Reflexively, I pull my hand back and hug myself. Kace’s hand splays on my back and he leans in and whispers, “Easy, baby. We have a small circle. They’re in it.”
In other words, he trusts them and the truth is that I’m already regretting my reaction. I like Sara and I feel nothing negative with Chris.
Concern etches Sara’s brow. “Did I say something wrong? If so, please accept my apology.”
“No,” I say quickly, my arms uncurling, body language relaxing. “I’m the one who is sorry. It was a knee-jerk reaction to something from my past.”
“I certainly have a few hotspots myself,” Sara assures me, reaching over and giving my hand a tiny squeeze.
It’s a warm moment, a bonding moment, one that new friends, who are becoming real friends, experience. Or so I’ve seen on TV. This is new to me. All of it is new to me.
A waiter appears and Kace grabs two more finger sandwiches, all the waiter has left. “Damn,” he mumbles, “I’m never getting properly fed.”
“I’ll handle it,” Sara says, flagging down a waiter, and in about two minutes she’s back. “They’re bringing the two stars of the night special plates, pronto.”
“You’re the rock star,” I say, already feeling myself easing back into the evening and out of the past.
“I’m the supporting cast and I like it that way.” She pushes to her toes and kisses Chris’s cheek before she moves toward me. “Let’s give them a minute.”
She means she wants a minute with me, but I’m remarkably okay with that. I don’t believe Sara will pressure me for information. As if she’s read my mind, once we’re at a small standing table, that’s exactly what she says, “No pressure. No questions. I just want you to know that if you need to talk, I’m a safe zone. Completely safe.”
“I believe you.” And also, remarkably, I do. Maybe it’s Kace’s trust. Maybe it’s a feeling. But I do believe they’re safe. I do believe my reaction was knee-jerk.
“Good,” she says. “So just know that if you need to talk, even in circles, I’m here.”
I don’t know what happens, but my mouth opens, and then words just spew out. “I’m Aria Stradivari, perhaps now the last living Stradivari. My ancestor created the Stradivarius instruments Kace favors. My brother is missing. People, there are always these unknown people, who are hunting the secret to the instruments’ creation. Kace has Walker protecting me and someone named Kayden Wilkens helping us from some underground organization.”
She grabs my hand. “Okay, breathe. Thank you for trusting me and wow. Just wow, but how amazing you and Kace would end up finding each other. You are obviously where you belong.”
“I’m hunted. He’ll be hunted because of me.”
“He can handle it. It takes powerful people to fight powerful people. He’s powerful. I know. I’ve lived that and I’ve seen it as truth. As for Kayden, his wife, Ella, is my best friend. They saved our lives and honestly, she saved me from being raped. They’re badasses, honorable, and dangerous to the wrong people, which means the bad guys.”
“Raped?”
“Yes, well, that was me trusting you. That’s between us. It’s a long story that I’ll tell you sometime over chocolate, but the bottom line is that Ella is always being hunted. As her only family, and we are sisters in our hearts, I am family, and I am always a potential target.”
“How do you live like that?”
“You’re asking me that?”
“I did it alone. You have Chris. You’re always in the open and high profile.”
“And guarded. We keep security. Chris worries. I choose not to. I don’t function well that way and neither does he. He just needs that control. And just for the record, Crystal and Mark have been through some similar stuff, too. They’re in your city. I swear to you that you can trust them.”
“I feel that. I like Crystal.”
“And Mark?” she asks.
“He’s,” I hesitate, and settle on, “hard.”
“He is,” she agrees, “but Mark’s guarded because of his past. He takes time to get to know and appreciate. Oh and I hear you’re living with Kace.”
I smile. “Yes. I am. It’s pretty wonderful.”
“I’d have known if Kace hadn’t told Chris. I could see the love blossoming between you.”
My brows shoot up. “He told Chris?”
“Yes. They talk. Before Kace, Chris only talked to me. Now they talk. I’m thankful they found each other.”
“I’m actually really not surprised,” I say, this knowledge giving new depth to Kace’s reference to them being a part of our circle. “They have a lot of weird coincidences in their pasts,” I add.
“They do and for that reason, I’m going to give you some last words of advice because we might not see each other until Paris. Because of Chris and Kace talking, I know you know a lot about Kace and I know you know there are things you don’t yet know.”