Page 55 of Hidden Dane
They were alone though nurses and patients walked in the halls around them.
She met his gaze and only focused on him as she said, “And it seems you won.”
As the doors opened, he patted her back and said, “We won. Do you want the necklace back now?”
She pressed the button for the ground floor and showed him her back. “Put it on my neck, please.”
He wrapped it around her neck but struggled with it as his hands trembled. “I’m still not good with the clasp.”
Still? He’d been fine before. Something else bothered him, clearly, but right after he said it, like magic, he secured the gold necklace around her neck. She turned and took the earrings from his hand. “You’re a good man, Dane. It’s part of why I love you.”
He kissed her forehead and held her steady for a moment. She sighed as the doors opened. He took her hand and they walked together through the busy lobby and out into the sun.
Henry had been waiting for them and pointed them toward a car as Dane’s phonedinged. He checked the message and told Emily, “It seems my father sent us a car.”
Emily followed him, but then waited while he checked the driver’s identification. Once he was sure, he signaled for Emily to get in first, then he did. Once he sat beside her, she turned her knees into his and said, “Let’s see Michael. You’ll feel better if you do.”
“I feel fine right now.” He met her blue eyes.
She let out a small sigh and said, “If anyone understands loss, it’s your father. You’re both alike.”
Michael. To Dane, he seemed so aloof and uncaring about everything. After his mother died, Dane remembered staying in Michael’s house as his father’s uncle flat out refused to see him. In the following years, Michael had kept his distance. Emily and her sisters had been kind. He blinked and said, “I don’t see it.”
Emily took his hand while they drove into Paris. “You wouldn’t. Oh, and let’s not get upset—my sister is pregnant.”
Michael and Sophie seemed like total opposites back when he was in high school and even now he didn’t see how they fit but it wasn’t up to him to choose. Now that Emily was beside him, Dane relaxed and met her gaze. “I’m getting a brother or sister?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and said, “I’m so excited for both of them.”
Emily was a source of light itself. She smiled at him and he already felt his body loosen. He scooted closer and asked, “Emily?”
“Yeah?” She gazed up and narrowed her eyes at him.
Now that this was over, their lives could be normal. He stilled as he asked, “Will you move in with me when we go home?”
Without hesitation, she nodded like she’d just found her favorite new present under the Christmas tree. “I’ll be wherever you are, Dane.”
“Good.” He sank back against the leather seat. Emily was the one woman he’d ever met who was honest and sweet and forthright and smart and he loved her.
As they headed toward the hotel, she stopped humming to herself and asked, “Can I ask a question?”
He raised a brow. “Can I ever refuse you?”
“Well no, you can’t,” she said with a laugh, but then became more serious. She lowered her voice. “Anyhow, why did you choose the name Uriel. It’s unusual.”
When he’d left Miami years ago, he’d wanted to be someone else and his grandmother’s prayers echoed in the back of his mind. He traced Emily’s arm. “Did you ever read the bible, Em?”
“I read it and liked it, but I haven’t memorized much.” Her gaze seemed puzzled as she asked, “Was there a Uriel? I don’t remember that name.”
“Uriel is one of the four archangels in my grandma’s teaching.” He let the memories of childhood wash over him. His mother’s mother used to take him for ice cream and sometimes to church whenever his parents needed time off to go and do something.
Emily hugged her stomach as the driver stopped in front of the hotel. The driver stepped out and she asked, “So you wanted to be an angel?”
The driver opened the door and she scooted out. Once Dane joined her on the sidewalk he said, “No, but he’s the angel of repentance and supposedly stands at the gates with his fiery sword to cast demons out of heaven. My father, Edmond, was an evil man. I’ve spent my adult life trying to carve out my own path and not to define myself as Edmond’s son. I return lost items to their rightful owners, figure out clues and solve ancient mysteries that time forgot. But I always wanted to be honorable and show a little respect to my mother’s mother who liked to teach me right or wrong before she died.”
“Your grandmother sounds lovely.” She walked slowly beside him as they went inside.
They headed toward the front desk together to check in as he said, “When my mom died, I always prayed she’d repented and joined grandma. Edmond might torture my dreams, but it’s mostly because my mom died how she did. And I don’t want her to be punished. She was my mom.”
