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She presses fingers to her lips, joking about nearly spewing her newest sip. “You’re going to need to spell that, mister professor man, but hold up and let me fish out my thesaurus.”
I field her dig with a good-natured laugh. “The point is, it’s not like the proposal wasn’t already forging hiking trails through my head.”
“Understood.” Her smile is instant and warm. “And appreciated.” She takes another significant sip from her glass while directing an intense stare across the cityscape. “But you certainly didn’t need little sis coming through with the bulldozer either.”
“Sometimes a bulldozer is what’s needed for the job.”
“Did you tell that to my sister?”
“Didn’t need to,” I counter. “Kara knows.” I lean forward, propping elbows to my knees. “And in her own way, she’s also thankful for how you jumped in. If you hadn’t, our mothers would be scheming about a baby shower instead of a bridal shower.”
A second laugh flows from her. “Yes, but at leastyouwouldn’t be stressing over a bachelorette party.”
My growl-groan double punch loosens her up a millimeter more. “Something Iwon’tbe reminding them about,” I grouse. “Though at this point, we might not have to.”
She dips her head but hikes her brows. “Because you think they’ll simply forget it?”
“Because I think they won’t have time.”
A quick side-eye over the rim of her glass. “Three months?”
“Threeweeks, if that. And no, we haven’t told Veronica yet. Figured the experience with the steerage entrance into the theater was enough trauma for the woman tonight.”
“Self-inducedtrauma.” She plunks the wine back on its coaster with a peeved huff. “Don’t forget that. You and Kara shouldn’t be owning a minute of that stuff.”
While I figure out the best way to answer that, she leans against the railing. Why I feel like she’s about to brandish a six-shooter in each hand is beyond me.
“Now, back to your info bomb, please? Something about speeding up the timeline by a way-too-suspicious chunk? Are Kara and the twiglet okay? Is she having weird symptoms? Wombish karate kicks? Braxton Hicks shit?”
“Whoa,whoa.” Different emphasis, though my guttural laughter is the same. “None of the above, thankfully.”
“But enough of somethingelsethat you two are fast-tracking the wedding?”
I settle deeper into my chair and look out toward the foothills, graceful and dark against the sky as the city shifts into post-midnight mode. My thoughts move in a similar direction. There’s not so much neon glare and disco blinkings in my brain right now. Though the general life situation is far from mellow, it feels that way for these few blessed minutes.
“Not a something,” I finally clarify. “A someone.”
Kell’s inhalation is abrupt. To most of the world, she’s just absorbing and contemplating a new piece of information, but I can practically see my emotions getting sucked away and analyzed by her otherworldly olfactory glands.
After a long ten seconds, she utters, “All right, lay out that tea. A someone who?”
I keep my regard pinned on her. “Last night, after you took off from Oread, Kara and I had another visitor. Persephone.”
If she really had six shooters, she’d be dropping them through the floor. At least my reclusive sci-fi writer neighbor would have some new story material.
“Notthe answer I was expecting,” she admits. “Especially because the poor woman has another—what—ten days, give or take, before the new descent into hell?”
“Hecate snatched her away early. Claimed she needed some extra help with some things, and Persephone was apparently the only one she could trust.”
Her gaze narrows. “Because her little canyon full ofdiamondswasn’t up for that?”
“She’s choosing not to share the grand plan with them all yet. Persephone wasn’t too surprised. Frankly, neither were we.”
She nods. “A declaration of war isn’t exactly the stuff for dinner table chat. Never know when someone will upend the broccoli casserole in protest.”
“Oh, man.Notthe broccoli,” I deadpan.
“If not worse.” She chuckles it out while casually folding her arms. “But you have to think, if a soldier as loyal as Circe is already tossing back guff about it, more dissension in the ranks is bound to be in store.”
