Page 32 of Utterly Dauntless

“Auch, dinnae believe it. If those two fear love is on the line, I reckon they’ll bend any rule.”

The wordlovekind of lingered in Aries’ ears, but she didn’t pounce on it like she wanted to. There was a lot more she had to say before she could get around to that. So, she dove in head first.

"Grey, when I left you here, I wasn't thinking straight."

He sat back and stretched his long legs out in front of him as if he was settling in to hear a long story, which she supposed he was." And ye never thought to call later, about the bill?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I figured they'd charge you for it when you went to settle up for the suite."

"I was in no state to settle anythin’." His voice was carefully neutral. "The lads must have done when they came and collected me."

She winced. "I'm sorry."

"Maybe ye should save yer contrition for the judge. It’s a pity he won't see ye until Monday. I wouldnae dare try to bribe him or I'll end up behind bars as well."

She groaned. "Two nights in here. I'll go mad. And what if he won't see me on Monday?" She wrapped her arms around herself. "That officer wasn't very encouraging."

"Aye. I heard him. A judge with troubles at home." Grey's mouth twitched, and she knew a joke was coming. "But worse luck that ye look like the judge's wife. Maybe I can get them to let ye dye yer hair."

She rolled her eyes and got up to resume pacing for the hundredth time, looking for a distraction other than the sight of her mouth-watering ex, who might remain her ex if she couldn’t convince him she’d changed.

Happily, a guard appeared with two containers of pineapple gelato. He passed one through the bars and gave her a plastic spoon."Mangiare,"he said with a sympathetic smile.Eat.

She thanked him, and when he moved on to pass more to the other inmates, she lowered her voice. "Gelato? They're being awfully nice."

Grey's lips twisted into a guilty smile. "Maybe Italian prisons are just nicer than most."

The woman in the next cell called out to Grey again in a mix of Italian and English.

Aries glared in her direction. "I swear, if she doesn't shut up..."

"Jealous?" He laughed aloud for the first time in forever. It was music to her ears, but it lit up the rest of her too. She wanted to hear it again, and again, and again. But that would never happen if she screwed up now.

"You're enjoying this."

"Not entirely." He sobered. "But I have to admit, it's nice knowing exactly where ye are for once."

She couldn't argue with that. She'd done this to herself, after all. Running away had consequences, and not just emotional ones.

"I came to find you," she said quietly. "To finally explain."

"I'm not goin’ anywhere." He gestured at the cell. "And neither are ye."

So, between spoonfuls of cheerful icy bliss, she confessed everything just as she'd done with her gran. Then she explained how the woman had helped her view the prophecy differently, without a thick lens of guilt in the way.

"I even started seeing a therapist...in Inverness."

Grey's spoon paused, then lowered back to the container. "Did ye now?"

"Yes. I think it will be good for me." She leaned her head against the bars between them. "I'm done punishing myself for wanting to be happy."

For a long minute, he studied her eyes, her face. “Ye wish to be happy, then, do ye?”

She made sure he was looking her in the eye before she said,“I do.”

He set his gelato on the floor and leaned his head against hers, the contact no more than a couple of inches, but it was heaven.

"Every time you made me laugh, every time I felt joy, I was so sure I was dancing on my family’s graves..." The secrets came easier now that she'd already shared them.

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