Chapter Sixteen

Sara

Sara lay in her bed reading a book when her phone rang. Ferrin and Lavinnea were the only two likely to call her and she’d parted ways with them a few hours ago. She picked up the phone and Rindy the Sinclair Estate phone operator said, “There’s a delivery from Fonzoli’s for you at the front door.”

“I didn’t order anything.”

“Should I send them away?”

“No. I’ll take care of it.” She wouldn’t want the delivery person to get in trouble. By the time she made it down to the front door, the scent of pepperoni pizza wafted up to meet her and made her mouth water.

“Sara Sinclair?” the delivery man asked.

She nodded.

“A friend sent this for you.”

“What friend?”

“You’ll have to read the note to find out.”

There was a piece of paper taped on the box. It had her name written on it.

“Thank you.” She accepted the box and signed the delivery receipt, adding a generous tip.

“Thank you.”

Now what? It was almost dinnertime, so she carried the pizza to the small dining room and set it on the sideboard. She pulled the note off and read,

“I saw you today in Dragon’s Bluff, but I didn’t have a chance to say hello. I hope you had a merry Christmas. I look forward to catching up after the holidays. Ian.”

She blinked and read the note again. Had he lost his mind? He couldn’t send her a gift. People would notice. She reread the note, searching for anything that might cause trouble. It seemed harmless. She opened the box and checked the pizza, making sure the pepperonis weren’t laid out in a heart pattern or anything odd. No. It was just a pizza. Maybe it was a peace offering. Something to let her know he was okay. Her parents would hear about this, so she needed to make sure they knew about it from her. She grabbed the phone and asked Rindy to let them know where the pizza was if they wanted to join her. Then she picked up a piece and took a giant bite. Spicy pepperoni and Italian seasoning made her taste buds happy. She grabbed a plate and took her slice to the table, because her parents would expect her to eat with a knife and fork.

Ten minutes later, a maid came in, pushing a cart with a salad, French bread and butter, a decanter of ice water, and another of iced tea. “Your mother asked for side dishes to go with your pizza,” the woman informed her.

“Thank you.”

Her mother strolled in a few minutes later. “When did you decide to order pizza?”

“I didn’t. A friend sent it to me as an after-Christmas gift.”

“That’s odd.”

“He’s a Red, so he thinks differently,” Sara said, as she poured herself a glass of tea.

Her mother filled her own plate before sitting down to finish the conversation. “How do you know this boy?”

“He’s in my Econ class. We worked on a project together. Part of the assignment was to talk about what kind of food you liked. He mentioned Fonzoli’s and I told him I liked their pepperoni pizza.”

Her mother cut off a piece of pizza and ate it with her fork. “I don’t understand his logic, but it’s a nice gesture. How did your day with Ferrin, Lavinnea, and Byron go?”

“It was fun, and I think Ferrin has a better understanding of what type of jewelry I’d like to receive in the future. I hope one day he’ll be open to taking the W pendant apart and turning it into something wearable, but it’s probably too soon to suggest it.”

“Maybe we could take the pendant to a jeweler and ask them to come up with a less offensive W design.”

Sara laughed. “I want to see the look on the jeweler’s face when you make that request.”

Her father strolled in, sniffed the air, and smiled. “It’s been forever since we ordered from Fonzoli’s.”

Should she tell her father the strange origin of the pizza?

“I thought it sounded nice after all the rich Christmas food.” Her mom glanced sideways at Sara as she said it.

Okay. Her mother hadn’t lied. She’d just said something in a manner that made her father think she’d ordered it. Sara would go with it. No reason to call her father’s attention to Ian. That was the last thing she wanted.

“Their pepperoni pizza is my favorite,” Sara added.

“I’ve heard lots of positive feedback about the Christmas Ball,” her mother said.

“As expected,” her father said. “You always put together a wonderful event.”

“Thank you.”

