Stolen Skye (Book One, The Skye Trilogy) (29 page)

“I suppose, under the circumstances, it will do,” she said graciously.

“What are you wearing?”
I asked, assuming the worst.

“Strapless red dress with a jeweled bodice,” she said off-handedly.
“I have to catch the eye.”

“Oh, well, I am sure you will.”
After stopping in a couple other stores down the drive, I found a black pair of stacked heels that I could run in. Strange that had become something I needed to consider in formal footwear. Again, Raven assured me nobody could see my shoes, so she took little interest in my purchase. We decided it was time for lunch and found a café where Raven quickly ordered for us in mangled French that caused the waiter to frown.

Distracted by my earlier vision, I asked, “Raven, in the beginning, did it look like I had a crush on Ari?”

“Who didn’t? Sadly, he is too… civilized for me. Why do you ask?”

“I’m just trying to make sense out of something.
Nothing specific, just a feeling.”

“We all flirted with each other.
We were young and doing exciting things. If you ever tell Finn this, I will cut your heart out, but there were nights I considered slipping into his room. Don’t look terrified, I never did. Just a fantasy. Anything with any of the three of them would have been far too messy.”

“I guess you’re right,” I said, trying to put the Ari questions out of my mind.

“You and Finn together now though, let’s just hope for better than messy.”

“What do you mean?” I hadn’t told her and I couldn’t believe Bounce would have.

“I spent all day yesterday with him.
There is no point in denying it, Evelyn. I know the smile of a satisfied man.”

“There’s something there, yes.
Does everyone know?” Only one person concerned me in particular.

“Finn has said nothing, but when I brought it up to Ari we both agreed it must be true.”

I felt my stomach drop to the floor.
“Did Ari seem unhappy?”

“He seemed like Ari.”

“I just ask because he didn’t want me to distract Finn.” I didn’t want her to think I cared about his opinion for other reasons.

“I would say it is good for Finn to have the chase behind him.
That’s the distracting part.”

Since the sun was out, we walked for a while through one of the numerous parks.
We chose a bench for a rest and looked out over the skyline of Paris. I tried to picture Raven on the same streets, penniless and sleeping on an escort’s floor.

“What did you do with yourself when you lived her
e before?” I turned in my seat to look at her, shielding my eyes from the sun.

“Amelia, my roommate, and I would sleep in.
I’d go out for food while she checked in for her dates for the night. In the afternoon, I’d ride the Metro or stand in line at museums, looking for fat wallets to get us through. I didn’t mess with credit cards, just stuck to real money.”

“Why no credit cards?”

“I didn’t know anything about how they worked. Nobody in my family had ever had one. I didn’t want to be caught. Money was safe to me. I’d give some to Amelia so she would have cab fare if she needed to get away from her men. It was not a good situation for her. She was furious when I burned down her steady man’s place. She didn’t understand why I couldn’t just lay there and let that man take me. I suppose I don’t blame her for never speaking to me again.” She kicked at the pebbles surrounding the bench, more pensive than I liked to see her. I thought of a way to distract her.

“Finn showed me how good he was at picking pockets in London.”

“So I hear. When you really want a lesson, let me know.”

“Can I have one now?”

“Are you wanting to become a pick pocket, Evelyn?” Her accent caused her to stumble over the repeated consonant.

“No,” I laughed, “It’s just in a group of people that can take whatever they want, I’d like to be able to defend myself.”

“I can understand that. Fine, stand up.” She stood before me with her feet hip distance apart. “So, back pant pockets are easy. Front pockets are harder, as you have to be really close and friendly. Move in close, cause your mark to bend at the waist toward you, creating some room for you to work below the belt. At the right moment, you swipe it. Let’s try.” She took her wallet out of her purse and put it in the back pocket of my jeans. “Now, lean toward me and hug me like you haven’t seen me in awhile.” I did as she instructed. After a few pats on the back, we parted and she held up her own wallet in her hand.

“I didn’t feel a thing,” I admitted, amazed by her skill.

“Good, now, put it back in your front
pocket and pretend you’re a man.” She motioned with her hands for me to proceed.

“How do you mean, exactly?”

“I mean, I’ll pretend you’re a man, you just pretend you find me attractive.” I placed the wallet in my front pocket and cleared my throat. This should be interesting. Raven came in close, placing her hands at my waist as she looked into my eyes. I felt her one hand shift lower over my hip bone. It froze there as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and leaned in, her lips gently skimming my ear lobe.

I glanced across the park and three boys who looked like college students had stopped to watch us.
After whispering part of the alphabet, she pulled back and took her hand from my waist. She playfully pulled at the collar of my sweater, causing me to bend closer. Before her lips could touch mine, I felt her other hand leave my upper thigh and she held the wallet up to my face. There was soft applause from the boys as they picked up their things and moved on.

“I didn’t feel that either,” I said in amazement.

“It’s all about distraction, hands, and speed. Nothing would please me more than you being able to lift something from Finn, let’s try again.” We continued like that for about thirty minutes and I was able to get the hug and snatch down. Distracting Raven with my sensuality caused me to laugh far too often, so I hadn’t mastered the second part. I wasn’t sure why being able to pick a pocket lifted my spirits, but it had. I was anxious to try with Finn later.

As we walked back to the hotel, a glint of bronze, highlighted by the sun
, caught my attention. Bounce’s curls danced in the wind as she smiled up at a tall man with dark hair. He said something that caused her to throw her head back in laughter. I couldn’t see his face well, but from the side he did look a bit like Ari. I assumed it was Marko. Raven was looking in another direction so I kept the discovery to myself. I wasn’t sure who Bounce would want to share her crush with. They were walking across the bridge toward the Left Bank. The curious part of me wanted to run after them and say hello, but I settled for watching them until they passed out of sight.

