His eyes popped again, and this time his mouth fell open. “Do what? New York? Are you messing with me?”
“It’s time you met the people you’re working with in person, and they met you. And, of course, if we had the basic concept of your fabulous and unique cookbook worked out…”
“By April.” He pushed up, paced a circle. “You’re scaring me some here.”
“If,” she said again. “We could open the portal into the apartment, go that way, since Keegan has one of the Fey there. And I want to meet her, too. It saves time and trouble, so we’d have a day with Sally and Derrick, a day in New York. It all depends on…”
“War and peace.”
“I can’t go, even for a couple of days, if I’m needed here. I’m talking to you first. I have to talk to Keegan and Nan. But I wanted to see how you felt about it. And you’d want to see how Brian felt about it.”
“Yeah, yeah. All of that.”
“Things have been quiet, but they won’t stay that way. I’d say we’d go right now, while they are, but I feel like it’s not the right time. And I don’t know if that’s because it’s not, or because I want to finish the book first.”
“When you say go, we go. Brian’s going to be fine with it. We’ve all got our work, right? This is yours and mine. Now I’ve got a question.”
“I had another thing.”
“Me first. How about the big book? When are you going to send that one off?”
“It’s not ready.”
“I’ve been hearing that for a while now.” He held up a hand beforeshe could speak. “And I know, like you know, Carlee’s given you nudges—in her really gentle way—to send a chunk of it. When are you gonna do that? Pull that trigger, honey.”
This time she pushed up. This time she paced. “I’m so stupid nervous, Marco. I didn’t think I’d be this nervous again. I don’t feel so shaky about the second YA, but it’s familiar territory, and god, so much fun for me. But the other… I can’t even settle on a title.”
“What is it now?”
“Well, this week it’sMagicks Dark and Light. But maybe—”
“It’s strong. Leave it. And let me read some of what’s after it. The first chapter. No, the first two. Let me read them tonight.”
“It’s not—” She hissed when he pointed at her. “Give me two more weeks. I’ll let you read that much in two more weeks.”
He rose, held out his hand, crooked his little finger. “Pinky swear.”
“Shit!” She hissed again but hooked her pinky with his. “Two more weeks.”
“Pinky sworn and sealed. Now, let’s go. Maybe it’s cleared up in Talamh, too. Put the whammy on the pot roast, will you?”
“Is that what it is? Smells great. But I had another thing.”
“Talk to me on the way.”
She strapped on the sword, which still felt weird, grabbed a jacket, a scarf.
“It’s warmer,” she said when they went out. “Still winter, but it’s already turning warmer.” When Bollocks bounded up to them, she dried him, then stood a moment.
“The bay’s pale blue instead of gray, and everything smells fresh, clean.” She took Marco’s hand, squeezed it before they started toward the woods.
“Have you and Brian talked about after? After all of this?”
“Yeah, and that’s us, together. Wherever, and I have to figure that’s here. Not the other side, Talamh, not to live. I need my damn broadband and hot showers. I gotta have a freaking dishwasher. But you’re here, and I know you’re staying. Truth? I think I knew that the firsttime you saw the cottage. You cried. You cried because it was exactly what you wanted.”
“It is.”
“We’ve got Sally and Derrick back in Philly, and my sister. But we can visit. The rest of my family… I had to accept they’ll never accept. And they’d never accept Brian either. So we talked some about finding a place on this side, close to you, close to Talamh—where I’ve got so many people I care about now.”