Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins
Without looking up she cleared her throat and paused. “Nothing.” She gave me an award-winning smile.
“Well, I don’t know about you girls,” Patti called out, “but I’m starving. You wanna help me throw everything together before I go check on the chicken?”
The twins shared uncertain expressions.
“Sure, we’ll help,” I answered for them. “What do you need us to do?”
“All right, how about you and Marna make the salad, and Ginger can help me bake this cake.”
Their eyes filled with horror.
“You mean like chopping things?” Marna whispered.
“Yeah. It’s not hard. We’ll do it together.” At my prompting they stood but made no move toward the kitchen with me.
“I’m not sure you ought to trust me with a knife,” Marna said.
“Or me with baked goods,” Ginger added. I’d never seen her so unsure of herself. If it were just me making the request, she’d tell me to go screw myself, but neither girl seemed to know how to act around Patti. They fidgeted and glanced at the kitchen.
Patti came over and took Ginger by the arm.
“You’ll both be fine,” Patti insisted. “It’ll be fun!”
The seriousness of the twins in the kitchen was comical. They took each step of their jobs with slow, attentive detail, checking and double-checking the measurements while Patti ran out to flip the chicken. Somewhere halfway through, the girls loosened up and we started chatting. Patti put Ginger at ease in a way I’d never seen her. At one point we were all laughing and I realized I’d never seen Ginger laugh in a carefree way, only the mean kind of amusement brought on at someone else’s expense. Usually mine. Ginger caught me looking and straightened, smile disappearing. Patti watched with her keen, wise eyes. She wasn’t missing the significance of any gesture here.
When she returned from getting the chicken off the grill, Ginger said, “Oh, that smells divine, Miss Patti.”
Who was this complimenting girl? Patti smiled and thanked her.
Ginger was so proud of the cake when it was finished that she took several pictures of it with her phone. She even wanted a picture of her and Patti holding the cake together, which nearly made Patti burst with motherly affection. I couldn’t even manage to feel jealous as Patti heaped nurture on Ginger. It was so sweet it made my eyes sting. Marna kept sending fond glances at her sister.
“I did that part right there all by myself,” Ginger said to Marna, pointing to the frosting trim. “Brilliant, isn’t it?”
“Bang-up job, Gin.” Marna squeezed her sister around the shoulder.
The four of us had a surprisingly wonderful time together. And through it all, my skin buzzed every time I thought about the upcoming trip to California.
I was sad when it was time for the twins to leave. I walked them out to their rental car after they received big hugs from Patti.
As we stood on the sidewalk, Ginger poked her sister in the shoulder. “You need to tell her.”
The scathing look Marna shot Ginger was something I’d never seen from her. The fluttery feelings I’d been experiencing during dinner quickly turned to a sour feeling.
“Tell me what?” I asked.
The sisters shared a knowing look. Then Marna and I held each other’s eyes in silence until I knew. I just knew.
My voice shook when I whispered, “You told him, didn’t you?”
“No!” Marna said, and her voice shook, too. “Not directly. He asked me and . . . and . . . I told him no! But . . .”
Ginger turned her attention to me. “You should know Marna is the worst liar in history. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice, but Kai and I poked fun at her growing up ’cause she always pauses before she tells a lie—as if she’s working out the story in her head before she tells it.”
Oh, no. He knows. I covered my mouth, feeling sick.
“I’m so sorry, Anna,” Marna whispered.
“What did he say?” I demanded.
She cleared her throat, a dainty sound. “He wouldn’t let me explain the circumstances. He just kept saying he had to go.”
“Tell her everything,” Ginger prompted.
“There’s more?” I asked. I felt sick.
Marna’s eyes bugged out at her sister.
“What?” Ginger asked. “She should know what she’s walking into.”
“Yes, I should.” I crossed my arms just like Ginger, less out of anger and more to try and comfort myself with the good, tight grip.
Marna looked miserable when she mumbled, “He rang me from a bar where he was with his bandmates and some other people from the studio—”
“The other Anna was there, wasn’t she?” I asked. My voice came out sounding a little vicious, and Ginger raised her sculpted eyebrows at me as if impressed.
“Yeah,” Marna said. “She was trying to get people to come back to her place, and Kai agreed, then told me he had to go and he’d be fine. But he wasn’t fine. He was a bleedin’ mess.”
“So what happened?” I could feel and hear my blood pounding in my ears.
Marna shook her head to show she didn’t know, and Ginger spoke up.
“The bastard probably finally gave in and hooked up. No doubt he was thinking of you when he was all Oh, Anna—”
“Gin! Not. Helping!”
But Ginger didn’t stop. “I wonder if he was angry and rough, or sweet and—”
“Shut up!” I screamed at her and she pressed her smiling lips together, then I turned on Marna. “Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Of course! But I was scared. I was waiting until I knew you were going to see him.”
I had to fix this. “What’s his number?” I asked her.
“I don’t know, honestly. He’s changed it again.”
I let out a frustrated sound.
“I would’ve given you Kai’s number this whole time if you would’ve just asked me,” Ginger said.
