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Nadine cocks her head. She’s done her hair in braids and they’re a waterfall down her shoulder. She looks comfortable in Victor’s living room, curled up in one of the armchairs. “Your mother never reacts the way you’d expect. I bet she’s going to congratulate you and ask when the grandchild is due.”
“She is the living embodiment of ‘screw the establishment.’ She never got married herself.”
“She did marry Jeff.”
“Not legally. The ceremony was ancient Mayan.”
Nadine grins. “I remember. Your job was to invoke the fire element.”
I’d accidentally dropped the match and it had lit the hem of my mother’s dress on fire. She’d laughed and Jeff had stomped it out, and their friend Harry, fulfilling the role of shaman, said it signified a fiery union to come.
And it had been, all two long years of it.
“You did an excellent job on wind,” I say.
Nadine grins. “Thank you.”
“She’s coming on Friday. Usually she stays with me, but this year she’s staying with her friend Gwen. Thank God for that. I think she’d have a heart attack if she came into this apartment.”
Nadine looks around, a smile on her lips. “It is rather… austere.”
“I’ll tell her over dinner. It’s the only way.”
“Will you introduce her to St. Clair?”
I twist the rings on my left hand. “I want to. But I don’t know if it’ll spook him. My mom is nothing like the kind of people he’s used to. I mean, our childhoods couldn’t have been more different.”
Nadine shrugs. “It could be a test. If he cares about you, he’ll do it without hesitation.”
“That might apply to normal men. I’m not sure if it applies to him.”
She tuts. “He’s a normal man, Cece. I don’t want to hear you giving him special allowances just because he’s rich and powerful.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Good.” She looks like she has more to say, but the sound of the front door opening stops both of us. Bonnie’s in the kitchen preparing. Steven never comes into the apartment unannounced. Which means Victor’s home early.
Nadine smiles. “This should be interesting.”
Victor stops in the living room, gaze moving between the two of us. “Hello.”
“Welcome home,” I say. My cheeks feel warm and I don’t know what to do with my hands. His eyes glitter, meeting mine. Seeing all of it and more.
“I didn’t know you were coming over, Nadine,” he says. “Would you like to stay and have dinner with us?”
She glances at me before responding. “I’d love to, but I’m afraid I can’t. I’m going to a new exhibition opening in Noho.”
“The Tavaso Gallery?” he asks, shrugging out of his suit jacket.
“Yes. Do you know it?”
He nods. “They called about investing, a year or so back. I passed at the time, but I might reconsider. The place looks good.”
“It does. They’re opening an exhibition on the theme of Ruins tonight. The lineup is impressive.”
“Well, the next time we see each other, you’ll have to let me know what you thought,” he says.
“Sure, happy to.”
