Page 34 of The Lies I've Told
“Four?” Aiden said, his voice sounding incredulous. “As in four people?”
Dean nodded. “How many were in yours?”
Aiden’s mood suddenly shifted, and I could almost feel it in the air. “Uh, I don’t recall. Definitely not four.”
“So, don’t you two have business to discuss? A statue to resurrect?” I interjected, calling for an immediate change of subject.
I might not want to sleep with the guy again, but I could at least offer him some common courtesy.
Okay, that wasn’t true.
I definitely wanted to sleep with him, but I wasn’t going to.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him glancing at me. The tiny flecks of green in those hazel brown eyes reminded me of sand.
From far away, it looked brown.
Just basic, boring brown.
But palm a bit of sand in your hand, spread it out, and really look at each individual grain, and you’d find a virtual rainbow of color. There were flecks of red from crushed up shells, blue and green from sea glass and a dozen other colors all scattered in between.
That was what I saw in Aiden’s eyes and it dazzled me.
Nope, definitely not sleeping with him again, I reminded myself.
I shook off his deep stare and tried to focus on Cora. “So, how have you been?” I said, sort of out of the blue. “You need food. We should order you some food.”
She didn’t seem caught off guard by my rambling, but, as Dean had said earlier, she was the mother to a tiny genius, so she was probably used to this by now. I flagged Billy, who took Cora’s order of fish and chips, while Dean and Aiden began talking business.
“I left in in a hurry. I need to have some things shipped here,” Aiden explained. “Supplies.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. We are fairly modern in that respect, although it might take a bit longer than what you’re used to in New York. You can even have your stone material delivered, if you’d like.”
Aiden shook his head as I listened in on their conversation, having already given up on my attempt to ignore them. “No, that’s one thing I won’t be ordering.”
“Oh?” Dean and I said in unison.
“Stone is a fickle medium to work with, and I am particular. I’ll have to hand-choose the piece I work with.”
Dean shrugged, unfazed by the decision.
I, on the other hand, had some serious reservations. “What do you mean, you’ll have to choose the piece by hand?”
His eyes met mine. “It means I’ll have to go to the quarry and select it.”
“And will you be driving there yourself? Can’t we just go to a store and pick it out?”
Why was I even bothering to ask? Had I ever heard of a giant rock store?
“Uh, no, it’s not like I’m putting in a countertop here. And I was hoping you’d take me.”
I let out a breath, trying to keep my cool. “And where is this quarry?”
“Mount Airy.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head as I calculated the driving distance. “That’s nearly eight hours away.”
He nodded, turning his head toward the bay again. “You’re right. It’s too much to ask. I’ll ask the pilot who flew me to take me.”
