Chapter 21

The group that came to the chalet looking for Pilar and coincidentally Nick and Inez were all teenagers. Nick recognized the twins Monroe and Dietrich from their introduction less than an hour earlier, but was happy to let Inez do the talking when they first arrived so he could pretend not to have forgotten the names of the others as soon as he’d heard them.

Nathaniel “Nat” Masterson-Stone was Brody’s little brother and uncle of the groom in spite of being born seven years after his nephew. Justin and Erin Stone were a brother and sister who’d been born a year apart in Shreveport to...

Nick shook his head as he mentally repeated the three names, trying to attach them to faces. Lineage still went out of his head as soon as he heard it. Undoubtedly Inez found it interesting, but it was just names to him. What was interesting to him was that Justin and Erin had described themselves as having been “fostered” by their parents to Isley and Cooper Masterson-Stone. He asked about it.

“Coop Junior wanted to work in the oil business. And they needed a dance assistant. So, we switched places.” Erin said. When the visitors turned to look at Justin and no one spoke for a few seconds, she added, “Justin got caught playing firsties.”

Justin blushed and lowered his head. “Christ, Rinny. Our guests don’t need to know that sort of thing.”

Unfortunately, Nick had already started to ask. “Firsties?”

Inez said, “‘Playing firsties’ is a bit of family slang for engaging in sexual behavior with someone you’re too consanguineous with for your offspring to be recognized in the family registry. I believe Shreveport and Green Mountainside both have fosterage grants available through the trust. Don’t they?”

Her question was directed at the fosterlings. Erin nodded. “We have five aunts and uncles on mama’s side and eleven on daddy’s. One of daddy’s brothers is married to one of mama’s sisters. Most of the Shreveport Stones in our age group are too close for us to marry. My dumbass brother got caught, but we all have to deal with the issue one way or another. I took a fosterage as soon as it became available, but not all families can do that or want to.”

Nick rubbed his forehead. “Couldn’t you just ... date outside the family?”

“A lot of people do that,” said Erin amicably. “But, a lot of us would like the chance to marry up inside the family. There are a lot of very middle-class Stones in Shreveport and only so many chances to marry out well.”

Nick tried to wrap his brain around that one. As a group, the Stone family still seemed way too comfortable around the edges of incest than he was. “So, these fosterage grants ... the family trust is paying for some of you to move somewhere and ... get some strange?”

“But not too strange,” said Monroe. “For some people, it’s a better alternative than staying where they are and marrying out.”

“It’s kind of dumb too,” said Justin. “I get why you don’t want to make six-fingered mutant freak babies, but nothing Jake and I were doing was going to make that happen.”

“I asked Bunny about that once,” said Inez. “She said the family’s always done a balancing act between encouraging individual freedom and the optics of appearing to condone a particular behavior. It’s only been about thirty years since the trust started to recognize same-sex unions and that was still almost twenty years before they were recognized under the law. Two first cousins buggering each other don’t do any harm, but it saves us a lot of political capital to not officially approve of it.” When everyone stared at her, she added, “That’s a direct quote.”

“One step back,” said Nick into the awkward void. “Who’s Bunny?”

“Bunny is Obie One’s wife,” said Erin. “They’ve been married like fifty years.”

“‘Obie One’ is Obadiah Stone, the First,” Inez filled in. “He’s the current family patriarch and has been for almost seventy years. He and Bunny are two of the five trustees who control the Stone family trust. Bunny’s had his proxy since he turned ninety, though. So, she pretty much makes policy for the big trust unless Threnody, Opal, and Jesse all disagree with her on something.”

“How long have you been a Stone and you don’t know this?” Dietrich asked.

“Like a week or a month or something. I’m still waiting for my New Stone Orientation class.” said Nick. When no one commented, he added, “I did just make that up. Didn’t I? There isn’t actually a class.”

“Not that I know of,” said Inez. “But, there is a primer on the family website you should probably read. Most of it’s not even bullshit.”

Pilar emerged onto the deck and looked at the little tableau. “I guess lunch is ready?”

“Not for another hour,” said Dietrich. “But, the dancing’s started. And people are really excited to dance with you. We figured you might want to get a few twirls in before you eat so people would maybe give you some peace and not try to drag you out on the floor the moment you finish eating.”

