by Ann Aguirre
I exhaled shakily. “Why didn’t you call me? Not once. Not in six months.”
Funny. Chance never wondered how I’d feel about his grand gesture. He just assumed I’d welcome him with open arms after a long silence and a bitter parting. No need to discuss anything with me, because I’d always be his for the taking. He still didn’t understand that I needed a full partnership . . . but this was forward progress, at least.
Now I had to decide if it was enough.
“I didn’t want you thinking this was more of my bullshit promises,” he said quietly. “You wanted action, right? Here it is.”
Low, almost desperate laughter burst out of me. “We’re like that couple in the story. At Christmas, she cuts off her long hair and sells it to buy him a chain for his pocket watch. He sells his watch to buy her pretty gold combs for her hair.”
“ ‘The Gift of the Magi,’ ” he said, frowning. “The moral of that story was that it didn’t matter because they had love. Somehow I don’t think that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Not exactly. See, my shop’s gone, Chance, and now so’s your business. Neither of us has anything.”
He froze, studying my face. “I thought you were here because of the baby, but . . . you’re not. At least, not entirely.”
“Hardly. Montoya kept me busy.”
Chance swore in a mixture of English and Korean and then slid off the swing to kneel before me. “What happened? What can I do?”
“Nothing. I took care of it.” With Paolo’s help I had. Yeah, I served as bait in Escobar’s trap, but I’d proven myself more dangerous than anyone expected, using Dumah as my finishing move. “He won’t bother Min—or anyone—again.”
Something like fear flickered in Chance’s face, as if he didn’t quite recognize me. But he didn’t back off. Instead he took my hands in his; as always they felt warm in comparison to mine. Not fever-hot like Kel, nor with Jesse’s safe heat. But familiar and precious, nonetheless.
I expected him to ask why I hadn’t called him for help. He didn’t.
“I suppose there’s no point in asking. Done is done. I want you to know, I understand now. . . . I did you a disservice by not realizing you aren’t the same woman, and if I want to be with you, then I need to—borrowing my mother’s expression—court you properly. There are no guarantees, but you wanted proof that I’m not all talk. Here it is.”
The enormity of it humbled me. “And you’ll go anywhere I want?”
“I’ve no ties anymore, Corine. You take the lead this time. I’ll follow. And I’ll do my best to open up.” Chance lifted my palms and kissed them with a tenderness that acted as the sweetest balm. “I’ll tell you about Lily. I know it has to be different this time, because I won’t get another shot with you.”
Lily had to be the lover who had died because of him. I didn’t remember him ever mentioning her name before. That had to mean something.
There was no telling how much cash he had in the Mustang. If he’d called in all his loans, it must be a lot. We could go anywhere. Seductive thought. Or I could take him to Mexico City, where we could rebuild together. Hard to say how much temptation to try again came from not wanting to be alone, how much I wanted to say yes because I’d lost so fucking much tonight. Was Chance my consolation prize?
His fingers tightened on mine, giving away his tension.
“We take it slow,” I said at last. “Dating, no promises. Not yet. You need to get to know me again—and vice versa.”
I wasn’t the same woman. Not even a little bit. This Corine might surprise him; he might not want her when he realized how deep the shift ran. He believed he loved me, but he didn’t know me, not anymore. Chance remembered the woman who gave up everything for him, followed him blindly, and let him make all the decisions; he loved that complete and selfless devotion. I couldn’t offer that again.
“Absolutely.” The relief in his voice nearly floored me.
Plus, we still had the problem of his luck, but maybe we could manage it this time. Maybe if I got regular cleansings, we could deal with it and minimize the effects. I’d be proactive and seek solutions instead of wishing for miracles. “We won’t be living together right away,” I cautioned.
“If we rebuild on your property, we could have two flats put in up top,” he offered softly. “That way I’ll be close by, but you can always send me home.”
It was a reasonable suggestion, but I hadn’t seen the extent of the damage. Maybe it would prove an impossible task, or I’d have trouble with the fideicomiso. I was too numb to make plans, and it felt wrong to leave Shannon so quickly. I wanted our future, our shop. It remained to be seen whether Chance could be part of that.
As he rested his head on my knees, I put my hands in his silky hair and breathed in the smoky, sweet scent of burning wood. Somewhere, somebody was singing a Spanish love song, and it curled through me like a ribbon of light, banishing some of the darkness and desperation.
Chance couldn’t know about Chuch’s house yet; he must’ve come straight to the hospital. He didn’t know how close to dying I’d come or that I could cast spells and bind demons or had whispered kisses into a fallen angel’s skin while his tattoos glowed blue against a deep jungle night. I had my own secrets now—and not just shameful ones. At base, I no longer felt unworthy of Chance. Maybe this time we could make it work because we’d be equals.
Time would tell.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ann Aguirre is a national bestselling author. She has a degree in English literature and a spotty résumé. Before she began writing full-time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, two children, two cats, and one very lazy dog. She likes books, emo music, action movies, and Dr. Who. You can visit her on the Web at www.annaguirre.com.
Also by Ann Aguirre
CORINE SOLOMON NOVELS
Blue Diablo
Hell Fire
SIRANTHA JAX NOVELS
Grimspace
Wanderlust
Doubleblind
Killbox
FB2 document info
Document ID: f0cb959b-8149-4788-8e85-3ab00f7f0f2e
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 15.6.2012
Created using: calibre 0.8.53, FB Editor v2.3 software
Document authors :
Bakoro
About
This file was generated by Lord KiRon's FB2EPUB converter version 1.1.5.0.
(This book might contain copyrighted material, author of the converter bears no responsibility for it's usage)
Этот файл создан при помощи конвертера FB2EPUB версии 1.1.5.0 написанного Lord KiRon.
(Эта книга может содержать материал который защищен авторским правом, автор конвертера не несет ответственности за его использование)
http://www.fb2epub.net
https://code.google.com/p/fb2epub/