ME: Har-har. No, I’ll leave the Dawson and dating to you.
I sighed at myself as soon as I hit send because I knew exactly why I’d done it. I was ridiculous. It irritated me that a mere two minutes in his vicinity could reduce me so quickly to the girl who’d danced around at his feet.
WILD ONE: Don’t give me the heebie-jeebies. It’s like suggesting I date my uncle. *** puke emoji ***
I didn’t know if it was relief or disbelief or both that flew through me at her rejection of Dawson. They were together so often. They were both bright, beautiful, charismatic souls. I couldn’t imagine itnothaving come up. Look at how easily Silas and I had slipped from friendship to more.
I hadn’t replied to Jada’s text by the time she shot off another one.
WILD ONE: It’s been too long since I’ve seen you, Baioretto.
She’d called me Violet in Japanese since meeting me for the first time and seeing the purple streaks in my hair that matched my eyes and my name. It was like I literallywaspurple, she’d said.
ME: I’ll give you a ring as soon as I have a date from Tami.
It brought a smile to my lips that my conversation with Silas had caused to disappear. I hadn’t seen Jada in almost two years. On top of the worldwide gallivanting she did with Dax and Dawson’s crowd, she was often sent to charity events across the globe on behalf of her family’s business. Mori Enterprises was as big of a company as you could find. An international conglomerate touching a wide range of fields from shipping to finance to publishing.
I tucked my phone away and finished going through my boxes while my brain turned from friends and men to the one thing I could be sure about. Science. Chemistry. The cinnamaldehyde-based antimicrobial that was going to change everything.
I just had to prove it.
Dawson
MESS OF A MAN
“No time to look for reason when you living all these lies
Raise hell and live to tell, and ended up alone.”
Performed by Matthew Mayfield
Written by Mayfield / Combs
My personal phone ringing jerked meawake. I glanced at the time as I reached to answer it. I’d slept for almost fifteen hours, leaving an entire day behind me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept that long. But the all-night partying, racing, and deal-making that had consumed my life in Spain had left me pretty much on empty.
“Dax! Tell me you have good news,” I said groggily into the phone.
“It may be just us and Demario, but it looks like it’s a go,” Dax replied, and I knew he was excited, because his French accent was standing out more than ever.
“Do we actually have a date?” I asked.
“Tentatively, Monday. The weather is the only factor right now.”
Less than a week. Way sooner than I’d expected. I had multiple threads to weave together before then. Malone. Ken’Ichi. So much for any rest.
“When are you flying in?” I asked.
“Friday. Plan on coming to the city early so we can celebrate.”
I wanted to groan, but partying with Dax in New York City would maintain my cover. Plus, it would put me in place to handle anything Ken’Ichi needed from me as we readied theAda Maefor the cross-Atlantic trip.
“Sounds good,” I said.
We hung up, and I dragged myself into the shower, shaved the scraggly growth from my face, and headed down to the kitchen.
Violet was there, setting up the breakfast buffet.
She hadn’t heard me come in, and I watched for a moment, almost like I had the day before in the garage. I was still stunned to have her back in the house. Stunned that she looked so grown-up. My body?no longer tired?had the same damn reaction to her as it’d had yesterday. Longing and desire filled me.
