Claire blinked. “But...”
“I’m leaving for the night, Claire. I’m not running away. There’s a difference.” Her shoulders loosened a tiny bit under his hands, though her arms remained crossed. “Besides, despite what you may think or how spineless Lucas might act, you and Jake just aren’t thatscary.”
That made her laugh and drop her arms to her sides. “Oh well then, that’s a game changer. And we worked really hard at being terrifying.” She reached up to flatten her hands over his where they rested on her shoulders. “Sounds like fun. We’re yours fortomorrow.”
Her words sent a hot shiver of anticipation down his spine. Andor wanted to enfold her in his arms, kiss the soft mouth that smiled at him now. But he held back. One goodnight kiss wouldn’t be enough, not forhim.
They made plans to visit Hermann Park and the grassy hill above Miller Outdoor Theatre. Jake could enjoy the outdoors and open space where the noise was distant and people spread fartherapart.
Before Andor left, Jake came out, and at his mother’s coaxing, told him goodbye. Claire missed it, but Andor caught the flicker of the boy’s gaze on him and the small upturn of one corner of his mouth, as if to remind Andor of the secret they shared betweenthem.
Claire followed Andor out to the front porch. While he refrained from kissing her mouth, he did avail himself of her slender hands, raising both to his lips in a courtly gesture. “Thank you for dinner,Claire.”
“You brought the food. I just provided the table and the microwave. I should be thankingyou.”
She kept her hands in his, and her eyelids dropped to half-mast over her eyes. The tip of her tongue peeked between her teeth to swipe at her lower lip. Andor inhaled sharply at her unconscious invitation. He leaned toward her. Such a sweet mouth, shaped to fit perfectly againsthis.
He pulled away and dropped her hands. Claire backed up a step, the sleepy look gone; her usual guarded expression in place. Andor bowed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Claire.Goodnight.”
Her gaze on his back burned hot on his skin, but he didn’t turn around as he strode down her walkway and slid into his car. She waved once and disappeared back into the house. Andor leaned his forehead against the steering wheel. The memory of a long ago conversation he’d had with Nicholas came back tohim.
“I wouldn’t want to be human. Such short lives in which to try and dosomething.”
Nicholas tucked his pipe stem into the corner of his mouth. Wisps of smoke curled out of the pipe bowl, shaping themselves into stars and horses, sailing ships and planets. “Don’t be so quick to judge, son. Forever is a notion. You can live it across centuries or in a single hour. It’s how you choose to spend the timegiven.”
At the time, Andor hadn’t understood Nicholas’s cryptic remark. He did now. A thousand-year exile of nomadic existence. One evening with Claire Summerlad. He had just glimpsedForever.
7
Claire pausedin logging information into the database that held the files on Dee’s upcoming illuminated manuscript exhibit. “Dee, come look at this. Did you get documentation on this latest manuscriptlot?”
The curator rolled her chair into Claire’s cube and peered at the screen. A scanned copy of a manuscript filled Claire’s monitor—An angel with black wings holding an unconscious or dead woman in his arms. An illuminated border of gold leaf and red pigment surrounded the illustration. Below it, flowing black script executed in a steady hand told a moral lesson on incurring the wrath of a vengefulGod.
Dee frowned at the screen. “Damn, that’s grim. I don’t recognize the manuscript. It isn’t from the Matenadaranlot.”
Claire clicked several screens back and scrolled through a typed list. “No, private owner—anonymous. This is that lot Dr. Vecchio brokered for us. Remember? Thing is, I have nothing more on it or the other six manuscripts that came in with it. Just a lot numbers and dates. No provenance, no point of origin,nothing.”
“That’s weird. Giovanni Vecchio is very meticulous. He’s brokered stuff for us before, and we always get a mountain of information with the lots. Are you sure it wasn’t scanned to anotherdatabase?”
Claire tapped her keyboard. “Positive. I’ve checked and double-checked.” She clicked back to the manuscript with the black-winged angel and then through subsequent files depicting more angels, some wielding swords, others on their knees begging for mercy. “These are markedly different from the Matenadaran group. Same style but the content is...it looks almost Enochian. When was the last time you saw an illumination depicting an angel embracing a woman likethat?”
“Never.” Dee’s voice sounded thin and strained. Claire glanced up and caught an odd look on her friend’s face. Terror, sadness, a strange yearning. The expression faded as quickly as it appeared, but for some reason, the fine hairs on Claire’s nape stood on end. “You allright?”
Dee, still pale around the mouth, nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. Just wondering how I could have missed that gap. I’ll e-mail Vecchio to see what’s up. Probably won’t hear from him until after the holidays. I think he’s visiting family inItaly.”
Claire gave an appreciative whistle. “Must benice.”
Dee’s voice had lost its strain, returning to the teasing tones with which Claire was familiar. “Which one? Family orItaly?
“ Italy of course.” Family was nice too. Claire’s was very small. Just her and Jake. But the holidays in Italy? Maybe one day—when she won thelottery.
“Invitation still stands if you want to come to my parents’ place for Thanksgiving.” Dee wheeled her chair back to her cube. “Mom promised she wouldn’t serve the turkey raw thisyear.”
Claire laughed. Dee’s mom was notorious for her epic culinary failures. “Thanks, but Jake couldn’t handle a combination of strange place, strange people and noise for several hours. Besides, I have company thatday.”
The words were barely out of her mouth before Dee zipped back into her cube. “I’m not much of a betting person, but I’d lay money down company is the hot preparator you’re attached to at the hip thesedays.”
Ignoring the suggestive eyebrow wiggle Dee gave her, Claire sniffed. “Maybe.”
