Page 17 of Five Stolen Rings
Jack stills, his whole body freezing mid-stride as he’s on his way out of the room. Slowly, sinuously, he turns to face me again.
“So?” he says in a soft voice, his eyes sparkling with something like challenge as he approaches. “What about it?”
“So if I’m already beautiful, I don’t need my beauty sleep.” I fold my arms, tilting my chin up to look at him as he steps closer. “I can just stay here and watch you all night instead.”
A wicked grin flickers over his lips. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Princess.”
I grab a pillow from the sofa and throw it at him as hard as I can; he catches it easily and lets out a bark of laughter.
“Such a temper,” he murmurs. “Go home.” He pauses, his smile fading into something less pleasant. “Maude took something of mine. I’m taking it back. That’s all.”
I straighten up at this, my mind whirring. “What did she take?”
He lets his body sag against the doorframe, tossing the pillow aside and folding his arms. “Do you care?” he says, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Of course.”
When he continues to look at me with skepticism, I sigh. Then I stand up and hobble over to him, holding my hand out. I take a deep breath and speak.
“Hello,” I say. “My name is Stella. I care what your strange stepmother took from you. Let’s speak kindly to each other like the mature adults we are.”
He shakes his head slowly, his eyes on my extended hand. “Don’t try to be nice to me, Stella.”
I swallow. “Why not?”
“Because.” A muscle jumps in his jaw as he looks back up at my face and says, his voice flippant, “Maybe I don’t want to be nice to you.”
A million questions spring to my lips, but I know he won’t answer any of them. “I think that might be a little dramatic.”
His shoulders jerk into a shrug, as though to sayYou can think what you want.
“You don’t have to be nice to me,” I go on, swallowing my hurt. “But I’m still going to treat you this way.” Because I should. Because we’re not in high school anymore, for heavens’ sake.
Jack changed shortly after I got to Windsor, when he was a sophomore, and I know, deep down, it was because of me. I hurt him. I don’t know when, exactly, or how, but it happened. But…
“You can’t hold onto the past forever,” I say quietly. “I’m back in Lucky. So I’d like to be friends with you again, at some point. If you ever get there. Just…let me know.”
His gaze is inscrutable as it bores into me. I let my words hover, give him a minute to think about what I’m offering.
And finally, incredibly, he nods—it’s little more than a jerk of his head, but I definitely see it.
I give him a tentative smile and a nod of my own. Then I turn to hobble out of the room; my head is still throbbing, my foot still hurts, and I know better than to push my luck here. I’m almost to the front door when I remember one last thing I want to say.
“You’re sure the phone call wasn’t you?” I say over my shoulder.
“I never called you, Princess,” he says, sounding exhausted himself.
I nod. “Please don’t take anything,” I say. “I really need the money Maude is paying me.”
This time, he doesn’t respond.
JACK
My heart races as I hear the front door slam shut, the sound echoing through Maude’s dreary house. I collapse onto the couch, breathing deeply, trying to push the rush of memories out of my mind.
Stella can never evereverfind out I was the one who made that frantic phone call. She can never find out I was the one who said those things. Because what would she think?
It’s a stupid question. I know exactly what she would think. So I will continue to lie.
