Page 138 of Caper Crush
He kisses me. “I love you.” He pulls me in close for a hug. “I missed you.”
I grip him tightly. I’d been worried that I would never feel his arms around me again.
He lightly traces my cheekbone with his finger. It smells of salty air. I can hear the waves lapping against the promenade.
“What’s the guitar case for?” I ask. “You don’t play guitar, do you?”
“Tessa told me you can’t resist men who sing and play guitar,” he says. “I can’t really sing, but I have taken some guitar lessons. I thought I’d better bring it as a backup.”
“Now you have to play it.”
He takes the guitar out and strums a love ballad. He is absolutely terrible. I nod encouragingly and smile, hoping he can’t see me gritting my teeth.
He winces as he plays, even as he concentrates on the chords and his fingers. That effort gets me. It makes me love him even more.
“Did it work?” he asks when he finishes, looking up hopefully.
“Definitely.” I kiss him.
We walk slowly back to my apartment, holding hands and stopping to kiss. It feels like we’re solid now.
As we approach my apartment, Edmund is standing outside. Officer Johnson warned us that he was already out on bail.
William stops short when he sees Edmund. I may need to move if I keep getting these unwelcome visitors. William puts his arm around me.
Edmund raises his hands up. “I come in peace,” he says. “I just wanted to explain. I was going to give you back your painting—before the exhibit. I was going to help you find it.”
“And save the day?” I ask.
“Yes, like I did in Brooklyn. So you would support my suit with Annabelle and so Annabelle would be impressed that I helped you.”
“That’s why you stole it?” I shake my head. “Then why copy it? Why tellThe SquirrelI stole it? Don’t deny that you also wanted to hurt me and to see me crumble.”
“I don’t deny it,” Edmund says. “I did blame you for Annabelle rejecting me. And I wanted to see you hurt the way you hurt me. You’ve never liked me.”
“What were you going to do with the Kimimoto?” I ask.
“I was going to give that back too. Eventually.”
“After you sold some fake copies of it on the black market, right?”
“I was going to give it back eventually,” Edmund says again. “I just needed some money because of the bad harvest in Italy. Don’t press charges.”
“It’s not up to me, Edmund.” I focus on his face, willing him to understand. “You committed a crime. It’s the prosecutor who makes the decision to press charges.”
Edmund’s face crumples.
William steps between me and him.
“It’s not your decision.” Edmund nods and turns away. Then he turns back. “Do you think Annabelle will represent me?”
He pulls out his phone. William and I hurry into my building.
“Should you warn Annabelle?” William asks.
I text Annabelle. She replies that she’s on it. Then William picks me up and kisses me again.
“I really wanted to kiss you when I was carrying you around that day,” he says.
