Because that’s not an emotional overreaction to something completely unrelated. Jesus, Aras.
“All right, all set to go.” Mason scooted his chair to the side, squeezing himself into the corner and trying to make himself smaller.
Aras gave him plenty of space when he grabbed the other chair and sat down. “I’m not allergic to you, and if I touch this damn computer, I’ll fry it six ways to Sunday.”
“Oh, BS.” But he did scoot in closer. A bit. And he took over the trackpad as he did. “Now, I don’t know dick about carnival glass, but I cataloged the data I was given. Hopefully it’s enough for you to make some educated decisions.”
Aras looked at the spreadsheet in front of him, then back to Mason. “Do you know if its possible to be so humble that you injure yourself? You might want to look into that.” He elbowed Mason in the arm. “You got pictures of every piece, plus the pattern name, the shape of the glass, and the color.” He slid his finger over the trackpad…and highlighted several complete columns. “Shit. Fuck.”
“Maybe Ishouldnavigate this for you.” Mason slid the laptop over. “I marked down whatever the weird different kinds of coating are too. The radium or satin or whatever all that is. But that’s the only other bit of info.”
“So you only managed to collect up everything anyone could possibly need. I see why you’d belittle yourself over this.” He let it drop, though. “Can you filter these out to just…purple and amethyst? Actually, just purple.”
A few clicks and some keystrokes and the spreadsheet repopulated down to a smaller, albeit still significant, selection of Caroline’s collection. Without Aras asking, Mason scrolled through it slowly, which let Aras focus on finding the right centerpiece. Most people got into carnival glass because of the deep, iridescent purples. At least in Aras’s experience.
He laid eyes on the right one. It was a piece he remembered, but he had to be certain she actually had it before he started making any concrete plans. It was a master punch set in purple, covered in a lovely geometric pattern. “Complete Memphis punch bowl set. Radium iridescence. That’s the centerpiece.”
“That’s beautiful.”
Aras whipped his head up at the sound of Dane’s voice. He strode over, one hand stuffed in his pants pocket, the other combing his hair back. His shoulders were taut, and although he smiled as he walked in behind them, Aras didn’t recognize that smile. It was clearly fake, put on for Aras’s own benefit, no doubt.
“Meeting go okay?” Aras wasn’t totally convinced he wanted the answer, but he also knew he’d burn up from the inside if he didn’t find out.
“Yeah. Thought maybe we should talk?”
Aras looked over at Mason and held his tongue, tried to get his point across.
Mason stood. “I’ll go check on the progress with Evander. You know how he is if he’s left alone too long.”
“Four different kinds of wallpaper and a disco ball hanging from the fucking ceiling.” Aras waved him away. “Save this house before it’s too late.”
And then it was just him and Dane.
Chapter thirty-three
Dane
“So,what’sthedealwith that piece?” Dane lowered himself into the now vacant chair and gestured toward the screen. “It’s really interesting. A lot more structured than most of the other patterns. No flowers or anything.”
“Yeah. Purple’s a pretty rare color in Memphis, especially for a complete set. Nothing absolutely mind blowing, but that set’s probably worth a few hundred bucks. And for a reason. It’s stunning.” Aras leaned forward and grabbed Dane’s hand. “You’re stalling.”
Dane looked up at the ceiling. Easier than looking forward. “I took the job. Too good of an offer. And…I’m leaving in a couple days for Atlanta to get settled.”
Aras’s grip tightened around Dane’s fingers, forcing his gaze back down. Dane saw the confusion, the discomfort, the pain on his face. Only for a second before his expression faded back to passivity. “That’s…fast. They must really want you on that job.” He released Dane’s hand. “So two more days?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nope.” Aras’s back straightened and he pulled his shoulders back. When he looked at Dane, there was such an intensity to his eyes, it almost stopped Dane’s breath dead in his chest. His voice was gravel as it passed through his throat. “Don’t apologize for pursuing something good in your life. I will be fine.Wewill be fine.”
“We will?” Dane hated saying it, calling it back into question, but he had to. He needed to know if Aras meant it or if it was a slip of the tongue. Maybe most of all, he just needed to hear it again.
Aras’s body actuallyrelaxed.He smiled softly. “We will be fine. If we’re not, then we’re not.” He sucked in a shuddering breath after saying that, but gave no other sign of his nerves. Not that he needed to. Dane had the same nerves scratching frantically against the underside of his skin.
“Don’t sound so confident.”
“This was always a trial run, right?” Aras scooted his chair closer, rubbing his thumb over and over on Dane’s knuckles. “The timeline just got moved up a little bit, and we got a little bit more pressure put on the situation. But if that’s enough that we suddenly fall apart…well, that’s the results of the trial, isn’t it?”
“What if I don’t like the results?”
