Picking up the pillar candles I asked to be brought up, I set about arranging them, always in threes: one at the top, two underneath. I painstakingly set out four arrangements, as is my custom, and then light them with a click of my fingers. They roar to life and my essence eases. I don't have to click my fingers, as it is my mind that lights them, but I like doing it. It's like a magician's act, voilà.
A click at the door signifies Cole's return and I turn as he steps in.
"Hey," I say softly.
"Hey," he says just as softly, eyes taking in the candle arrangements. "Sorry, I forgot," he mumbles.
"It's okay. I don't expect you to remember."
He crosses to me and hugs me after a quick kiss. He has a weird look on his face and says, "Can I ask you something?"
Oh, geez, there's been a lot of that going around lately.
"Sure," I say a bit warily. No one ever says that unless they are about to follow through with a question, they think you won't answer.
"Why in threes?"
I blink at him but remain silent.
"I mean, I know it's a thing for you. I've seen you do it hundreds of times and even Devon does it. And I've heard Constantine mention it. I don't understand it," he says, faltering slightly as I still don't say anything.
"It's the way I like it," I say eventually. "It has to be t
hree," I add, my voice rising slightly as the panic starts to set in. "It has to be three."
"Okay, okay, baby," he says, pulling me to him. "It's okay. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."
I relax slightly as he lets me off the hook, but I know sooner or later he will ask again.
"Come and sit." He leads me to the sofa, and I sit down gratefully. He sits next to me and I snuggle into him.
"I love you," he says. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I got to see you this morning and that is good, and we are here together now. As we should be."
“Did you ever hear back from Nico about my mother?” he asks cautiously.
I sit up, alert. “No. I asked him to take care of it. I just assumed he had paid her off.”
“Oh,” he says and looks away, upset that was the only reason she had contacted him.
“I’ll ask him. Don’t worry about it. He is very good at his job,” I reassure him and hope that paying her off is all he did. In all honesty, with everything else that happened, I had forgotten all about it.
"What do you want to do tonight?" he asks me.
"Mm, all sorts of things," I murmur with a sultry look and he laughs.
"I mean, can I take you out somewhere?"
"Oh," I say, disappointed. "Sure, I guess. Where do you want to go?"
"Somewhere very, very public," he says casually.
I giggle at him. "Oh, I see. Damage control. Well, in that case, by all means."
He frowns at me then. “You're very much in love with him, aren't you?"
I say nothing. What can I say? He knows that I’m love Constantine and Devon; I’ve never hidden that fact. Well, since he found out about us, of course.