Savage Road (Torpedo Ink 7)

Ava poured tea from a pink teapot into her delicate floral teacup. “I took a class on a cruise because I was bored out of mind. My husband gambled quite a bit when we were a young couple, and I was on my own. I thought the class might be interesting. I didn’t really know anything about gems or stones—why one would be worth so much more than another. I found the subject fascinating. Not just diamonds, but various gems and their origins. How they came to be, how they are mined, some, by the way, quite horribly, and we shouldn’t have anything to do with those diamonds.”

Seychelle was gratified to hear Ava say some diamonds were mined in a bad way and shouldn’t be bought. She didn’t know why it surprised her that Ava would know and care about the origins of those diamonds, but it did. She was a little ashamed that she’d judged the woman just by that first conversation the ladies had had over her man desperately trying to purchase a scarf from Rebecca because Ava wanted it and he thought he’d be in trouble if he came back without it. That conversation had also taken place at a tea in the Floating Hat.

“I never considered that the study of gems would be a fascinating subject, but you make it sound as though it might actually be,” Phillis said.

The others nodded as they took little sandwiches off the multilayered trays and selected their teas from the choices they had.

“I polished stones for a while,” Eden volunteered. “I thought they were beautiful. I liked to learn about them and how they were formed. In doing so, I learned quite a bit about crystals, but not actual gems. I always told myself I would, but I never got that far. I went back to work after I lost Reggie, my husband, to take care of the children. I heard you worked in the film industry, Ava.”

“I did work in television for a while. On the publicity end. I really enjoyed the work, and I was good at it,” Ava said. “But then Logan was already making a name for himself, and he thought it would be better for me to be working in film with him. It wasn’t quite as much fun, but I did okay there as well. I never really liked it the way I did my first job. After a while, I quit. We didn’t need the money, and I wanted to have a baby. I thought I couldn’t conceive because I was working too many hours.”

She fell silent while she drank her tea and ate a small macaroon. “Turns out, without consulting me, Logan had decided to have a vasectomy. That way he could have as many affairs as he wanted without worrying about unwanted pregnancies.”

There was silence again at the table while the women looked at one another. Rebecca reached over and patted her hand. “I’m so glad you decided to come with me today and meet all my friends. We have such a good time together. Last week we were discussing taking classes right here at the Floating Hat on casting this strange little spell that involved toads filling up a car or truck.”

Ava laughed. “That’s impossible.”

Rebecca nodded. “I thought so too, but when Hannah, the owner, was young and her boyfriend ditched her for another girl, his bedroom was suddenly full of toads. Now, whether she actually had anything to do with it or not, no one really knows, but—and he’s her husband now—he came in the other day and his truck was full of toads. They’d had a disagreement. I’m not condoning such things, or saying that she had anything to do with it, just that they might be fun to learn.”

Anat did her little trilling sound, this time in approval. She looked around. “Just making certain my daughter isn’t in here. When is this class being held? Phillis, dear, we must take this class. If Hannah and Sabelia are teaching it, no doubt it will be fun, and there can’t be anything wrong with it. Hannah isn’t into the dark arts.”

“I’m in for certain,” Phillis said, “if the rest of you are.”

Seychelle laughed. “I’d better start talking to Sabelia and get her to agree. We were just joking around when we first came up with the idea.”

The little chain of hats over the door sang out merrily. A frisson of pure heat raced down Seychelle’s spine, and every nerve ending came to life. Seychelle turned her head. Even before she looked, she knew Savage had entered. He looked larger than life, striding purposefully toward her. Savage looked the consummate biker—jeans that fit like a glove, tight tee, motorcycle boots, his jacket with his colors, tattoos and his shaved head. He looked dangerous. Menacing. He wore no expression, and his blue eyes were ice-cold.