With a put-upon sigh, Paulina—with obvious reluctance—removed her feet from his back and placed them on the bed.
“I knew we should have had a June wedding,” she said.
Cyrus laughed as he dragged himself—with obvious reluctance—off the bed.
“One month,” he said. “And a half.”
“Fifty-three days,” she said. “I’ll survive.”
“I better go before I change my mind about a few things.”
“You better do that, Daddy.”
Cyrus knew he should, but he couldn’t quite leave yet. He sat down next to her on the bed, stroked his hand through her hair, stroked her cheek with one curl.
“You ever gonna tell me if you ever done this before?” Cyrus asked her.
“No, I am not.”
“I’m not being nosy,” he said. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”
“We been together over a year, Cyrus Tremont. You really think a woman can go a year without having sex and it won’t hurt when she has it again? Whether I’ve done it before or not won’t matter, and you know it.”
“I just want you to enjoy it. I just…I want to get it right for you.”
“Will you be there?”
“Planning on it.”
“Then I’ll enjoy it.”
“I love you, baby.”
“You better,” she said.
He kissed her again, quick, on the cheek.
And though it hurt, he stood up and walked to the door. Before he left, he turned around and looked at her one more time. She lay on her side on the bed, looking pretty as Christmas in her gray skirt and white lacy blouse.
“Pray for me,” he said.
“I do, every night.”
“What do you pray for about me?”
She tucked the pillow under her head.
“Oh, the usual things. That you’ll be safe, that you’ll do good work, that you’ll help the people who need helping. I always pray you’ll remember God loves you. And I always pray you’ll remember I love you.”
“You ever pray that I behave myself?”
She shrugged. “I try not to,” she said, “But sometimes I slip and one comes out. I don’t want you to think deep down I don’t trust you. I wouldn’t be marrying you if I didn’t trust you. Sometimes, though, I don’t trust everybody else out there.”
“I don’t want you to worry. If hanging out with Nora’s shown me anything, I’m done with that part of my life.”
“She sexy?”
Cyrus laughed. “Baby, she is sex on two legs and both those legs are sexy legs. She is sex in a box wrapped in a bow with ‘sex’ written on the bow. If she were a song, she’d be ‘Little Red Corvette.’”
“That’s sexy right there,” Paulina said.
“But when I’m with her…nothing.”
“Nothing?”
He shook his head, almost apologetically. “Nothing. Hanging with her is like hanging with one of the guys. Except it’s easier to talk to her sometimes. That make any sense?”
“Like she’s maybe…a friend?”
“Now I wouldn’t go that far. The woman is ten kinds of crazy.”
Laughing, she said, “Maybe she is. You’d have to be crazy to help a man you barely know solve a case for no pay when she’s got better things she could be doing.”
“Guess I’m crazy, too.”
“Maybe you should pray for her,” Paulina said. “That’ll help you both.”
“Pray for what? That she doesn’t get us both killed?”
Paulina pursed her lips, shook her head. Times like this, he remembered he was marrying an almost-nun.
“Pray for her the things I pray for you. That she’s safe, that she’s happy, that she knows God loves her.”
“I’ll do that,” he said. “If anybody needs prayer, it’s her. If she’s having tea with the devil right now, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Selling her soul to him?”
“Nah. If anything, he’s trying to buy his back from her.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Mercedes stepped in through Nora’s front door and immediately slipped out of her shoes. With a graceful slide of her foot, she tucked the shoes—plain rope sandals—next to the door beside the brass umbrella stand. A large and slouchy crochet handbag was slung across her body.
She stepped away from the door and waited for Nora to lock up the house after her.
“I guess a certain vampire told you someone was looking for you,” Nora said.
Mercedes nodded. “Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m not afraid,” Nora replied. “A little surprised. Very confused. How did you know where I live?”
“If I said it was witchcraft, would you believe me?”
“Probably not,” Nora said.
Mercedes held her hand out low, palm open. Gmork lifted his head and pressed it into her palm. She stroked his ears, tentatively at first, but when Gmork whimpered happily, she squatted down to his level and put her face near his face. She let him lick her cheek as she scratched and stroked Gmork’s ears and head.
“Does she have a name?” Mercedes asked.
“He,” Nora said. “Gmork. It’s from The Never-ending Story.”
“He’s sweet.”
“He’s supposed to be a trained killer. Turns out, he’s just a lady-killer.”
“Loves the ladies?”
“And hates men.”
Mercedes laughed softly. “I like you, Gmork.” She patted Gmork one more time on the head before standing up straight again.
Gmork trotted back over to Nora, pressing his warm body to her legs. It comforted her. Nico had bought her the dog for protection, which she never thought she would need. Now she was grateful.
“I apologize for coming so late,” she said. “If you were looking for me, I assumed it was important.”
“My friend and I were going to stop by your shop tomorrow morning to see you.”
“Your friend, the man you were with tonight?”
“Yes, he’s a private detective.”
“I would rather speak to you alone than with a man. If that’s all right. I saw your porch light was on, but I’m happy to go, if you like. Would you like that?”
Her voice was low and soothing. Nora was too curious to turn the woman away, but she kept her guard up.
“No, you can stay. It’s fine. Let’s go into my office.”
Nora had converted the house’s formal dining room into her office. She led Mercedes there through the kitchen. Nora switched on the brass floor lamp. Six oak bookcases lined the walls. Nora’s big boat of a desk sat in the middle of the room, facing the French doors that looked out onto her jungle of a patio garden.
“Can I get you anything?” Nora asked. “Water? Wine? Whiskey?”
“Wine would be nice.”
Nora went into her kitchen and quickly poured two shallow glasses of Syrah. While alone in her kitchen, she thought about grabbing her phone to send Cyrus a quick text. But she had a feeling Cyrus would immediately come over, and Mercedes might not answer Nora’s questions with a man present.