Deadshifted (Edie Spence 4)

“So?”

“Is nothing sacred?” I asked him.

A completely wicked look passed over his face. “Never. ”

And suddenly he had my full attention again.

CHAPTER TEN

When we were done there was that awkward moment there sometimes is when you realize that you’re human. Like when the clock strikes twelve, or the hourglass runs out—the magic of the moment is gone and suddenly you’re all flesh and bones and silly parts.

“Here. ” Asher, oblivious to my existential plight, fished in the pockets of his cast-off jeans. “While I was out, I got this for you. ” He held up a gold necklace with a small amethyst pendant dangling from the end.

I reached out for the stone. “Oh, it’s lovely—but why?”

“Because I didn’t think you’d wear a diamond. ” He let the necklace fall into my hand. “Even if we can’t have rings—you should have something for the occasion. To prove that I proposed. The two of us will know what it means. ” He nudged my hand. “Go on, put it on. ”

I fastened it around my neck, and the stone hit at the V of my throat. I felt slightly more magical, even though I was still minus clothes. Asher smiled at me.

“Too bad we have to go out tonight. ”

“What?” I’d completely forgotten about our dinner plans. “Oh, no—let’s just stand them up. ”

“That would be rude,” he said.

“So? We wouldn’t be the first rude people on vacation. ” I wished that Liz’s kid hadn’t run into me today—or that Claire had had functional legs to chase after him, instead.

“Do you really think I’ll misbehave that badly?”

“Yes. ”

He gave me a look.

“Not entirely,” I adjusted. “But I know you. ”

“I’ll be good. And you need to eat something,” he said, standing up and then offering me a hand. I took it and tried to pull him back down, but he wouldn’t let me. I sighed and let him help me up.

“I can’t imagine what we’ll have to talk about. You’ll ask him about his vasectomy, and I’ll ask her where she gets her teeth bleached, and then where will we be?”

“We can pretend we’re private investigators,” he said, walking over to the closet to flip through hangers.

“Ugh. Please say you’re not suggesting we do role-playing outside the bedroom. Seriously. ”

“Okay, I’m not. You just keep her and Thomas busy, and leave him to me. ” He pulled out a blue shirt and set it on the bed.

“When you say that, what do you mean precisely?”

“There’s no harm in asking him a few questions, Edie. ”

“Uh, yeah, there is. What if he figures things out and remembers you?”

Asher gave me a look. “I’m a shapeshifter. Deceiving people is my forte. ”

“But it’s not mine. What if I let somethi

ng on? What if I act weird and—”

“Then it’ll be different from any other time we go out to dinner how, precisely?” he said, cutting me off.

I stared at him with dagger-eyes. “You are soooooooo funny. ”

He chuckled, and then sobered. “Seriously, Edie. It’s important to me. Can’t that just be enough? It would be nice if I could go into my new life with you with a clean conscience. ”

“And what if you can’t?” I asked his back as he started picking out a tie.

“Then nothing’s changed, has it?” he said with a too-easy shrug. “Indulge me and my personal curiosity, Edie. Please. ”

Which was as close as he might get to admitting to me how much this mattered to him. It was hard to be mad at him while he was naked, too. “All right. But after tonight—promise you’re going to cut it out. If I’m not allowed to worry about the future, you can’t keep chasing down your past. I want the whole rest of this trip to be about us. You, me, and the baby. ”

He gave me a beatific smile. “Deal. ”

* * *

There was no way to hide the bruise on my elbow from the incident that afternoon. But the dress I was wearing was black, so hopefully it matched. The rest of me was cute at least—being on vacation meant having time to do crazy things like blow-dry and curl my hair. It was nice to blow-dry my hair for fun, not so it wouldn’t freeze when I stepped outside.

And Asher was pulled together, as always. We made a dashing pair. If my recently purchased makeup primer packaging was to be believed, we might even stay looking this way all night.

Asher didn’t change until we were alone in the elevator. Not into another person, like I knew he could, reverting to someone he’d touched before he’d been saved, but overall. His shoulders slumped a little, and the way he held his head seemed like it became less sharp and more likely to nod and agree. He pulled at the crisp collar of his suit so that it looked more wrinkled than it was, like it hadn’t been tailored specifically for him.