“We also thought if we walked you over, we could line-jump and get the first dances with you.” Monroe wrapped herself around Nick’s forearm.

“I ... think we might want to dance with each other first,” said Pilar slowly. “Nick, what do you think?”

Nick laughed. “I think I might be able to keep up with you better if I let a few cowboys wear you down a little first. And, I can’t wait to see you dance with a partner at your own skill level.”

Pilar smirked. “What do you think, Dietrich? Should we show Nick how it’s done?”

“I’m a passable dancer,” said Dietrich. “But, Justin’s better than me. I’d be honored to warm you up for him, though.”

“I bet you would.” Pilar laughed. “Why don’t you all lead the way to where they’re set up for dancing? We’ll be right behind you.”

As the group of teenagers headed out, Pilar wrapped herself around Nick’s bicep to slow him down enough to talk privately. “If I’d known I was going to get this kind of reception, I might have come to Montana a long time ago.”

“I’m just afraid I’ll have to explain to your father why you didn’t come back with me.” Nick chuckled.

“If it came to that, you could just tell him I stayed behind to try to lasso a husband. He’d be thrilled,” said Pilar.

As they emerged from the chalet, they spotted the twins waiting for them a little way up the road. Pilar said to Inez. “It seems like they marry a little younger out here than in New York. Do you have a spreadsheet for that yet?”

Inez closed her eyes and thought. “The last five weddings out there, the brides were 26, two at 24, one at 22, and one at 19. This one’s twenty-three. I’d need a pencil or a calculator to do the math, but those are all younger than the family average, which is 27.7 and New York is higher than that. So, yes.”

“You do know he’s only seventeen. Right?” Nick reminded Pilar.

“Dietrich? Don’t remind me.” Pilar laughed. “So’s Monroe, you know.”

“Yeah, but I was seventeen myself less than a month ago,” said Nick.

“Don’t remind me of that either, please,” said Pilar. “Or do. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I was corrupting anyone before. I should have at least a couple of younger lovers before I get so old, people start applauding me for it like it was some kind of trick.”

Nick laughed and put his arm around Pilar as they walked. “Honestly, the way you talk, you’d think you were some wrinkled, old crone. You’re twenty-five, gorgeous, and the premier dance partner of Green Mountainside Montana. I’ll surprised if you don’t have a couple of proposals before we leave.”

Pilar wrapped her arm around Nick’s waist and called him sweet. Nick wondered if Pilar talking about taking other lovers and marrying other men was a variation on Kiki’s “no expectations” lecture - meant to draw lines around what Nick shouldn’t expect from Pilar - not exclusivity or anything long-term. He could hardly complain on either point. Still, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that, even with Kiki and Jazz and Pilar in his life, he was going to end the summer alone.

Maybe each iteration of the cycle made the next step a little bit easier. With Shelby, he’d been blindsided. With McKenzie, he’d known things would end when he went home. Kiki was like an exotic, radioactive particle with an unknown half-life. Pilar was a fling. He and Jazz might last, but she was a busy entrepreneur and could be unavailable for weeks at a time.

He might have been too hasty in making the only rule he’d set for himself about sex. Maybe he shouldn’t worry about relationships right now and just enjoy the steady stream of one-night stands that seemed to be available to him. If he were just after sex, that could be the way to go.

But while he would never admit it to the women in his life, the sex wasn’t really Nick’s goal. He was looking for something he’d had and lost with Arwen almost six years ago - someone he could sleep next to and make it through the night without dreaming of loss and death and waking up with tears on his face.

Kiki wasn’t that person. He couldn’t fall asleep with her and assume she would be there in the morning. Kiki was fun and beautiful and sexy, but after a brief experiment he’d gone back to taking the sleeping pills on nights when she stayed over. Jazz might be. The one night at her place had been restful. Nick had slept soundly for a few hours this morning nestled up against her with Kiki there.

Waking up to the faint jolt of tires hitting the macadam in Bozeman curled up against Pilar, Nick had started to dwell on the possibility that she might be the person he was looking for. But, she was right. He was still too young for her to take seriously.

Even before they reached the dance floor, Dietrich was gently drawing Pilar away from him and Monroe taking her place. His barely-younger cousin said, “Thank you so much for inviting us to New York. I hope we didn’t railroad you too badly.”

Nick smirked. “No more than I let myself be railroaded. It wasn’t very long ago that I was hoping to spend some time in the city myself.”