Her parents made small talk. Sara listened enough to know if and when she was supposed to contribute, but her mind was on Ian. Why had he sent her a pizza? It was such a strange thing to do. Should she send him something to let him know she was doing okay? Could she meet him for lunch? She’d have to see him once they were back at school. Maybe it would be best to see him before then to lessen the awkwardness.

Or maybe I should let it go.

After dinner, she went for a walk on the estate grounds. The rose garden was one of her favorite places, even when the flowers were dormant, because the walking path between the roses was laid out in a spiral pattern. When she was little she’d race down the path as fast as she could to make herself dizzy. Now she strolled along and admired the designs in the paving stones.

Unlike some of the other Blues, her parents didn’t expect the gardeners to keep the roses in bloom year round. There is a time and a place for everything, her mother had said when she was little. And if you take care of something with patience and pride it will bloom for you when the time is right.

Would her relationship with Ferrin ever bloom? Probably not, but her time with Ian was over. When she reached the center of the spiral, she sat on the marble bench and willed herself to move on with her life.

It would be nice if she didn’t have to parent Ferrin in the process. Not that she was perfect, but he had an alarming lack of concern for others and little social finesse. It shouldn’t be her job to teach him those things, but his father had set a terrible example and his mother didn’t seem like the type to correct or instruct anyone.

Being with Ian had been so easy. Everything with him felt right. Like he was what had been missing in her life. She didn’t need a snotty Blue male who’d shower her with jewels. She wanted a Red Dragon who joked around and who sent pizza just because… Who made butterflies flutter in her stomach every time he smiled at her. With Ferrin, there were no butterflies, and the smiles were few and far between.

She closed her eyes and remembered what it had felt like when Ian wrapped his arms around her…the warmth…the sense of being cared for… God, she missed that. She missed him. The marble bench beneath her radiated cold. The bone-chilling cold and the lifeless flowers seemed like a sad reflection of her future marriage.

“Would you like me to grow a rose for you, miss?” a feminine voice asked.

Sara glanced up and saw one of the gardeners coming toward her. She had the bronze skin and dark hair of the Orange clan, and she seemed oddly out of place in this cold landscape.

“That’s not necessary.”

The woman came closer and touched a rosebush. Sara watched in fascination as a single brown branch turned a vibrant green and a bud formed. Slowly, it grew larger and larger until it burst open into a blood red rose.

The gardener plucked the flower and offered it to Sara. “Sometimes you need a token to remember that a cold or difficult time won’t last forever.”

“Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

“You’re welcome. Good night, miss.”

Sara inhaled the sweet scent of the rose. No matter how bad things might seem with Ferrin there would still be good things in her life. She needed to focus on the good things. Ferrin might be part of her life but he wasn’t her whole life, thank goodness.

…

Christmas break flowed by in increments of meeting Lavinnea to have lunch, spending time with Ferrin, and talking with her mother. She hadn’t spoken to her mother so much in years. Somehow her relationship with Ferrin gave them common ground.

The last Friday of break Ferrin called and invited her to lunch. He specifically asked her to wear the W necklace. Her mom sat with her while she waited for Ferrin to pick her up.

“I’m worried his father will be there.” Sara touched the necklace. “I can’t think of any other reason he’d ask me to wear this.”

“It would be good to make amends with his family, since you’ll be spending time with them from now on.”

“Or,” Sara said, “I could be offensive and rude on purpose so they’d never want to spend time with me again.”

Her mother shook her head, but she was smiling. “I think not.”

The phone rang and Rindy informed Sara that Ferrin had arrived.

“I’ll walk you to the foyer,” her mom said, “since I’m heading to the atrium.”

When they reached the foyer, Sara headed for the front door while her mother turned right to go up the main stairs. Ferrin stood outside.

“What are we doing today?” she asked as they walked to the car.

He opened her door and then went around to the driver side and climbed in. Once they were on the road, he said,” I thought we’d visit a jeweler’s to see if we could create a necklace more to your tastes.”

“Really?” That is great news. “Thank you.”