After leaving Raven in the hotel bar, I took the elevator to the top floor.
Cold and fighting a running nose, I knocked on Ari’s door.

“Evelyn, you look almost blue.
Come in.” Ari stood aside to let me into his suite. As I walked past him and took a seat on the couch, he closed the door and pressed a button on the phone.

“Yes, please send up a pot of hot water and Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar.
Two cups please, merci.”

“I guess you know how I take my tea as well,” I laughed as I shimmied out of my jacket, remembering when Finn brought me tea in London.

“Coincidentally, it is also how I take my own.” He took a seat across from me at the large desk. “What can I do for you?” He watched me with a curious expression on his face. I took my time, taking off my hat and gloves and straightening my hair. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

“Ari, I’ve had a few discoveries.
Nobody else is aware.”

“Continue.”
He matched my serious tone and he wasn’t smiling.

“I already told you about the strong emotion I felt when I met you.
Fear, more precisely.”

“Yes, you mentioned that.”
He nodded, encouraging me to go on.

“I wasn’t entirely honest with
you that last night in London. There was something else I remembered about you over my birthday trip in Paris. Earlier today, there was one more thing.” I tried to build up my confidence for the reveal.

“I was told you visited Notre Dame this morning,” he said, in a way that suggested he knew where I was heading.

“Yes, I remembered visiting it before, with you.” There was a knock at the door. Ari took the tea service from the waiter, placing it on the desk before us. I was silent as he took forever to pour two cups, adding cream and sugar. He placed the cup and saucer in front of me on the coffee table. Once he was seated again and had taken a sip of his own, he stared at me as if waiting for me to proceed.

“Can you help me understand why I would have wished for you to kiss me on my birthday
, and why I would have made good on the wish in the corner of a 12th century cathedral?”

After staring at me as if trying to read my expression
, he asked, “Tell me, Evelyn. You and Finn, does it make you happy?”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
I didn’t want to be derailed and Ari was incredibly good at doing just that.

“Believe me, it does.
I understand your need to comprehend the past, but please don’t make me retell stories that will do nothing but upset you and bother him.” He kept his serious expression.

“Tell me, please.”

“What are you hoping to hear? This will make the whole conversation much easier.”

“I just want the truth.
I understand every relationship I had in the past, except the one between you and me. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Fine, there was a brief period that you wanted more from me.
I would have been happy to oblige if my circumstances had been different. I’ve known who I was supposed to marry since I was eighteen, though she was much younger and it was a hard idea for me to commit to. Because of that, women for me had to be… temporary. You wouldn’t have been. You knew I was fighting the attraction though — you were very determined.” He partially smiled at the memory as I winced in embarrassment. “Nothing came of it, and, after the Bruges trip, Finn was in hot pursuit of you. All was settled after that.”

“You stayed at the Harbor View in Newport two years ago.
Jasper recognized you. Why were you there?”

Surprise splashed across his face before he looked down at his hands as if collecting his thoughts.

“I’m human, Evelyn. I was the only one of us that knew you were alive. I wanted to know you were alright. You were off that day from the hotel, but I found where you lived and followed you to the waterfront. You sat out on a patio with people, laughing loudly. I left after that, convinced I had made the right decision.” He dropped his eyes and poured another cup of tea. I had barely touched mine.

I went over what he said and challenged him, narrowing my eyes.
“What about when you went to Boston right after my accident? Say it was business all you want, but is that the truth?”

He exhaled, clearly exasperated.
“I wasn’t ready to confide in you before. I did go to Boston for you. I knew you’d lost your memory, but I needed to see for myself. After seeing you in that bed, no awareness of me or our time together, it seemed like keeping you safe in the hospital was what you needed most. I wasn’t going to place your recovery at risk or expose your past. It felt like the best thing for you. After seeing you in Newport, I convinced myself it certainly was. You were successful and happy, close to your family if you needed them.”

“But I wasn’t happy, not really.
You have no idea how many times I stared out over that harbor, wondering what it was that was keeping me from moving on with my life. I knew something was missing. When I lost my memory, I lost all of you. I grieved too, I just didn’t know why.” I choked out the last couple words.

“I thought I was doing well by you.
In Newport, after I saw you with a new life, I made up my mind to let you be. I saw the possibilities for you and that was enough.” I took the hint from the finality of his tone that we had gone as deep as he wanted to go.

“I’m sorry about Finn.
I know you had hoped it would progress more slowly,” I said sincerely.

“Just tell me, you’re happy with him, his lifestyle…
all of this?” He waited uneasily.

I hesitated, sensing something hung in the balance of my answer, and then timidly said, “Yes…
I am.”

“Then, that’s all that matters.
Don’t apologize for it.” He stood as a sign that our conversation was over. I took my final sip of tea and followed him to the door.

I turned to him before I left.
“Are we all having dinner together tonight?”

“I’d prefer to stay in my room, work on a couple of things.
Everyone is on their own, it seems.” He held the door and waited for me to leave.

“Ari, about my memories and the Newport trip, I’m keeping them to myself.
I just wanted you to know. But, thank you. I know you thought you were doing the right thing and I can see it was hard on you.” I looked up at him, forcing a friendly smile though our conversation had saddened me. Thinking of Ari watching me from a distance, visiting me in the hospital, it was tragic somehow.