* * *
“Son of a monkey’s butt!”
“Kizzy! Language!” her father said, horrified.
“I didn’t swear. None of those words are swears.”
“But would you say them in the ER?”
“Probably not. Sorry. But how do you expect me to react to this a-hat behavior?”
“I expect you to be on your best behavior—at all times,” her father said.
“So suddenly, here I am with you and Nick. Where is Brandee?”
Nick and Aaron glanced at each other. “She’s with Noah. She has to get a friend to help wipe his memory of the book.”
“A friend? Who? And why?”
“There’s no way we can let anyone who doesn’t absolutely need to know in on this. It’s for his own safety, Kizzy.”
She sagged. “I understand, but how much of his memory is Brandee’s friend going to wipe?” She narrowed her eyes at her father.
Her father straightened his spine. “What are you implying?”
Kizzy shrugged. “I know you don’t like him. Maybe you want her to wipe his mind of my existence?”
Her father looked hurt. “I would never do that. Your love life is your own. Your mistakes are your own. I don’t want to be responsible for making those decisions for you.”
“And yet you tried to talk me out of seeing him.”
He shrugged. “I never said I couldn’t express an opinion.”
“You did more than that. You told me to break up with him.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”
She was tempted to make a crack about how maybe he was finally seeing her as an adult or mellowing but didn’t think this was the time. “I appreciate your opinions, but not your interference.” Before he could respond, she held up her hand. “I really do love Noah. And I know he loves me. I trust you wouldn’t ruin that, even if you didn’t approve.”
Kizzy went to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of ice water. “So, Nick. How much of Noah’s memory is Brandee’s friend going to erase?”
He shrugged. “Not much. We have a friend with the power to mesmerize. Ruxandra can erase memories as well as replace them with new ones. And she’ll ask her to only erase his memory of the book. He won’t know about its existence. That’s all.”
She couldn’t help being suspicious. How would she pull that information out and leave everything else alone?
Brandee popped into the room. “I’m sorry it took so long. I had a nice chat with your young man before Ruxandra erased his memory—with his permission.”
“Seriously?” Kizzy asked. “He agreed to it?”
“Yes. He’s a good guy, Kizzy.”
“I know that.” She eyed her father. “I wish everyone did.”
“Honey…”
“Stop. I understand. You just want what’s best for me. The thing is, Noahiswhat’s best for me. I’ve never known anyone so selfless. Maybe it will work out. Maybe it won’t. But for now, he’s the only true friend I have outside this family.”
“I understand that now. There’s no doubt in my mind that you two could be good for each other. Of course, I’ll need to wait and see.”