“Did you really not know you were a Stone a month ago?” Monroe led him onto the dance floor - a low, wooden stage set up on the lawn. “Not a clue?”

“I knew my father adopted me and that he wasn’t going to tell me who biological father was until I was an adult,” said Nick. “I suspected a lot of famous men might be my father, but I don’t remember ever thinking I was a Stone.”

Monroe turned to face him and held out her hand. Nick took it and placed his other hand on her waist. She was so very slender, he imagined he could almost encircle her waist with both hands. Or Lev probably could anyway. “I’m still a pretty rank beginner at this. You could probably dance circles around me.”

“I’m good enough to follow where you lead.” Monroe flicked her hair, blonde and stylishly pixie-cut. “I wouldn’t be a very good dancer if I showed my partner up. Would I?”

They danced. If Monroe hadn’t mentioned she was letting Nick lead, he might have been fooled into thinking they were at nearly the same level of skill. At least, he would have been fooled until she demonstrated that she could dance and hold a conversation at the same time. “Mama says if I hadn’t been born a Stone, I’d probably have been burned as a witch by now.”

Nick lost count of his steps, but Monroe managed to follow his improvisation to get back on track. He said, “Too smart for your own good?”

“I don’t think that’s what mama meant.” Monroe tilted her head and looked up at Nick. “Is ‘smart’ really the first word you think when you dance with me?”

“It’s probably on a pretty short list. We’ve barely met,” said Nick. “You undoubtedly have many fine qualities I know nothing about yet. You’re probably a much better dancer than I’m letting you show off.”

Monroe continued to consider him for a while before saying. “Most men lead with ‘pretty’ or some variation.”

“I didn’t think women got burned as witches for being too pretty,” said Nick reasonably, hoping he hadn’t accidentally stepped into a minefield. “And I didn’t think you needed me to tell you you’re beautiful - seeing as how most men already have.”

Monroe smiled. “Most men who tell me that spend all day looking at horses and cows. A man from New York, hanging around with cousin Pilar might have higher standards.”

“I’m not just any man from New York. My home has an unusually large number of professionally beautiful women hanging around right now.” Nick told Monroe. For a moment, her smile slipped, but he added. “You’ll fit right in with them. You’re a very beautiful young woman, Monroe Masterson-Stone. I would have mentioned it sooner if I’d known it needed saying.”

“Thank you. You’re rather a striking young man yourself,” said Monroe. Nick suspected that was the aura of great wealth she was seeing, but he just politely smiled.

After two songs with Monroe, he danced with the very pregnant Yael, who was really more his speed, then with Renee Connelly-Ito-Grayson-Stone, who was fourteen and still clearly a better dancer than Nick. After two songs, Pilar broke in. “Lunch is going to be ready soon. And I thought we should get at least one dance in.”

“I don’t think I’ve actually gotten a chance to watch you dance yet,” Nick admitted. “I’ve been kind of focused down.”

“You’ve had some very pretty dance partners,” said Pilar. “I can see why you might choose not to look around.”

“Mostly, I was just trying to dance and not embarrass myself,” said Nick. “Any proposals yet?”

Pilar pursed her lips. “Not precisely. Jonas Stone did ask me if I could imagine living out here, but I had to tell him I needed big cities for my work.”

Nick frowned thoughtfully. He was already getting better at dancing and talking at the same time. “Did I meet Jonas?”

“No. I think Brody just threw the young ones at us when we got here. Jonas is probably in his thirties.” Pilar moved in closer. “Is it weird for you that we’re talking about this? I’m not really looking for a husband this weekend. I’m just enjoying being available.”

“If I let ‘weird’ stop me, I’d miss most of the fun of being a Stone.” Nick held her close while the music went through a slow phase. “If you’re looking to get married in the next few years, you’re right. No matter how well we get along, that seems awfully soon to me. If you meet your future husband here, I’ll be happy for you and look forward to being a better dancer by the time your wedding rolls around. For all I know, I might meet my wife here if I haven’t already.”

“Unlikely unless Yael’s baby turns out to be a girl,” Pilar smirked.

Nick shook his head. “I don’t intend to live my life according to Inez’s spreadsheets. I may have Colin’s money, but I don’t plan to let it define me. I’ll marry who I want to when I want to, provided she agrees.”