Marna and I looked at her, shocked.
“You would have?” I asked, doubtful.
She shrugged one shoulder and examined her thumbnail. “He never told me not to. Only Marna.”
We continued to stare at her until she huffed a big breath.
“Look. He’s a complete arse, but I’ve never seen him like this. I’ve never seen him want anything or anyone, truly, until you. It’s almost like he’s being more self-destructive without you than he’d be with you. So, yeah, I would’ve given you the asshat’s number. To drive him mad if nothing else. But I don’t have the new digits either.”
Marna and I looked at each other but didn’t dare to speak.
“Oh,” I said. I had no clue what else to say to that.
Ginger pulled out her phone and looked at the time. “We have to go,” she said to Marna.
“Good luck in California.” Marna embraced me good-bye. “I’m sorry,” she said again as she straightened.
I swallowed hard. “Thanks.”
Ginger surprised me by leaning in for a quick hug of her own. Realizing what she’d done, she cleared her throat and pulled away, looking me in the eye.
“Give Blake a message for me, would you?”
“Okay,” I agreed.
With a wicked flutter of her eyelashes, she leaned forward. I froze with shock at the feel of her small, soft lips on my own. When Ginger’s hips pressed against mine and her tongue flicked at my closed lips I gave a little squeak and jumped away, bringing a hand to my mouth.
Ginger smirked and cocked her head. “Best not to relay that message in front of Kai, I imagine.”
Marna swiped her sister’s shoulder with the back of her hand. “You’re such a cow!”
Ginger laughed and they left, exchanging sibling banter. Marna sent me an apologetic glance over her shoulder and I sputtered a nervous sound before stiffly turning back to the apartment and shaking it off.
That was one message I would not be delivering.
I sat on the concrete steps for a minute, wishing ther
When I got back up to the apartment, Patti pointed to my purse.
“Your phone’s been going off like crazy.”
I checked it. Six texts about a graduation party tonight. Patti gave me a sad look and I felt my shoulders slump. Time to get ready to go out.
That night after the party, I called Dad.
“How was your graduation night?” he asked.
“It was okay. A spirit was there, but he didn’t stay the whole time.”
“Good.”
“I have a sort of weird question,” I began. “I heard something about Nephs being able to have more than one sin.”
“Sure, yeah. It’s rare, but not unheard of. There used to be fewer Dukes back when there were fewer humans, which meant the Dukes were in charge of multiple temptations. I’m the youngest Duke, so to speak. I’ve only been around since the eighteenth century. I only have the one sin, so you shouldn’t have a major problem with anything else. Do you?”
“No, no, not me. I just heard it and I was curious.”
“Only one of your pals’ fathers had multiple sins at one point, and that was Alocer,” Dad continued. A headache began behind my eyes as he went on. “He used to be the Duke of Wrath and Lust, before Pharzuph came on the scene. Wait—How did you hear about this, again?”
I cleared my throat.
“Um, yeah, I heard it from Kope.” I hurried on, changing the subject. “You should have stayed today—it was funny watching Ginger and Patti—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up a second.”
I clutched the phone tighter. “Yeah?” I asked, all innocence.
Silence.
“Please tell me Kopano is not a Lust Neph, too.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Dad, he’s extremely self-controlled—”
A scratchy interference cut me off, probably from his hand covering the receiver to hide the muffled string of curses taking place on his end. I cringed.
Finally it ended.
“What happened between you two?” he asked.
Why was I afraid of his anger, even through the phone?
“It was my fault—”
“I don’t wanna hear that! Just tell me nothing happened!”
“Nothing happened,” I assured him. “I promise.” It wasn’t a lie, since I knew he was referring to sex.
The line was quiet as we both calmed.
Then I whispered, “Please don’t be mad at him, Dad.”
“I’m not.” He let out a breath. “He actually talked to me when you two got back from Australia. Said he didn’t think he should accompany you anymore. I took it to mean his emotions for you were getting in the way.”
“That is what he meant,” I told him. “Everything got a little too complicated.”
“Well, you’ll go to California by yourself, and then I’ll have to work something out for future trips. I don’t want you going alone when unknown elements are in the picture.”
I understood that, and I agreed.
“I have one more question, though,” I said. “Why wouldn’t Kope’s badge be red? Or red and black?”
“Neph inherit whatever color badge their father currently has, regardless of what other past influences might sneak into the genes. Everyone except you, it seems.”
“Hm.” I yawned and lay back on my bed.
“Get some sleep,” Dad said.
I snuggled into my pillow and closed my eyes. “Thanks for coming today,” I whispered.
He gave a grumpy little “hmph” and I smiled into the darkened room.
“Love you, Dad.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Love you, too.”
“Love is no hot-house flower,
but a wild plant, born of a wet night, born of an hour of sunshine; sprung from wild seed, blown along the road by a
wild wind.”
