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He hummed, helping himself to a crostini. “I did, but once again, you deliver a much better speech than you do a paper.”
“You are such a—” I cut off, suddenly remembering where I was, and the three pairs of eyes staring at me.
Smiling at Victor and his parents, I cleared my throat, and said in an even tone, “Excuse me, Adonis, what I meant to say is, this is why people kick doors at your head.”
Victor, Martha, and Adonis choked—Adonis on a guffaw. He busted up, smiling for the first time since he entered the room.
“All right, Luna,” he said between chuckles. “You’ve made your point. I’ll give your paper another look.”
“Thank you.”
“See?” Martha said. “That’s kind of you, dear. Proof you’re a fair-handed, inspiring teacher. Although, Luna, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Adonis’s comments. Claiming Regalia University is anything like that silly movie is preposterous. It’s a wonderful school filled with strong, supportive women who accept everyone as they are.”
Oh yes, one of those strong, supportive, inclusive women kicked me in the stomach for stealing your son, and the other stole Grandmammy’s ring. Lovely people.
Martha stood up. “I’m going to check on dinner. You four behave while I’m gone.”
Thank the lucky stars, dinner was in the middle of being placed on the table when she stuck her head inside. We moved the party into the dining room, sitting down to a meal of tomato farro salad, lemon sole, and baked apple tart.
John kept a steady flow of scotch going throughout the meal, holding up his glass for the servers to pour more before he finished the last drop. We tried to stick to polite, surface topics of conversation, but John managed to wrangle out a dig at Adonis every time.
“The wedding will be here, of course,” Martha said. “A venue lovelier than our home does not exist.”
“Fine with me,” I replied. “I told Victor we can do whatever he wants. Honestly, I’m cool with a couple petals on the grass, a simple dais, and a priest, but Victor said no.” My hand cut through the air. “It’s custom cake-toppers, a photo booth, herb centerpieces, and a wedding dais shaped like a heart, or he’s not showing up.
“He’s gone full groomzilla on the whole thing, Mother Martha, but it’s just so sweet how much he cares about our wedding.”
“You do, dear?”
“Oh yes,” I said, speaking over Victor. “Don’t let him fool you. He wants to be a part of every decision. Every meeting with the wedding planner, florist, the photographer, the videographer, the caterer.”
Martha lay a hand over her heart. “Aw, that’s so sweet.”
“Now I want a divorce,” Victor hissed under his breath. “Yes, Mom, I was saying to Luna that I wanted to be involved, but today I realized that you’ve got everything under control. I wouldn’t want to get in your way.”
“My sweet boy.” She patted his cheeks. “It’s just as well you do leave this to me. Herb centerpieces? Over my dead body.”
“Yes, son,” John chimed in. “Let your mother do this. She was already robbed of planning her eldest son’s wedding. Don’t break her heart a second time.”
Adonis threw down his fork, opening his mouth to let loose.
“That’s not true,” Victor said. “When I marry my second wife, Mom can be all over that wedding.”
“Victor!” his parents cried at the same time. I cracked up.
“Don’t say things like that,” Martha scolded. “You two will have a happy, loving marriage.”
I was still laughing.
“Course, Mom. It was just a joke. Good thing my future bride thinks I’m funny.”
Our eyes met, shining with mirth. Victor could make me laugh even when he was pissing me off. The guy had a quick wit. Damn, he always smells good too. Like sunshine after it rains and that first steamy whiff of hot cinnamon cocoa. He’s been so sweet watching my back, threatening violence against everyone who looks at me wrong. And the other day when he—
“See,” Martha drew out. “I knew you two were a perfect match. Sensed it from the moment I met you, Luna.”
We reeled back—faces bleached sallow. How long had I sat there gazing into his moon eyes? How long was he looking into mine!
“You’re the one for my boy.” Martha winked at me. “You kids say the word and we can move up the wedding.”
No words were said. Not from me or Victor for the rest of the meal.
After dinner, Martha snatched me and Victor up, taking us into her office to show us her plans for the wedding. In true Wilson fashion, she did a lot of telling me what we were going to do instead of asking me.
Twenty minutes in, I begged off, saying I needed to use the restroom. I made it as far as the library.
Padding inside, I curled up on the seat under the bay window, resting my forehead against the glass. My thoughts calmed as I breathed slow, and in that calm place was Winter and her murderers.
