directly on Mira, as if it knew she was the one who had awoken it. It knew she was the only one who could conquer it.
The beast seemed to smile, and Mira’s knife glowed brighter, as if in defiance.
Kael’s hand slowly gripped hers as he looked at her with terror. “Don’t,” he begged. “Mira.”
But Mira had no choice. As much as she wanted to turn and run and never look back, this had always been her destiny. “I love you,” she whispered, squeezing his fingers before prying herself from his grip.
“No!”