“This isn’t purely for your benefit. I can’t have my future wife not wearing the first piece of jewelry I gave her. What would the other students think?”

So this was about appearances, but it worked in her favor, so she’d let it go.

When they reached Dragon’s Bluff, Ferrin parked across the street from Benton’s Jewelry.

“This is the jeweler who made the pendant,” Ferrin said. “So try not to say anything offensive.”

Hopefully, this necklace was an anomaly and the jeweler actually had better taste.

When they entered the store, the woman behind the counter smiled. “Mr. Westgate, how nice to see you again. This must be Miss Sinclair.”

Ferrin nodded. “Yes. It’s nice to see you again, too. We’d like to talk to you about this necklace.”

Sara removed the item and set it on the counter. “The stones are beautiful,” Sara said, “but the setting is a bit large.”

The woman nodded. “I see.”

“We’d like to reset the diamonds into a more delicate necklace,” Ferrin informed her.

“This was a special order,” the woman replied. “I’m not sure I can alter it.”

Sara reached for the necklace. “Then we’ll take our business elsewhere.”

The woman snatched the necklace off the glass case. “What did you have in mind?”

Ferrin pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. It was a detailed drawing of a necklace with the diamonds strung together and labeled by size. The largest stone was in the middle and the others decreased in size as they moved out. “What about something like this?”

The sketch is impressive, but why didn’t he show it to me before we came in?

“Do you want each diamond in a bezel setting or a six-point prong?”

“Which is more secure?” Ferrin asked.

“The bezel setting is more secure, but it will take longer to create.”

“I need it by Sunday evening,” Ferrin said.

Why did Ferrin even need her to come with him if he wasn’t going to include her in the conversation? He was fixing one problem—taking care of the hideous W necklace, and she appreciated that—but why he wasn’t asking for her input?”

“Creating something on a rush order will cost more,” the woman said.

Ferrin laughed. “I’m a Westgate. Money is no concern. You doing your job well and in a timely manner is the issue. Can you do it or should I find someone else?”

“I’ll have it delivered to Westgate Estate by special courier Sunday evening.”

“No,” Sara said. “Send it to Sinclair Estate. It’s my necklace.”

The woman looked to Ferrin to confirm these instructions.

“Sara, it would be best if it came to Westgate estate. I’ll bring it Monday morning when I pick you up for school.”

She took a deep breath and smiled like she didn’t want to smack both him and the obnoxious jeweler. Ferrin was doing something nice, in his own snotty way. She needed to focus on the fact that she wouldn’t have to deal with the awful W necklace anymore. “Fine.”

After leaving the shop, Ferrin walked down the street without a word. “Where are we going?”

“To lunch.” He seemed surprised she didn’t understand.

“I’m aware, but where are we having lunch?”

“I thought we’d eat at Fonzoli’s, since we ate at The Snack Shack the last time we were here.”

She’d rather go to Fonzoli’s but again she wished he’d ask her opinion. Was she being unreasonable? She didn’t think so, but nothing felt right today. And this wasn’t worth fighting about. “Pizza sounds good.”

He gave her an odd look and they continued down the sidewalk. The stores had taken down their Christmas decorations, which made everything look a bit bare. She wasn’t going to share that thought with Ferrin because he probably wouldn’t agree. Maybe I’ll hold imaginary conversations in my head for the rest of my life. Holy crap. Is that what Mrs. Westgate does?

…

Ian

Ian checked the bags he’d packed the night before. Greg was picking him up in fifteen minutes.

“Have everything you need?” his mom asked from the doorway.

“I think so.”

“You’d think I’d be used to sending you off to school by now,” his mom said. “But I still don’t like it.”

He walked over and gave her a hug. “We’re on the downhill slide of the school year. And I can always come home on the weekend.”

“I know.” She ruffled his hair and then backed up a step. “But you’re so grown up. Soon you’ll move into your own house, and I’m not going to deal well with that.”