Instead of answering, Pilar looked up. A helicopter overhead had been steadily getting louder and closer. It now started to descend on a far lawn, uphill from where they were standing. Young people ran towards its eventual landing place.

Pilar turned to Nick. “It looks like Cousin Opal is here. Shall we go meet her?”

“Sure. She’s one of the trustees. Right?” Nick asked. “I guess that must make her a pretty big name in the family.”

“One of the biggest,” agreed Pilar. “Either one of you being here is way more star power than most Stone weddings get. I bet Guy and Sarah had a lot of last-minute requests for invites once you RSVPed.”

“I hope I didn’t make too much trouble for them,” Nick said as he climbed the grassy hill. “I just wanted to meet some of the family and see what it was I supposedly owned out here.”

“You said they sent you an invite. That means they must have wanted you here,” Pilar kept pace next to him. “Even if it caused some trouble with the guest list, having your name attached to their wedding will give them a boost getting started - not as big as their association with Opal, but it will still help.”

“Because Opal’s a trustee?” Nick asked.

“A little. Mostly, it’s because Guy was fostered on Opal’s stead as a teenager,” said Pilar. “And they used to go together.”

“So, she’s the groom’s ex?” Nick asked as they took their place among the gathering reception line. “Isn’t that kind of weird?”

“If you let ‘weird’ stop you, you lose out on a lot of the benefit of being a Stone,” Pilar reminded him. “Opal being here and making a grand entrance will signal that she’s happy Guy and Sarah are getting married. Plus, I understand she gave them a honeymoon in Greece as a wedding gift.”

Nick frowned. “I ... don’t think I got them anything. I forgot that was part of going to a wedding.”

“Etiquette says you can give a gift up to a year after the fact,” said Pilar. “With your position in the family, waiting until after the wedding can mean that you’re waiting to see what they still need or that you’re considering offering patronage.”

Nick sighed. “I really do need that Stone 101 class. What’s patronage?”

“In practical terms, it usually just means offering a job,” said Pilar. “It’s one of the ways the Stones maintain family cohesion. Stones who are better off frequently hire cousins to come work with them as a way of promoting the family as a whole.”

“So, it’s nepotism?” Nick asked.

“If you want to be vulgar.” Pilar wrinkled her nose at him. “Our construction company has about twenty Stones on the payroll at any given time. We provide them with steady work and good wages. They give us a certain amount of loyalty in return. We’re not in a situation where we can afford a lot of slack on either side.”

“And it’s actually pretty hypocritical of me to criticize,” Nick said. “One of the first things I did when I found out I had money was hire my friends to be subject matter experts on Nick Coyle. I just imagine it must suck going out for a job at a Stone company and finding out you’re competing against another Stone.”

Pilar nodded. “I get that. But, we’re certainly not the only family that does it.”

In front of them, the helicopter’s rotors had finally stopped spinning. The pilot emerged, stepped around to the passenger door, and opened it. A young, blonde woman with corkscrew curls emerged followed by a similarly young and beautiful Asian woman. Pilar said. “Oh. She brought Kay.”

Nick didn’t have time to ask who Kay was or which one was Opal or any of the other questions he had before the blonde spoke with her clear, Australian accent. “Is that Nick Coyle hiding in the back there?”

Nick froze for a moment. He’d stayed in the back of the crowd, figuring the Montana Stones had more of a vested interest in meeting Opal, but the crowd parted, allowing Opal to walk right up to him and put out a hand to shake. “I’ve been hearing rumors for weeks that you and I are getting married. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s ... uh, nice to meet you.” Nick didn’t want to tell Opal he’d never heard of her before today. “I haven’t heard those rumors.”

“No worries. You will,” said Opal. “Some people are in love with the idea of family dynasties. As soon as people found out who you were, they added you to the speculation about me, Jesse, and Threnody. In the meantime, please allow me to introduce you to our cousin, Kay Inoue-Stone of the ... San Francisco Stones?” She turned her question to Kay.

“San Francisco works ... also Detroit, LA, and now Ames, Iowa,” Kay shook Nick’s hand. “I’m third to cousin Reggie and his wife, Mya.”

The way everyone looked at Nick, he imagined he was supposed to react in some way, but as was happening quite frequently today, he had no idea what Kay’s words meant. Rather than displaying his ignorance in front of the whole under-thirty population of Green Mountainside, he would ask Inez later. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kay.”

