Key Of Valor (Key 3)

"I'd say that's a big yes," Jordan decided. "You're a stand-up woman, Zoe."

"Well." She picked up her glass now, amused to see her own fingers tremble. "Whew."

"In all the years since I came here," Pitte said quietly. "In all the endless hours and days of longing for home, I never knew I would miss anything from this world. I will miss you." With Rowena tight to his side, he bent down to kiss Zoe. "I will miss all of you."

"We will not forget you." Rowena stepped away from Pitte to drop into a deep curtsy, then chuckled as Moe pranced over to lick her face. "And there is much I will miss. Take care of them, my handsome warrior." She kissed Moe's nose. "Take care of each other. The gods are grateful to you all."

She straightened, smiled beautifully. "Sisters, brothers. Friends. Our thanks to you, and our blessings on you." She held out her hand for Pitte's.

Their fingers linked, and they were gone.

The next day, at six-forty-five p.m., Dana closed the door of Indulgence, locked it. Turning, she grinned at her friends, then slid down into a heap on the floor.

"Are we sure that's everybody? Are we sure it's just us left in here?" Zoe demanded.

"It's just us," Malory assured her.

"Holy jumping Jesus!" She shouted it and leaped into the air. "We rocked!"

"We rocked, we rolled, we kicked retail ass," Dana said from the floor. "I've never been so tired in my life. I may just sleep right here until we open again in the morning."

"We are such a hit. Did you see? Did you see how it all worked?" Her voice giddy, Malory spun in a circle. "Just the way we hoped. One of your manicure ladies bought my blown-glass bowl."

"And two of your art customers came up and booked a full-day spa package."

"I sold books to everyone who's ever lived," Dana chimed in and pillowed her head on her hands.

"And I think every one of them came through my shop on the way to Zoe's salon. And they loved it. How many times today did you hear people saying how pretty everything was, how much fun, how this was the best thing to happen to the Valley?"

"I lost count." Dana lifted her head. "I'm going to need another bookseller. Joanne and I couldn't keep up."

"I'm going to have to order more supplies." Zoe sent a look up the stairs. "I should probably go up and do inventory now."

"Hell with that." Malory grabbed her arm. "We're celebrating. There's champagne in the kitchen."

"I've had more champagne these past three months than I've had in my entire life." Dana blew out a breath. "But what the hell. Who's going to carry me back there?"

Zoe took one arm, Malory the other, and hauled her to her feet. "Thank God we don't have to go home and cook," Zoe said. "We've all got enough leftovers to deal. I can't wait to tell Bradley and Simon about today. What they saw this morning was nothing."

"I'm hoping to con Jordan into rubbing my feet for an hour." In the kitchen, Dana poked her head in the refrigerator for the champagne.

"Just don't forget, we need to start hammering out the wedding plans on Sunday. February's closer than you think."

"Slave driver." Dana came out with the bottle. "What have you got there, Zoe?"

"It was on the counter." The box she held was wrapped in silver paper, with a gold ribbon. Three gold keys dangled from the bow. "This isn't any of your wrapping paper, is it, Malory?"

"No. Gorgeous, though, I should find out where it came from. But it's nothing one of my customers left behind."

"Maybe one of the guys snuck in and left it for us," Dana suggested. She gave it a poke before she reached for glasses. "That would be kind of sweet."

"Only one way to find out." Zoe picked carefully at the seams of the paper. "I can't rip it, it's too pretty."

"Take your time. Builds anticipation." Malory leaned back on the counter while Dana opened the champagne. "God, I'm exhausted, but in the best possible way. Almost like having really great sex."

Malory glanced over at Zoe as Zoe lifted the lid. "What've we got?"

"There are three smaller boxes inside. And a note."