Page 54 of Hungry Like A Dragon
“Please,” she whispered again.
Finally, his shoulders dropped and he turned away from her. She watched as he walked to the door, placed his hand on the knob, and then stood there, obviously struggling with her request—or his decision to do as she asked. She almost hoped he’d turn around and try to change her mind.
Almost.
But he didn’t. He quietly slipped out the door without a backward glance. She fell against the couch as a sob escaped.
She’d gotten what she wanted, so why was she crying?
***
Talia showed up on her doorstep bright and early the next morning and stayed through the subsequent converging of the family. She stoically backed Petra up when she refused to tell them who Sadie’s father was. They’d find out soon enough, but she wanted to work out the terms of their relationship first. Maybe that way, she could be strong enough to resist when they pressured her to mate with him.
Talia seemed to sense when the interrogations became too much because she suddenly remembered that Gabe had summoned Petra to his mansion for a meeting.
As her parents, aunts and uncles, and even her grandmothers all reluctantly filed out of the house, Petra asked, “Did he really summon me?”
“Actually, he did ask me to bring you over at some point today; he just wasn’t specific about the time.” She grinned.
“Thanks,” Petra said, relieved.
“He wants a full report on what you found out while you were in New Orleans.”
Petra groaned inwardly while she changed Sadie’s diaper and secured her into her car seat. “Well, I suppose I should be grateful that you’re talking to me again, at least.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Talia asked.
Petra flapped her hand. “I failed. Well, sort of. I went to New Orleans to prove myself to you, and to—”
“You didn’t need to prove yourself to me. All I really needed was an apology and to believe you didn’t really mean to hurt me.”
Petra stared at her best friend. “I did that. And you still weren’t talking to me.”
Talia rolled her eyes. “Hey, give a girl a minute to hold a grudge, would you? I was coming around.”
Petra shook her head and pulled her into a hug. “I missed you. So much. I’m so glad we’re friends again. I couldn’t do all of this without you.”
Talia swiped at a tear and then led her out the door to her car. “I’ll drive you over there, and on the way, you can fill me in on how you think you failed.”
Once they were in the vehicle, Petra said, “I didn’t complete the assignment.”
“You found Gabe’s mother. That’s a step closer than we’ve ever been. And Ginger has decided to move here, to be closer to Gabe and Ruby, who she’s already fallen in love with and is spoiling rotten.” She laughed. “She calls herself the live-in granny.”
“I’m glad. And this also means she’ll be able to break the curse.”
“Exactly. So you see? You didn’t fail.”
Maybe not.
***
“Unfortunately,” Gabe said a couple hours later, after she’d recounted everything she’d learned while she’d been living in New Orleans, “we’ll be able to break the curse, but we’ve unearthed a whole other issue.”
“The dragon’s blood business,” Petra guessed.
They were sitting in his office, Gabe in his butter-soft leather chair, she in a not-uncomfortable seat across from him. There were glasses on the desk, one filled with water for her and one with whiskey on the rocks for him.
Far cry from the meeting they’d had here a year ago.