John Galsworthy, The Man of Property
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CALIFORNIA DREAMING
Few sights compared to the Santa Barbara coast. The land on one side of the road was lined with mansions, while the other side broke off into sharp cliffs overlooking the ocean. I drove to Blake’s with the windows down, salty air drenching my system. According to the twins, Kaidan spent a lot of weekends at Blake’s. That’s good, because it was a Saturday, and I was ready to tell them both. Only a couple of miles to go.
I reached down and pressed a hand to my stomach, trying to rub the nerves away.
A hot breeze ruffled my hair around my shoulders as I guided the car to a small surf shop next to a carnival. I hadn’t brought a bathing suit because I didn’t anticipate this being a leisurely trip. But now that I’d smelled the ocean and seen the creamy-looking sand, I decided on a whim that it would be good to have one. Just in case. And maybe I was stalling a little.
A long-haired boy behind the counter greeted me with a smile when I walked in. Beach Boys music played as I found the wall of bathing suits. I quickly narrowed it down to two: a cute pink tankini or a sexier white halter-top bikini with a small ruffle along the edges. An image of Kaidan came to mind, and I grabbed the white bikini. I picked out a pair of silver and pink girl’s surf shorts with a matching fitted T-shirt, and a pair of sunglasses from the rack. I threw everything on the counter without looking at the price tags, and presented Dad’s credit card before I could lose my nerve about the teensy bikini.
I changed in the surf shop’s restroom, then climbed back into the car for the last stretch, feeling much more like a California girl, minus an awesome tan. I passed some spectacular coastal homes, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I rounded the bend through an open security gate and saw Blake’s mansion built into the cliffside.
But whoa. It was beyond incredible. I openly gawked.
A sizzle worked its way over my skin when I recognized Kaidan’s SUV—the same one we’d driven cross-country in. He was parked in front of a multidoored garage among a bunch of other nice vehicles. I parked and sat there a few minutes. I was too nervous to stretch my hearing. Blood thumped through my ears.
These are people you care about, Anna. There’s no reason to be scared. Just go in there and tell them the prophecy. There doesn’t have to be any drama.
Energized from my pep talk, I took a shaky breath and pushed my hearing into the house, spanning the silent rooms. I stepped from the car and shook out my arms. It was hot here but not humid, and the breeze made it bearable. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and followed stone steps to an awning wrapping around the side of the house. The walkway led to an unlocked gate. Even the outside walls of the house were covered with detail, perfectly placed stones, flowering vines, everything immaculate.
The crescendo of crashing waves and distant voices became louder as I turned the corner, a rush of warm wind giving me goose bumps. The walkway opened into an enormous three-tiered deck. I stopped to take in the lush swimming pool with a twisting waterslide, waterfall, diving area, and bungalow with an open canopy side and an enclosed changing area. Down on the next levels were a skateboarding ramp and outdoor game spot with setups for volleyball and horseshoes. The surrounding landscape boasted exotic plants with thick, green leaves and bright blossoms giving off peppery scents. It was a home worthy of the Duke of Envy.
I moved to the edge of the pool deck and my heart stilled. Amid the waves and sand below were at least a dozen boys. One of them, shirtless, stood on his board in the surf for four solid seconds before being uprooted by the force of the water’s motion.
Kaidan.
I gripped the warm railing while I watched. Blake and another guy, wearing short-sleeved wet suits, sat on their surfboards farther back where the water was calmer. Blake was laughing at Kai’s wipeout.
Kaidan stood and shook out his hair, which was even longer than a few months ago. Some of the other guys gave
Blake noticed me first. He shielded his eyes and peered up, then elbowed Kaidan. The three of us stared at one another through the distance, my body a tight coil around my heart. I lifted one hand in greeting.
This was it.
Leaving their boards on the shining sand, the whole group shuffled up the beach, taking a steep path of wooden steps that led to the house through jutting rocks. I reminded myself to inhale, then exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
Blake climbed to the upper deck and sprinted, hurdling several lounge chairs before almost knocking the wind out of me with a hug. His cold wetsuit was soaking, but I didn’t care. He pulled away and gave a long whistle as he eyed me.
“Wussup girl?” he asked. “Lookin’ good.”
“You, too,” I said. Blake’s hair was a couple of inches long, jet-black, and straight. His round Filipino face was golden brown from the sun, and a silver barbell glinted in his eyebrow.
I cleared my throat as we became surrounded by the group of dripping, tan California boys. For a stunned moment all I could think was that Veronica would be in drool heaven. I didn’t even have the nerve to look at all of them, and I wondered where Kaidan was in this pack of hotties.
“Sweet,” someone behind me said in a low voice. “A break in the sausage fest.”
“Shut up, brah,” Blake told him. “This girl’s way too nice for you.”
Some of the guys laughed. I never felt shy around people from school anymore, but under the scrutiny of a bunch of boys I didn’t know it was different. I think Blake could tell.
“Time for you all to head out so I can catch up with an old friend.” He draped an arm around me. Some of the guys groaned, but one by one they said their good-byes, slapping hands and backs and stealing glances in my direction. Blake left to see them out. I finally got the nerve to look around and found Kaidan nearby leaning against the railing, looking at the sea.