“Let me guess, Citoyenne Jewelry?” I drawled.
“Good, you’re watching the game. Who is winning?”
“Your ego.”
“I’m not surprised. It’s gigantic. Size matters in football. Hurry up.”
“What’s the magic word?” I didn’t have an appetite anyway.
Besides, I was eager for Cal and Dylan to go back to their partners to try to defuse the situation.
“Immediately?” he tried.
I rolled my eyes. “No.”
A half-human, half-feral grumble came from the other end of the line.
“So?” I coaxed sweetly. “Magic word?”
“Abracadabra.”
“Try again.”
“Alakazam?”
“No.”
“Hocus-pocus? Open sesame? Daimon? Voilà? Sim sala bim? Fidelio? It largely depends on the period and culture. A little guidance wouldn’t hurt.”
Oh God. He didn’t… Surely, he couldn’t…
“You don’t know what the magic word is, Tate, do you?” I gasped.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I know everything. What language is it in?” he huffed.
“English,” I enunciated slowly. “It’s please. The magic word is please. Have you never used it before?”
Silence. And then, “I’m sure I have, once or twice.”
“Well, happy to pop your cherry. Ask menicely.”
This was going to be his entire life from now on. I was going to set obstacles and be obnoxiously difficult until I wrung out his will to live.
“Please,” he enunciated sardonically. “Come downstairs.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to get my soul sucked by the ghoul I’m marrying.” I stood up, bidding my friends goodbye.
“Hey, as long as it’s the only thing that’s going to be sucked.” Dylan saluted her cocktail in the air. “Don’t worry, girlie. We’re on top of it.”
I took the elevator down.
Oh yes. I was going to fulfill my part of the deal, but I wasn’t going to be nice about it. I had taken note of all the things Tate appreciated about me and made sure to hide them.
Which was how I knew he’d have a heart attack when he saw me.
I poured myself out to the frosty street and immediately spotted Tate’s Ferrari Purosangue. It was the same shade of gray as his eyes.
He’d parked in the middle of the street, blocking traffic. I hurried over to the back seat and popped the door open, realizing to my shock that he was in the driver’s seat, not Iven.
