Page 181 of Nobody Told Me Thrift Shops Sell Stolen Dragon Heirlooms

He beamed at me. The staff member handed over three neat paper bags with the estate crest stamped in gold.

“For the excellent dog,” Dimitris said, pointing to the first. “Imported venison treats. For Ms. Bradley, a small apology for the wasted time. I don’t expect forgiveness.”

I looked inside my bag despite myself. A silk scarf. Deep green, hand-rolled edges, patterned with tiny gold birds that looked suspiciously like phoenixes.

Of course.

“And for Rafe.” Dimitris’s smile widened as Rafe opened his bag.

Inside was a lump of coal.

Dimitris began laughing before either of us said anything.

“It’s a doggy bag,” he said, clearly delighted with himself. “Do you see? Because the dog⁠—”

“Yes,” Rafe said.

“—and because coal⁠—”

“We understand.”

“Marvelous.”

I took Max’s leash before I said something that might create an international incident in a breakfast room.

Outside, the air seemed too bright.

The gates stood at the end of the drive, sunlight glinting off the iron. I walked faster than necessary, Max at my side, the stupid scarf bag crinkling in my hand.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Rafe turned his head toward me. “For what?”

“I thought it might work.”

“It was worth pursuing.”

“He played me.”

“No.” Rafe’s voice sharpened just enough to stop me. “He played his own vanity. You found the burner. You secured the meeting. He showed us the property, the security, and the way he thinks. That’s not nothing.”

I looked at him.

He stood there in the center of Dimitris’s absurd driveway, handsome and angry and still finding a way to give me credit when I felt like an idiot.

“He still said no,” I said.

“For now.”

“Rafe, he gave you a gift bag with a lump of coal.”

“I have survived greater insults.”

“He wasted your time because he thought it was funny.”

“He underestimated you because he thought it was funny.” Rafe’s gaze held mine. “That is a mistake men keep making.”

My throat tightened.