He then introduced Pilar who Opal had recognized from her videos, but been unable to place until there was a name attached. The same group that had introduced themselves to Nick earlier in the day introduced themselves to Opal, giving Nick a chance to hear all the names a second time. When Opal spotted Sarah, she gestured the bride forward and hugged her dramatically, keeping her close for the rest of the introductions. “We’re practically going to be sisters in law now. Your fiance is like a brother to me.”

To Nick, it seemed like an odd thing to say about an ex-boyfriend but Sarah looked happy to hear it and stayed at Opal’s side. Blonde, beautiful, tan, and smiling, they could easily have been mistaken for close cousins if not sisters.

Before introductions could be finished, Brody came up. “Dinner is about to be served if you all want to head down to the barbecue area.”

Opal hugged the older man. “I’m going to run down to the chalet for a few minutes and freshen up first. Keep something warm for me?”

“That won’t be a problem.” Brody gave her a warm smile. “Miss Kay?”

“I’m as fresh as I ever get,” said Kay. “Let’s eat.”

Arwen wasn’t sure what response she expected from Lev when she dropped her bombshell, but she hadn’t expected him to laugh - certainly not with the genuine amusement he was showing now. “Ari, you don’t even like talking to other girls.”

“That’s not true,” Arwen protested. “I didn’t like talking to other girls from Brownfield Mills. I like talking to Emily and Cat and ... well, I’m not sure ‘like’ is the word for how I feel when I talk to Kiki, but it’s very eye-opening.”

“Are you sure you haven’t just been talking to Cat too much?” Lev raised an eyebrow. They’d been enjoying a quiet moment of relative privacy in a shady corner of Madison Square Park when Arwen had dropped her theoretical on him.

“I didn’t think you’d want to discourage me,” Arwen pouted.

“I don’t,” said Lev emphatically. “I also don’t want to encourage you. If you’re floating an idea to see how I respond, my answer is that it’s entirely your decision. However I feel about it now shouldn’t factor into it at all. If you do decide to experiment with another girl and I feel differently afterwards than I do right now, we’ll deal with it then. But, don’t ask me how I would feel about it in advance. There are too many variables.”

Arwen bit her lip. “You could tell me you wouldn’t break up with me over it.”

Lev ran his hand over his buzzcut. “You want me to promise I’m not going to break up with you over any relationship you might have with any woman or women for an indefinite period of time, no matter how deeply you fall in love or get your heart broken?”

Arwen closed her eyes. Put that way, it was a pretty absurd question. She tried to make a joke. “If it’s not too much to ask, yeah.”

Lev rested his forehead against his hand, closed his eyes, and chuckled. “Seriously?”

Arwen wrapped herself around his bicep. “I imagine it and I imagine liking it. I’ve even been ... tempted by the possibility. But, it doesn’t feel like this overwhelming need that I’d pursue if it meant losing you. If you tell me I have to choose, I already know I’ll choose you.”

Lev looked up, stroked her hair and left his hand resting on the back of her head. Arwen had always felt like Lev was strong enough to crush her skull in one hand, but that he’d sooner cut his own arm off than hurt her. He gently turned her to face him now. “Ari, I meant what I said on the Fourth. I would put a ring on your finger today if you’d let me. I don’t ever want to leave you.”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t let you?” Arwen asked.

“Put a ring on your finger?” Lev frowned. “I think it might put a damper on your dating prospects.”

“As opposed to the large Israeli man who goes around with me everywhere?” Arwen asked. “I don’t need those kind of prospects, Lev. I’m not looking to fall in love with someone else. I’m certainly not looking to get involved with anyone under false pretenses. I want to find out who I am, but I already know I’m not that person. I want to be with people who can look at a ring, know I have a big, scary man waiting for me at home who I plan to marry and who could crush them into the size of a tin can if they deliberately hurt me and still want to be with me. I don’t know if there’s anybody who would be interested enough under those conditions, but they’re my conditions.”

“You would wear an engagement ring? Tonight if I got you one?” Lev asked again, sounding like he wasn’t sure he’d heard right.

“If it was cool enough,” said Arwen. “Not some stupid thing with giant diamonds all over it, but something uniquely for me. I’d want you to wear one, too.”

“Damascus steel or mokume gane?” Lev asked.

