“Only once,” he says. “I’m not one for dancing, but one of Daffy’s partners was getting a little too touchy.”
“You didn’t have to crush his shoulder,” Daphne says under her breath. “He thought you were going to murder him.”
“I haven’t a clue what you mean,” Monty says, a humorless grin on his face. He looks much more like his flippant self now.
“Wait, why do you have this?” Edwina lifts something off the counter. It’s a collection of pages that bear her handwriting.
“I won the auction,” Monty says.
“Why?”
Monty takes a drag from his cigarillo. “What do you mean, why? I placed the highest bid.”
Edwina gives him a scathing look that’s betrayed by the humor in her smile. “Yes, but why did you want it? I thought this would go to a dedicated fan of mine.”
“You wound me in suggesting I’m not a dedicated fan. Besides, I thought Daphne would enjoy your drawings. The sexy ones, in particular.” He winks, receiving a growl from Daphne, before he turns his gaze to me. “And what a waste it would be if William never got to see the final page.”
I glance from Monty to the stack of papers in Edwina’s hands, then to my beautiful lover’s face. Her cheeks are flushed, and her smile is suddenly bashful.
“Well, now I’m intrigued.” I reach for the papers and she hands them over with only the slightest hesitation.
“Don’t skip the beginning,” Monty says.
I flip through each page, starting withFourteen Ways to Die in Faerwyvae: An Illustrated Guideat the beginning. Then a few lewd drawings. After that, I find a page entitledFourteenWays to Die in Faerwyvae: Arrogant Poet Edition. Beneath it are several crude illustrations, most of which I can’t make out, though I believe one is supposed to be a glass vial. Next to it is her handwriting:Poison?
I snort a laugh and cast a questioning glance at Edwina. “Death threats?”
“I was drunk,” she explains with a grimace.
I flip through more pages of drawings, then another How To list, this oneHow to Seduce a Stranger. Several bullet points are listed below, such asAct coy and demureandCleavage. In the margins, her sloppy scrawl readsI have no idea what I’m doing. More drawings follow, and then I reach the final page. My throat tightens at once.
Fourteen Ways to Fall in Love with Faerwyvae.
Beneath the title are bullet points numbered one through fourteen.
All of which bear my name.
William Haywood.
William Haywood.
William Haywood.
William Haywood.
I set the papers down and face Edwina. “You were going to auction this away without ever showing me?”
She gives me a hesitant grin. “It was the highest value item I could bear to part with.”
It’s so much more than that. This collection of papers is the story of us. From her first arrival in Faerwyvae, to her horrible first impression of me. All the way to the blossoming of love. With several drawings of unattainable sexual positions interspersed between, of course, but I can’t expect to be the only thing to have taken up residence in my strange little lover’s mind the past couple of weeks.
I step closer to Edwina, my eyes locked on hers.
“I appreciate you winning the bid, Monty,” I say without sparing him so much as a glance, “but I’ll have to repay your thoughtfulness by warning you and Daphne to fuck off for a while.”
Edwina looks puzzled at first, but then a sly grin curves her mouth.
“Oh, I know what this is,” Daphne mutters as she hops off the counter, swiping a bottle of cordial on her way.
