He whistles. “Steep, but I’ll take it. Arrange delivery and I’ll pay the remaining balance on possession and inspection.”
He stands and walks me to the door. “We should do that dinner, Aria. I do believe you and I could work magic together. But it’s going to require some quality conversations.”
“We’ll see if you approve of your purchase first,” I say, sidestepping the invitation.
“I know I will.”
I depart and by the time I’m in the elevator, I’m already texting Savage. Once I’m outside, I dial Kace. “Are you with Mark?”
“I am and why do you sound excited?”
“Tell him I sold the royal stone for seventy-five thousand. I have sixty thousand of it in my hand.”
“Did you now?”
“Yes.” There’s a smile and lots of pride in that one word. A little win feels really big. “Tell him, Kace,” I urge.
He murmurs the news to Mark and then says, “He wants you to meet us at Riptide. He wants to see the check himself.”
“That man, I swear, Kace. He’s just—”
“Should I supply a word?” he offers.
“No. You’re with him.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re bad,” I scold.
“Don’t you like that about me?”
I smile. “Sometimes.”
“I know when.”
“Stop,” I order. “The check is made out to me. I need to go deposit it, so it’s going to take a few days to clear my bank.”
“It won’t with mine,” he says. “Meet me at Riptide. I’ll handle it for you.”
“Kace—”
“Aria,” he says softly. “I got this. You got this. Congratulations.”
We disconnect and I smile all over again. I did this. He’s right. And I’m proud. I head toward the subway when an SUV pulls up and the window rolls down as Savage motions me forward.
I hurry forward and climb inside. “Where to, my dear?” Savage asks grandly.
“I need to go to Riptide.”
“Adrian,” Savage says. “to Riptide, where Mark Compton thinks he rules, but Crystal is queen and has him by his balls.”
I facepalm and sink back into the soft leather of my seat, laughing, until my gaze catches on my ring. Ed called it a one of a kind. It is. It’s one of a kind and special, but he couldn’t have known that. The one true daisy in the wind. That’s what my father had called Kace, and those words just feel too close to one of a kind.
That coincidence is still bothering me when we arrive at Riptide. Kace is at my door waiting on me when it opens, lifting me out of the backseat. My feet settle on the ground and I catch Kace’s lapels. He catches my waist. Suddenly, we’re at eye level, and a blast of awareness shakes me to the core. It’s sexual. It’s red-hot chemistry. It’s emotional. It’s so many things. I am lost in the power of this man, but that is also why I read the edge to him, the simmer of something dark, beneath his surface.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Alexander is what’s wrong.”
My pulse leaps. “He didn’t tell me anything.”
“You didn’t tell me either.”
“Savage walked me to my meeting. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.” The wind gusts and my teeth chatter. “It’s freezing.”
He reacts, linking our arms and we hurry toward the entrance of Riptide, all the while my mind races, not sure where this is going. The doorman opens the double glass doors for us, and warm heat welcomes us as we enter the glitzy lobby. The doorman offers to take out coats, but Kace waves him off. “We’re leaving again,” he says, without a pause. On a mission for privacy, we keep walking, and clearly, Kace is well-vetted here because no one stops our progress.
Once we’re inside an office, Kace shuts us inside, and then I’m against the door, and his hands planted on either side of me. “Alexander—”
“—is trouble. I know.”
“He’s dangerous, Aria. I need you to understand that this isn’t some cockfight between two men.”
His jaw tics. His energy ping pongs in the room. He’s not touching me so I touch him. I press my hand to his chest. “I don’t know what this is—”
“Dangerous,” he repeats, his hand covering mine. “This isn’t jealousy. This isn’t a game.”
“What do you think I did?”
His lashes lower and then lift. “I don’t think you did anything.”
“You’re angry.”
“Not at you. I’m pissed at myself. I didn’t warn you. I didn’t say the word ‘dangerous’ because I don’t want to talk about this but that means that I didn’t protect you. I brought you to his doorstep.”
“Wait.” I search his face. “Do you regret me being there?”
He snags my hips and walks me to him. “No. Hell no. I regret him being here.”
My fingers curl on his chest. “You’re confusing me.”
“I know.”
“That’s all? I know?”
He releases me and leans back on the chair behind him, hands on the leather, withdrawing even before he says, “For now.”
I know he has secrets. I know he knows we can’t hide from them forever. And so I repeat, “For now,” making sure he’s clear that for now, is not forever. “I have another situation.”