“I ... don’t know what mokume gane is,” admitted Arwen.

Lev took his phone out of his shirt pocket, unlocked it, tapped it three times, and handed it to Arwen. On the screen was a close-up of a ring of silver and copper combined in a pattern like flowing water. “Mokume gane is a decorative technique created for samurai swords. It literally means ‘wood-grain metal.’”

Arwen held Lev’s phone and looked at him. “You brought this page up awfully fast. Did you have it bookmarked?”

“I had it open,” said Lev. “I was looking at it last night.”

Arwen handed him his phone back. “You know, some guys just look at porn on their phones.”

“They have their fantasies. I have mine,” said Lev. “Should I order us a pair?”

“Seriously?” Arwen met his eyes. “If I tell you yes, you’re going to order us engagement rings right now on your phone?”

“We should find out your ring size first. Mine’s ten and a half,” said Lev.

Arwen leaned her head on Lev’s shoulder. “When you present it to me, I expect a proper proposal. This doesn’t count.”

“This definitely wasn’t how the fantasy went,” admitted Lev. “Unless all of these birds are extraordinarily dirty doves.”

“Pigeons are a kind of dove. Aren’t they?” Arwen suggested.

“Pigeons are the birds that beat up doves at school and take their lunch money,” said Lev. “If they hear you call them that, they might try to peck your eyes out.”

“Don’t tell anyone until I’m wearing the ring?” Arwen asked.

“Should I take that as a ‘yes, Lev. I’ll wear your ring?’” Lev asked.

“I must have said ‘yes’ by now,” said Arwen.

“I’ve been listening pretty closely,” Lev pointed out.

Arwen kissed his cheek. “Yes, Lev Jessop. When you give me a proper proposal with real doves, I will wear your ring and call myself your fiancee and marry you when the time is right for both of us.”

“Am I really locked in on doves?” Lev asked. “I’ve got a lot of different proposal ideas.”

“Doves are optional,” said Arwen. “Should we talk about when we want to actually get married? I’ve got an age in mind.”

“I like twenty-one,” said Lev. “Old enough to do anything but run for president.”

Arwen winced. “I was going to say twenty-five.”

“We’ll have been together five years when we’re twenty-one,” Lev pointed out.

“Split the difference?” Arwen asked. “Twenty-three? That gives us five years to figure out who we are as adults. If we don’t hate each other by then...”

“So, you think that twenty-one to twenty-three period will be particularly rough?” Lev smiled gently.

Arwen leaned more fully against Lev. “Maybe we revisit the question in a year? Come back to Madison Square Park on July 11, 2016 and see if we want to do it at twenty-one or wait?”

“You drive a hard bargain, future Mrs. Jessop,” said Lev. “Should we shake on it?”

Arwen drew his head down. “Don’t you dare.”

It was such a good kiss that Arwen barely even noticed Lev drawing her slowly into his lap. When it ended, she sat across his knees. If it had lasted much longer, she might have forgotten they were in public. He looked up at her with such love in his eyes, Arwen thought her knees might give out if she tried to stand.

“I love you, Ari - whoever you turn out to be,” Lev promised.

“So, that means you’re okay with me ... experimenting with other girls?” Arwen asked.

“I’m okay with you trying something you want to try, then deciding if you want to try more,” said Lev. “Do what you want to do, Arwen. Then take a deep breath and decide what else you want to do. There’s no point in committing to everything before you do anything. You don’t have anything to prove, Ari.”

Arwen laid her head on Lev’s shoulder. “I kind of feel like I do - even if only to myself. Don’t you?”

Lev hugged her. “We’re not really talking about me. Are we?”

“We haven’t much,” admitted Arwen. “I guess it wouldn’t be fair for me to be out experimenting and expecting you to stay home alone waiting for me to come back.” She hated saying it out loud. The idea of Lev with someone else still terrified her.

“Are we looking to be fair?” Lev asked. “I haven’t asked for any kind of quid pro quo. This has all been about you spreading your wings and my reward being a wife who’s comfortable in her own sexuality.”

Arwen closed her eyes and fought back tears that threatened to fall even if she didn’t know exactly why. “No. I think you should have the same chance, Lev. Do ... something Wan would hate. I need to lure her out so I can kill her once and for all.”

“Do you?” asked Lev. “I fell in love with you a long time ago, Ari. Wan was a part of that.”