Page 71 of Cozen

“You showed up in California at nineteen to get a proper license. Why?”

She smiled—softer and genuine this time. “Someone taught me how to drive. It was … a big thing for me to go and get my license. I never had a real piece of ID before that. It was all faked. Good enough to get me by, essentially. Certainly never under Cozen Taylor.”

“And what were the other names you used?”

Cozen shot him a look. “Nice try.”

Sargon laughed. “Worth a shot.”

“The tiger lily was a nice touch.”

He stiffened on the stool which earned him a light laugh from Cozen. Shooting her a look from the side, he asked, “Liked that, did you?”

“You even got the color right.”

“Fire-red, like your tattoo.”

“Mmhmm.” Cozen used the tip of her finger to trace around the rim of the martini glass. “You never asked me that night why the tiger lily is my favorite flower.”

“I had other things on my mind, Cozen.”

Her grin turned suggestive in a blink. “I bet. Go on, ask me.”

“Now?”

She took another drink. “Right now, yeah.”

“Why the tiger lily?”

“A fire-red tiger lily.”

“Why that flower, Cozen?”

She winked. “I always thought all women loved roses. It’s the flower of romance and love, right? Petals spread out on the bed, or a trail leading a woman to the altar. They’re in the backdrops of movies, and men shell out ungodly amounts of cash for a decent bouquet. On Valentine’s Day, teenagers send out a single rose to their crushes all through high school. Roses are a staple.”

“True.”

“Someone once told me that roses were like women. All women were soft, beautiful, sweet, and could draw attention. All women were like roses—dangerous with their obvious thorns, but the surface beauty was a bit of trickery.”

“But?”

“Only a few women could be the tiger lilies. Striking, different, strong, and resilient. Those kinds of women could not simply blend in with all the other roses. They stand out far too much. I was told once … well, I suppose what I was told taught me more than anyone else ever did.”

“And what was it, Cozen?”

“Never aspire to be a rose when you have always been a tiger lily.”

“They make a good point.”

Cozen tipped her glass in his direction. “Is that enough talking for the night?”

“Have I reached my limit of questions?” he asked back.

“I really didn’t come here to talk.”

“I figured, Cozen.”

She eyed him curiously. “Did you?”