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She shoves out a sigh. “Until the moments when it’s not.”
I bring my head back down. “Like trying to make sense of deep emotions from a human-made movie.”
She rocks her head from side to side. “Okay, jury’s still out on whether ten miles of tulle and a billion twinkle lights are a triumph or travesty, but solid point otherwise.”
I push from the rail and pace thoughtfully. “And separate from the key takeaway here. That Kara remembers that night and all the emotions she felt then, goodandbad, because it was more than just identifying with something innately human. It wasconnectingto it. Feeling something…for creatures that you’d all been taught werebeneathyou. Unworthy of you. But that movie, even in its comedic silliness and striving, was worthy of her emotions. She started learning, in some deep and painful ways, that maybehumanswere worthy of her investment.”
Kell is ready for me with a contemplative impression. “Maybe that’s why she chose to study classics, as well. She’s always been fascinated with the stories of the human condition, even if most are fictional. She works to look deeper, to the grains of truth that inspired them. The bigger picture. How humans can rise above themselves upon so many occasions, as if they envision being transformed into gods just because they imagine it. And even when it doesn’t happen, how they try and try again.” A small laugh escapes her lips. “It’s ridiculous, right? But they never give up.”
“Which, in some ways, actuallydoesmake them gods… Right?” I postulate. “The pride and the hubris can be good things, if pushed toward worthy goals. There’s something, I guess, noble about it? To keep pushing, no matter what the odds. To believe that one is born for greatness…”
“Except that gods are already born that way?” she inserts, cocking a wry smirk.
I hurl back a matching look, only without the grin. “You’re not getting it.”
“Of courseI’m getting it.” She hitches a shrug. “I’m vain, not vapid. But rather than digging deeper into this existential box, I’m going to opt for indulging my own hubris. It’s time to put all of this under a detox mask”—she circles a finger over her face and pulls the glittering shoes off her feet—“and give these doggies a long rest. I advise you do the same. The pace won’t let up for you and Kara, especially when you hit Mother with the new wedding date suggestions.”
I sense her underlying satisfaction with my pronounced grimace. “Help a guy out? Your prediction of the ultimate reaction?”
“Truthfully?” She’s back with the two-fingered scout’s honor pose. “I think she’s going to be thrilled. This will be a well-timed red bow for the box that’s still dented from Arden’s point of view, as well as the elite industry folks who were aware he was preparing to propose to Kara.”
I rear my head back. “Dented box? You’re not referring to being those damaged goods, are you?”
“Of course not.” But the adamant reiteration, plus her exaggerated eye roll, tempt me to discredit her. “Don’t be silly.”
I lift a hand in open surrender, conveying an implied mea culpa and a silent pledge to drop the subject. I can’t force the woman into a spill-all about what is or isn’t happening between her and Arden. I know that the press is into them but then not. That their stories and posts are fueled by the couple’s angry flirting, which then cools. Most importantly, that there actually was an engagement ring, but now no more. Not after Arden hurled the rock into the ocean just to prove a point to Kell.
Which is a lot more than I can claim at this point.
“Hey.” Her demand stabs into my meandering musings. “You…aren’tbeing silly, right?”
I hold up my other hand, making it clear I’m not angling after her personal business. “Bare-my-soul truth?” I say. “I was thinking how shitty I feel that Kara still doesn’t have a real ring on her finger.”
My soon-to-be sister-in-law truly knows the fine art of droll smirks. “Are you actually stressing about that, after Veronica announced your ring-shopping trip from the red carpet tonight? Your little sojourn will get more click-throughs than the last three presidential debates.”
The growl that emerges from me might as well be a profanity. I broadcast the same intent with my glare. “You want to know where all those clicks can go?”
She playfully whacks my shoulder. “Andthere’sthe brother-in-law I love, adore, and expect to show up!”
While her praise brings a damn nice warmth, it’s helped more by something else. An idea that wraps around my mind like conceptual chicken wire. It’s that persistent. But it’s also that tenaciously good.
“Hmmm,” I drawl back. “You love me, huh?”
A small laugh makes her shake. “Said it. Meant it. You’re as good as family now anyway.”
“Very glad to hear it.” I reach out, cupping her shoulders with equal affection. “Because tomorrow, I’m going to ask you to prove it.”
Method to my madness: I’m holding her shoulders because I’m expecting a balk. Not only does the woman prove me wrong, but spectacularly so. Instead of reticence, she’s suddenly brimming with readiness.
“Ohhh. I detect that Professor Kane is devising an evil but romantic plan for my sister. And is it a plan that littlemoigets to be a part of?”
I chuckle for a few seconds. “In one very hopeful syllable, Miss Valari…oui.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
KARA
“I still think Mother is going to kill us for this.”
