“With what?”
“You obviously don’t have cards on Kaldor.”
“No.”
“Cutting the cards means you take a certain measure of the cards off the stack. It helps to ensure randomness.”
He picked about a quarter of the cards off the top. She tucked his cut under the others and dealt out three cards facing him. After hundreds of client readings, she had no problem reading upside down. Her heart lurched as she saw the third card.
Interpretation; it’s all open to interpretation. What counts is what it means to him.
Shoving aside her consternation, she focused on the first card. “This card is your past.” She tapped the one on his left, her right. Three robed individuals stood next to a pillar topped by three pentagrams. “The Three of Pentacles represents cooperation, working with others, combining the contributions to achieve a goal or success.”
“Like the business. Like the way I started Kaldoronics at Home, working with Soton.” He glanced at his business partner before looking to Karma for confirmation.
“If that’s your interpretation,” she said. “It depends on you.”
“What else could it mean?”
She shrugged. “I can’t tell you. You must decide what it means.” His guess was certainly possible. “This next card is the Ace of Cups.” The middle card showed a chalice balanced on a hand. “This represents your present.” Her pulse raced. Maybe the tarot didn’t represent the business. She’d forgotten to tell him to think of a question before shuffling the deck.
“And…what does it mean?” he prompted.
“It stands for new beginnings, emotional awakening, a time of love and joy, and letting go of old patterns.”
His eyes met hers, and she could guess—hope—what he was thinking—because she held the same thought.It’s about us.A marriage was the epitome of a new beginning. Her gaze shifted to the future card.
“And the last one?” His brow furrowed. “It doesn’t look very promising.”
The card on his far right showed three swords piercing a heart beneath a rain cloud. “The Three of Swords,” she said in a muted tone, “represents heartbreak and betrayal.”
Soton gave a bark of laughter and slapped Falkor on the back. “That sucks!”
“Italsosuggests a release from suffering,” she hurriedly added, and scooped up the cards, and tucked them into their velvet sack. “Most people don’t put any stock in tarot readings at all. My sister doesn’t.”
“You do,” he said.
“I use it as a tool to clarify my options. It’s no different from talking to a friend, and the friend says, ‘You ought to do this.’ Is she predicting my future? No. Besides, tarot results are opento interpretation and are in no way set in stone. They suggest a path. Whether you take it is up to you.” Who was she trying to convince—him or herself?
Is our marriage going to end in sorrow? Will he betray me? Will I betray him?
She couldn’t imagine doing anything to deliberately hurt him. Would he hurt her? She didn’t believe that either. She regretted doing the reading—wished even more Soton hadn’t witnessed it. That discomfiting, speculative gleam sparked in his eyes again.
I really dislike that man.
“We should go,” Falkor announced, to her relief. “Keep me apprised of the beta tests of the new system and the feedback,” he instructed Soton.
“I always do.”
“Nice meeting you,” she lied politely and scooted toward the exit before he decided to shake her hand—or, worse, kiss it.
They climbed into the hoverlimo and shot into the sky. “Thank you for bringing me,” she said. “I enjoyed seeing the shop and your inventions.” Meeting Soton? Not so much. If she and Falkor had a history, she’d suggest he find a different partner.
“Thank you for coming with me,” he said. “That reading…”
She covered his hand and squeezed. “It’s a path, not a fate. And it’s all open to interpretation.”
“I did not like Soton’s interest in you.” He threaded his fingers through hers.
