Thatwasn’t here this morning. It sits there quietly, like the twin girls fromThe Shining, waiting to either take me to hell or to heaven.
Calm down, Stone. It’s just a box.
Coco mentioned running back to the house before leaving again, but she didn’t mention jewelry.
What’s inside, I wonder?
Curiosity gets the better of me and I open the lid to find a ring—an emerald surrounded by diamonds. It’s an antique, and beautiful.
My gaze lands on it for all of five seconds before a memory stabs me.
It’s blurry, like I’m looking through a filter. There’s the ring. There’s Coco. And there I am, offering it to her.
Holy shit.
A cold shock vibrates through me, and I drop the box.
It clatters to the table. I rock back on my heels.
I plow a hand through my hair, and I realize Coco’s been trying to tell me, wanting to tell me, but she keeps being interrupted—by me.
No. It can’t be.
But maybe this explains why I feel so close to her.
Maybe it explains everything. Maybe we already promised each other forever, and I just forgot.
Chapter 24
Coco
Stone acted weird last night. He kept looking at me like I had a confession tattooed on my forehead. Like at any second, I’d reveal a truth he was already braced to hear.
But he didn’t say anything.
Then he acted even stranger this morning—burning the eggs, forgetting to feed Hercules until I pointed it out—and I haven’t been able to shake this sinking feeling that heknows.
Which means it’s time to fess up.
When I reach the construction site, work is in full swing. My eyes pop wide as I take in everything that’s been accomplished in a short period of time. The limecrete has been repoured. Beams have been erected. The structure looks like an actual building and not a weird skeleton sitting in the middle of a plot of dirt.
Soon as I park, I see Stone talking with the guys, giving orders. Isaac and Ron nod before moving off. Stone spots me, and one side of his mouth curves in a way that makes my stomach quiver.
I kill the engine and climb out. “Hey!”
“Hey yourself,” he says, crossing over. “Glad you could come.”
“Of course. I love seeing how it’s turning out.”
“The ley lines look good, don’t you think?”
They pulse with power. “They do.”
Stone watches me. I watch back. My stomach jumps off a diving board.
“So, I . . .”
“About last night—” he says at the same time.