Ian laughed. “I still have to get through at least a two-year degree in college. You’re stuck with me through then. Even after I finish school, Amelia and I will probably live within walking distance. No worries.”

“You won’t understand until you have children of your own. It’s hard to let go.”

Ian zipped his bag. “It’s not like I’m running away and you’ll never see me again.”

His dad appeared in the doorway. “Logic doesn’t help. We have this conversation about once a month.”

A car horn sounded outside the house. He hugged his mom one last time, picked up his bags, and headed out to meet Greg.

Monday morning when the alarm went off, Ian smacked it rather than punching it because you were probably allowed only one replacement dresser a year. After getting ready, he and Greg walked to the dining hall.

“I know we just came back, but it feels like we never left,” Greg said as they lined up for the buffet.

“Agreed.” The routine was comforting but it was also monotonous. “Any chance Mrs. Silvertrap has become a dynamic speaker?”

“Nope,” Greg said.

While they were in line, Ian kept his gaze on the food because he didn’t want to accidentally check to see if Sara was at her regular table. He’d see her on the walk to his table without it seeming as if he was trying to locate her. So he filled his plate and turned to walk toward their usual table and there she was, sitting across from Ferrin. By the way her mouth was set, Ferrin was saying something annoying. Then again, when did he not say something annoying? Wait. Not my concern. Not my problem. He should think about Amelia.

During Proper Decorum, he waited for Sara to make eye contact or say hello, but she actively avoided meeting his gaze. That ticked him off. She may not want to be with him, but he wasn’t going to let her act like he didn’t exist. In Econ he went over and sat behind her and waited for her to turn and say hello. When that didn’t happen he tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned with a fake smile firmly set in place. “Hello, Ian.”

“Hello.” Okay. He should have thought this through. Now what? He’d go with the obvious. “How was your break?”

“It was lovely. And thank you for the pizza. That was a surprise.”

He leaned back like his heart wasn’t racing at one hundred miles per hour. “I remembered the project we did while I was there and it seemed like the right thing to do.”

“How was your break?”

“Good. We laughed a lot and I think I ate my weight in Christmas cookies.”

Her facade cracked and she grinned. “That would be an awful lot of cookies.”

“My mom is an amazing baker.” He spotted the necklace she wore. “Hey, no more W.”

Ferrin turned and glared in his direction. “Unfortunately, the pendant was too large for Sara, so we had it altered.”

“This one is much better,” Ian said. “The W was kind of tacky.”

Sara looked like she was trying not to laugh.

“Tacky would be the watch you’re wearing,” Ferrin said. “What’s it made of, aluminum?”

Ian held out his arm. “I have no idea. It tells the time. Reds don’t need to compensate with flashy jewels. We’re secure in our masculinity.”

Sara’s eyes went wide and Ferrin looked like he was about to start ranting, but Mr. Clayton called class to order.

“Welcome back. I hope you had a nice break and you’re ready to work.”

Well, that was fun. Even if he couldn’t be with Sara, they could still be friends.

That night, Ian went to the library on the off chance Sara might be there. He was writing an essay when he heard someone walking toward him. He glanced up and saw the bronze skin and dark hair of an Orange Dragon walking away from him. Half an hour later he finished his assignment and still no sign of Sara, so he packed up to leave. Disappointment settled on his shoulders like a two-hundred-pound weight. What had he expected? She’d made it clear that she was done with him. He’d held out hope she’d change her mind.

He went downstairs past Mrs. Enid. She waved him over. “Someone left you a note.”

“Who?” Had Sara sent him a letter?

“I don’t know. It was on my desk when I came back from dinner.”

“Thanks,” Ian took the envelope and opened it.

I won’t be meeting you at the library anymore. I thought you should know, so you wouldn’t waste your time.

It wasn’t signed, but he knew who it was from and it hurt way more than it should have. She’d known he’d come here and wait. How pathetic was that? He crumpled the note into a ball and threw it into a trash can on the way out.