Page 215 of One Winter Knight
“You can be friends with him. He’s not a bad man,” he replied.
“Then what did he do? Never mind, you don’t need to tell me.”
“He lost something. I’m also angry that I can't find something. Different somethings.” For a moment he looked like he would tear out his hair.
My phone lit up with a text from Grif with the name of a jeweler. I didn’t have anything else to do today so I could leave if I wanted.
I looked at Dimitri. “Do you have anything leftthat you have to do today?”
He shook his head.
“Do you want to come with me to buy some rings? Or we can just get out of here and have a beer somewhere we don’t know people? We don’t have to talk,” I offered. He had good taste.
“I don’t wish to talk. But yes, your mates deserve nice rings, so I will go with you.” He stood.
“Thanks,” I replied.
Yeah, let’s get out of here.
“Anybody home?” I called as I walked through the front door, which was open again. Brown paper covered the floor, and the smell of paint permeated things.
I walked in and went to the kitchen.
“No shoes.” Saoirse was taking things out of shopping bags.
“Right.” That would take a minute to remember. I took them off and just left them there, which seemed kind of strange.
“She ordered something for the shoes,” Saoirse added, putting things in the cabinet. “I did the grocery shopping today based on the list and a few basic dinner ideas. I wasn't sure what market you usually go to, but this seemed better than the close one that Fiona and I found the other day.”
This wasn’t the store I usually shopped at, but I wasn’t even sure if there was one around here.
“This one’s fine. I don’t know how you feel about outdoor markets. There’s a couple of really good ones,” I told her as I opened the fridge and grabbed a cold drink.
“Oh, I like outdoor markets. I couldn’t find some of the thingsthat you had on the list. I’m guessing I might find those at a different place?” She continued putting things away.
“It’s fine. I can always get those.” I took a sip, leaning against the counter. “Um, I have a grocery delivery app and I’m happy to share access for it if it makes things easier.”
“That would be good. They’re upstairs. She says she’s making her nest. I think she’s just covering Hale with blankets and then he chases her around.”
“Sounds fun.” I could see it now. Her ring gleamed as she put things away. “You’re still wearing the ring?”
Her look went bashful. “I actually took it off for a while. Kace reached out and asked her if she wanted it back. She said she liked that it would bring someone else happiness. I think Dusty was giving her concert tickets because she didn’t want compensation. I probably won’t wear it always, but I think I’ll keep it as a reminder that people can be kind for no reason whatsoever. Something I need to remember more.”
“That’s profound. What about the gold dress? I have to admit Hale looked fucking hot in it,” I replied.
“It’s around here someplace. I don’t know if they tracked that person down or not, or what they were wearing after it ended up on me.” She took some fruit out of the bag and carefully arranged it in a beautiful glass bowl.
Wow, we were fruit bowl people. But were we fruit bowl in the kitchen people or fruit bowl in the dining room people?
“Are we allowed to eat the fruit in the bowl or is it just to be pretty?” I asked.
She chuckled. “You can eat the fruit.”
I took the bag of cake pops out of my bag and set it on the counter. “Hale’s sister made these.”
After I finished my drink, I went upstairs. The room on the second floor was empty, but a huge amount of progress had been made. The bed in there was giant. Not sure how many peopleFiona planned on having in that bed, but it could fit our pack, a bunch of kids, and a number of dogs.
The walls had been painted, there was new carpet, beautiful bedding that looked too nice to lay on, curtains, new light fixtures, and lamps. A cozy little couch and table sat in the corner.
