"And when do you think you should have told me?"
"Immediately after she agreed."
I laughed. The sound startled him, as he looked at me in confusion. I rose up on my tiptoes and brushed my lips across his cheek. "You passed."
Now he really did stare at me, as if suspecting I'd been passed an illegal narcotic during my brief prison sojourn.
"Sorry," I said. "I'm sure you'd rather have had a handshake, but I couldn't resist. You'll survive."
I pointed toward the exit, and we started out. We got through the doors. Then I said, "Waiting for the other shoe to drop?"
"Yes."
I smiled. "Okay, I think you should have told me right away. I can hardly say that I'm glad you went behind my back, can I? In future, just tell me, okay? Then do whatever you think is best. But I understand why you skipped that this time, and so I accept your apology."
"I haven't apologized yet."
"Mmm, right. Do you want to do that? Or just pretend you did?"
"I made a conscious decision to do what I thought was right, knowing that you would likely disagree. I'm sorry if you thought it was the wrong decision."
"That's kinda like an apology. Sure, I'll take it. Now, do you have dinner plans?"
"Do I ever?"
"You do now."
--
Our early dinner turned into a late one, lingering over the meal and then dessert and then coffee. We talked about his strategy for Pamela and Todd. We tal
ked about what Pamela had told me. We talked about Aunika and Ciro and the lamiae and what we'd do next. And we talked. Mostly, we just talked.
I'd had a bit too much wine to fetch my car, so Gabriel drove me to Ricky's. If I needed a lift in the morning, just call. No, scratch that--he'd pick me up at eight.
When I opened Ricky's door and saw him dozing on the couch, textbook open on his chest, I watched him and thought how lucky I was. I stood there, grinning like an idiot, the wine still singing through my veins. Then I crept forward until I was right beside him and--
Ricky grabbed my arm and pulled me down onto him in a kiss.
"Gotcha," he said.
"That was supposed to be my line."
"You're too slow."
He tugged me on top of him and pushed the book to the floor with a thump. Then he kissed me, a sweet and deep kiss that seemed to ignite that lingering wine, sending it roaring to my head, making me light-headed and giddy and happy. Indescribably happy. When he ended the kiss, he caught my chin and lifted my face over his, looking up at me.
"Yes, I may have over-imbibed on the cabernet."
He chuckled, a delicious throaty chuckle, as intoxicating as the wine. He stroked his thumb over my cheek and said, "You look happy," and I thought I caught a note of wistfulness in his voice and I pulled up a little, worried, but his smile held no hint of that, and his next kiss was even better than the first. A kiss that had me stretching out against him, pressing against him, as he entwined his fingers in my hair. No quick shedding of clothing. No hands moving anywhere other than hair and hips. Just a kiss. A wonderful kiss.
When it broke, he took my face in his hands again, fingers stroking both sides of it, eyes looking up into mine as he smiled and said, "I'm glad to see you happy again, Liv."
"Um, pretty sure I've been happy for about six months now, ever since a certain guy convinced me to go out with him."
He smiled. "You've been happy. Just not like this. Not for a while. It's good to see." He kissed me again, briefer now, slower and sweeter.
When I pulled back, I said, "You could make me happier," and his smile grew to a grin.