Page 121 of Provocation
I notice that all eyes are on me and I wonder what’s going on, but I nod anyway.
‘Yeah, BFFs. She’s great.’ I clasp my hands together. ‘And she was so good in the play! Didn’t you think?’
He blinks and I get the sense that he’s surprised by something.
‘My granddaughter is very talented. Much like her grandmother was.’ He looks toward the stage for a moment and when he looks back, his eyes seem glassy.
He nods at me and then at the guys behind me.
‘Novelle,’ he murmurs. Then turns away.
‘What was that about?’ I mutter.
I hear Blake swear behind me. ‘I think Pop Pop Garrett likes you, Daisy.’
I give him a questioning look and then frown when no one elaborates.
‘Jesus,’ Shade mutters. ‘They’re a crime family, Daisy.’
That’s news to me.
My eyes widen. ‘What? Lu’s not a criminal.’
‘Shade isn’t lying. The Garretts are powerful,’ Mav mutters, nodding. ‘And whatever test that just was, looks like you passed it, Tulip.’
The next few days pass without any more detectives visiting me, and no more stalker notes. I don’t do much besides go to class, keep on top of my school reading, my duties in the campus lab, and work in the coffee shop.
Lu and I are finally able to hang out now that her show is done, and we decide to watch one of Blake’s period dramas with mixed results. Lu falls asleep almost immediately and I decide these might be the perfect kind of chillout shows for relaxing after a long day.
The cops finally leave the crime scene the following Friday and we’re able to return to Wrath. I get back into the lab to make Envy. I’m off schedule by almost a full week, though, so I end up spending all my days and nights there trying to catch up so that Sauvage can have his product, and we have enough to sell.
Late December comes around quickly. On Christmas morning, I wake in our bed in the club and can’t help my smile.
Last year on this day, I was up at normal time at The Heath and the heating broke, so we were freezing all day and night. I don’t even think we had a Christmas dinner. It was just cold sandwiches because the kitchen stoves wouldn’t work either.
No matter what, this one is going to be so much better!
'It's Christmas,' I whisper giddily, as I catch Mav looking at me.
‘You like Christmas, huh?’ he asks with a grin.
I smile. ‘Usually, even at The Heath, Christmas was nicer than all the other days. We got to have Christmas dinner, and there were crackers.'
'Crackers?'
'Yeah,’ I shift closer to him. ‘They're these kind of cardboard cylinders, and inside there's a dumb joke and a little toy, or something like a tiny magnifying glass or a puzzle, and a paper hat, and you each pull an end, and there's a little tiny firecracker inside, so it makes a pop and then you eat your dinner with your little hat on.'
He looks at me like I'm a little bit nuts, and I wave my hand. 'It's an English thing. Anyway, it was fun.'
I get up and take a shower, and when I get back, the guys are awake. They invite me to come back to bed, but I’m too excited for sex, and I tell them so.
So, instead, with amused faces, they lead me to the office upstairs, where I find that there’s a little Christmas tree in the corner all nicely decorated with tinsel and gold baubles, and there are even presents underneath. My smile is wide as I jump up and down with a squeal.
'When did you do this?' I gasp.
'Last night, while you were sleeping,’ Shade replies, smiling at my antics.
I clap my hands, jumping up and down again.
