“River?” Mae sounds distant.
Lux’s eyelashes flutter as a flush creeps up her neck, transforming her skin into a deep shade of pink.
Will you stay with me tonight?I mouth to Lux, keeping my voice silent to others.
“River?” Sebastian hisses, vexed by the lack of response.
She pushes her loose hair aside, rubbing her soft pink lips together bashfully. “Of course.”
“Lux.” Stevie reaches across the table to steal a bite of Lux’s toast.
Lux catches her, breaking eye contact. “Hey. That’s mine.”
“Sorry.” Stevie leaned back in her chair, arms crossed at her chest with a satisfied expression that she’s the one who captured her sister’s attention.
My focus returns to the rest of the people at the table with a smile impossible to hide. “Yeah?”
Aunt Mae’s tattooed eyebrows form high arches. “What’s next? Have we identified our next project?”
An awkward silence blankets the table as Lux pushes a chopped tomato around her plate, possibly contemplating if she wants to be included in our operation, or if she has the bravery to tell me she won’t.
Not sure yet which one, though.
Sebastian and Stevie most likely think the same, while Aunt Mae with her sweet soul is oblivious to the awkwardness of it all. She is simply happy to have women in the house for once.
“I have a couple in the pipeline but no decisions have been made,” I tell Mae, admitting I haven’t planned past Andrew and his buddies yet. Which is unlike me. I always have more than one predator in my pipeline, but I find myself holding out to hopefully get Lux’s input.
If she’s inclined to give it.
Sebastian senses my apprehension in discussing this and speaks up. “I think we’ll take a few days to breathe from this last one.”
I appreciate him for answering, because I’d like to speak with Lux before any plans are made.
Chapter 42
Lux
Stevie and I glance down at the primrose and white casket as I shove the check River gave me back into my clutch.
Although I didn’t know this woman personally, I do feel connected to her since we both had a shared experience. I almost didn’t come when Stevie mentioned she was holding the memorial services for one of the women from the cabin. But she ended up convincing me, saying it could be a good way to continue healing and to pay my respects.
When River found out, he offered to pay for all the expenses. When I told him no, because it would be weird since they don’t know him or my connection with her, he told me he’d provide an anonymous check for a million dollars instead. Obviously, I choked on my spit when I saw that many zeros, but I couldn’t turn down his generosity on behalf of the family. It wasn’t my place.
Since breakfast in the early morning hours yesterday, we haven’t had much time to speak. Stevie wanted my help at the mortuary, so I came here after a few hours of sleep, instead of going to River’s room. I had every intention to, but the weight of how to move forward feels intentional.
Without a doubt, he has feelings for me, but what does life look like for us now this is over? Will he be willing to let me join his world full time? If not, I don’t know how I’ll move forward.
River followed behind me as I drove into the city, but gave me the space to assist my sister with the services.
I look around the crowd of grieving people, when my eyes find a woman in a wrinkled dress hanging over the side of the casket. Her hair is tousled, her shoulder bounces through silent sobs, as her heart possibly shatters into a million pieces.
I’m about to ask my sister who she is when Stevie angles her head into the air and says, “That’s her mother.”
“I can’t imagine the heartbreak she’s feeling,” I say.
“She held off on having the services for a few weeks, because she was still in denial her daughter was gone.”
I rub my lips together, sadness feeling my chest. “Oh gosh.”
