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“That’s really very sweet. Please thank him for me.”
“His name is Rafe. And he’ll appreciate the sentiment.”
Davian disappeared for a few seconds and came back with utensils, napkins, a bottle of cabernet sauvignon and two glasses. After arranging everything, he poured the wine.
Sliding into a chair opposite her, he lifted his glass and said, “A toast to the season.”
She smiled as their rims touched. “How funny. I was just asking Sheena earlier if demons recognized holidays.”
“Not so much. But I realized it might be important to you.”
Jade shook her head. “There’s hardly a point to it. Like my birthday, holidays are meant to be shared with family.”
He regarded her curiously. “But your friends are your family, Jade.”
She thought of the multitude of dinner and party offers she’d received over the years for the major holidays. None of which she’d accepted. She’d always preferred to be alone or work at the tavern. It didn’t seem right to celebrate without her parents and what good would it do, anyway?
Except… Davian made a valid argument.
“I suppose I’ve been narrow-minded,” she admitted. “Selfish, even. Perhaps a tiny bit martyr-ish as well.” She picked at her food. It smelled heavenly and looked delicious, but something suddenly weighed heavy on her mind. “I’ve always thought it was easier to ignore any sort of tradition I’d shared with my parents, but the fact is, I’ve only isolated myself further by doing this.”
She paused and inhaled the rich scent of an apple cider, butter and sugar coating on the ham that was mouthwatering, and took in the entire intimate atmosphere of the cottage and Davian sitting at the table with her, enjoying his wine. A long-forgotten sense of belonging, Sheena’s earlier sentiment about her coven, and the feeling of being a part of a family ribboned through Jade.
Tears unexpectedly prickled her eyes. “I have to confess. I’ve made my life miserable.”
“You can’t place all the blame at your feet.”
“My parents’ deaths were tragic, yes. But people die, Davian. Even Michael’s parents have passed. Lisette’s husband. Jinx. Many others I’ve known in my lifetime. And with each death, it seems as though I withdraw a little more into myself.” She found this ironic. “I’m the one who insisted death is part of the human experience. Nothing to obsess over because it’s a natural progression in life. And yet…”
She remembered having the conversation with Davian right here in this room.
“The truth is,” she continued, “it jars me to the core every time it happens to someone I know. So why aren’t I appreciating the time I have with the people I care about?”
“Fear of abandonment, which keeps you somewhat detached?”
A shiver of reckoning ran through her. Jade took a healthy drink from her glass. Then another.
Setting the wine aside, she told Davian, “I’ve shared more of myself with you and Sheena—possibly even Morgan—than I ever have with my two closest human friends. And as for the other villagers… I consider them friends as well, of course. Neighbors I have a genuine concern for, but whom I keep a measure of distance from—emotionally.”
“Because of their mortality?” The conversation seemed to intrigue Davian. He sat forward in his chair, his gaze unwavering.
“But I’m mortal too,” she commented. “And I accept death as part of life.”
“Perhaps too much,” he simply said.
Jade reached for her wine again. The alcohol eased the remainder of the pain she felt along her back, which she was careful to keep from making contact with the wooden chair.
When she didn’t speak, Davian said, “Maybe one of the reasons you’ve allowed the connection to form between Sheena, Morgan and myself is because you know you won’t outlive us.”
She stared at him, speechless.
“You could have settled for Michael, even if he didn’t fully own your heart,” Davian contended. “You could have married him and had children. But you told me you want more than amiable companionship.”
Finally, she found her voice. “Yes. I want all the passion I feel with you.”
“And you want someone who’s at least as strong as you. Because, let’s face it, Jade, as we’ve established before, you are not ordinary. You can’t spend your life with someone who is.”
“That doesn’t diminish how I feel about people like Lisette and Michael.”
