2

I groaned and leaned back in my chair, my stomach stretched to capacity after finishing the last of a dark chocolate pomegranate mousse. After the first five courses, I’d promised myself I’d only sample the dessert, a promise I immediately broke. I’d wolfed down half of it before regaining my self control. Then the waiters swept by with another round of drinks and left the mousse lingering before me, tempting me with its decadent flavor.

I’d tried to resist, but a man can only hold chocolate at arms length for so long.

Captain Armstrong and his wife had just left, and the rest of the party had splintered into smaller groups. Many of them chose to stand and stretch their legs, possibly as a means to help their meals settle.

Shay twittered with Allison across the table, who’d been abandoned after Rodgers left to chat with Quinto and Captain Knox. I glanced at the clock in the corner. It read quarter after nine.

I placed a hand on Steele’s shoulder. “Shay?”

“Yes, Daggers?”

I nodded toward the clock.

She took a peek. “Oh. Thanks for reminding me. Allison. It’s been a pleasure, as always. Time for us to head out, though.”

We said our pleasantries while making the rounds, shaking a few more hands and clapping more backs along the way. I asked Quinto about the bill, but he insisted he’d take care of it. I didn’t pry. Maybe a close relative of his had bit the dust and left him a large inheritance.

We retraced our footsteps, back through the Empress’s opulent entryway and out the gilded doors. We paused at the end of the red carpet, strokes of pinks and purples painting the sky despite the late hour. It was summer, after all.

“Now for the million crown question,” I said. “You want to walk, or take a rickshaw?”

Shay didn’t hesitate in hailing a cab. “I’m wearing heels. You should know the answer to that.”

“Just thought it might be nice to walk off some of the six and a half pounds of food I’m currently giving birth to.”

“If I’d packed flats in my purse, I’d be right there with you.”

A rickshaw pulled up. We hopped in, Shay gave the man her address, and the cart clattered off.

“Thanks again for reminding me about the hour,” said Shay. “I was having such a good time I might’ve forgotten otherwise.”

“Well, my intentions weren’t completely noble.” I trailed a hand across her leg and gave her a suggestive squeeze, more toward the upper end of her thigh than the lower.

“Really?” Shay lifted an eyebrow. “After all that food?”

“Well, I did say I wanted to walk it off. Besides, I had three and a half cocktails, too. Those counteract the effects of the meal in the friskiness department.”

Shay placed her hand over mine. “Jake, you know I’d be up for it most nights. But I have so much to do in preparation for my brother’s business school graduation party tomorrow. My mom’s expecting me at their apartment by seven, and it’s not like I can just show up. I’m supposed to bake two trays of gingersnaps before I arrive, mostly because my mother insisted we order flowers from the florist rather than full arrangements. Those are going to take at least a couple hours to put together.”

“I can commiserate,” I said. “I’m cheap, too. It’s why I almost had a heart attack when we arrived at the Empress.”

Shay smiled.

I gave her leg another squeeze. “Still. I could be quick. Just saying.”

“I know you could.” Shay gave me a wink. “But I’ve got more than one excuse, tonight. Mainly that I had fewer drinks than you.”

I chuckled. “Fair enough.”

Our rickshaw clattered along, the sky deepening in color. A slice of New Welwic passed us by at the speed of our driver’s feet, a collection of the young and old, the rich and poor, the human and the not and everything in between. Compared to many of the couples that I saw, the mismatched pairing of Quinto and Cairny looked downright ordinary.

Shay must’ve been reading my mind. “I’m happy for Cairny and Quinto,” she said, drawing my attention back into our cart. “I can’t believe they’re engaged, though. It seems like yesterday they started dating.”

“It’s been almost a year,” I said. “Which isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things, but it’s enough to get the measure of a person.”

“It is, isn’t it?” The rickshaw wheels bounced over the cobblestones as we took a corner. Shay trailed her thumb over the back of my hand. “You ever think about our future?”

“Of course I do. All the time.”

“And where do you see us?”

“Well…together, I hope. And you?”

She nodded. “I’d hope so, too.”

I chewed on the edge of my lip. “And…do you think it’s a realistic hope?”

“We’re the ones who make the decisions about our futures, aren’t we?”

Silence stretched for a moment, or at least what passed for it in a New Welwic rickshaw. Neither of us spoke amid the clatter of rickshaw wheels against pavement, the chatter of nearby pedestrians, and the angry shouts of a wine-soaked bum. Old me would’ve suffered a panic attack under similar circumstances, but present me felt oddly at ease with the conversation.

“You’re not feeling…pressured by Quinto and Cairny’s engagement, are you?”

“What?” said Shay. “No. I apologize if that’s how it came across. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s simply that we’ve never discussed…you know. Marriage. And not between us, specifically. Rather our general stances on it. Given your previous marriage, I guess I don’t know how you feel about it.”

“I’m not jaded by the institution, if that’s what you’re asking. I’d be open to trying it again. I like to think I’d do a better job picking out the right partner this time.”

The rickshaw slowed and pulled to a stop outside Shay’s apartment building.

Shay leaned in and kissed me. I’d become so used to the slightly sweet taste of her lips, the scent of her lilac perfume, the feel of her warm breath as she exhaled through her nose as I kissed her back. The familiarity didn’t diminish the experience in any way.

She pulled back. “The ceremony’s at noon tomorrow, with the party and lunch afterward. I should be in the office by two or three at the latest.”

“See you at work, then.”

She hopped off the rickshaw, gathering and lifting her skirt to keep it from dragging. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” I said.

She shot me one last longing look before heading through her building’s front doors.

I sighed.

The rickshaw driver eyed me. He looked mildly sympathetic. “Women, am I right? Where to next, pal?”

I dug some coins out of my pocket and hopped out of the cart. “I’ll walk from here. I’ve got food to digest and topics to ponder.”