There was a small, miserable silence. “I really despise that man,” Malichai said. “With every breath I take.” He stood up and reached down to extend his hand to Amaryllis.
She took it and he pulled her up.
“I think we all do,” Trap acknowledged. “Did you get a good workout swimming?”
“We did. Thanks for allowing us to use the pool,” Malichai said. “I’m walking my woman home. Tomorrow we’re getting married. I’m reminding you, Trap, in front of Cayenne so she’ll get you there.”
“I’m the one who puts everything on the calendar,” Trap said indignantly.
Cayenne turned around, a small smile forming. “True, he does, but then he never looks at the calendar. I do that. I’ll get him there, no worries.”
“Thanks, hon,” Malichai said. “Nonny’s cooking up a feast, so if he won’t come for the festivities, bring him for the food.”
“Nonny frowns on missing things like weddings,” Cayenne said seriously. “She told both of us events like that were important to the people we care about and we needed to always show up. So we’ll be there.” She looked up at Trap. “For certain. With gifts. Dressed nicely.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “We’ll be there,” he agreed, looking down at her.
Malichai couldn’t help grinning. He wasn’t altogether certain Trap and Cayenne knew they were still in the room. “We’re taking off now. We’ll see you later.”
Trap lifted a hand as they left the laboratory and then he was kissing Cayenne.
Amaryllis fit just under his shoulder, her arm circling his waist as she matched his steps. “I clocked your run after Jerry took a break, Malichai, you’re getting faster. Is the prosthesis still rubbing when you’re running that fast?”
“No, that last adjustment made it perfect.”
She was silent for a moment and Malichai’s gut tightened. He knew it was inevitable that she would ask the question, and he didn’t really know what his answer was going to be.
“Do you want to try Whitney’s experimental process to regrow your leg, Malichai?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know the answer to that, Amaryllis. I really don’t. Right now, I’m working hard to build my body back up again so I can get into the field and be of use to my team. I don’t know what I’m going to do beyond that. I knew Whitney was harassing Trap with this nonsense about being able to regenerate an entire limb, but Trap, Lily and Wyatt have all assured me that the technology is still a good fifty years away. I’m not going to waste my time on dreams. I need to work with what I’ve got.”
He stopped there on the narrow trail that led back to the Fontenot house. Their home wasn’t quite finished. It was coming along, and the sound of hammers often rang out until sunset, but for now, they were staying with Wyatt, Pepper, Nonny and the five little girls who seemed to be like quicksilver, running everywhere. He pulled Amaryllis into his arms.
“I have you, babe. I love you more than anything else in this world. When I look ahead to our future, it’s always bright and happy. It’s always surrounded with love because you’re in it. Of course there’s always those stacks of romance books we’re going to be reading at night, but that’s a good thing because I’ll be taking all the best ideas out of them.”
Malichai framed her face with both hands and bent to take her mouth. She looked like an angel, kissed like sin and loved him as only Amaryllis could. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, and leg or no leg, he was counting himself a very lucky man.