It wasn’t an insult, not by any means, but it did take me aback-mostly because I was thinking of Adrian’s comment. Brayden had had almost nothing to say about my Halloween costume, but he noticed this?
“We were out in Santa Sofia, getting his car looked at.”
“Nice area. Keep going up the highway, and you can get to Joshua Tree National Park. Ever been there?”
“No. Just read about it.”
“Iconic place. The geology’s fascinating.”
The waitress came by, and I gratefully ordered an iced latte. Brayden was more than happy to tell me about some of the park’s geology, and we soon fell into our comfortable rhythm of intellectual discussion. I didn’t know the park’s specific makeup, but I knew more than enough about geology in general to keep up. In fact, I was able to talk on autopilot while my mind wandered back to Adrian. I recalled again what he’d said about the red dress. I also couldn’t shake the comment about me being happy, and how that was worth his suffering.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm?” I realized I’d lost the thread of our conversation after all.
“I asked which type of desert you find more striking,” Brayden explained. “The Mojave region gets all the hype, but I actually prefer the Colorado Desert.”
“Ah.” I slipped back into the flow. “Um, Mojave. I like the rock formations better.”
This triggered a debate of the regions while we ate, and Brayden seemed happier and happier. He really did like having someone who could keep up with him, I realized. None of my books had said anything about the way to a man’s heart being through academic debates. I didn’t mind it, though. I liked the conversation, but it didn’t exactly send thrills through me. I had to remind myself it was still early in our relationship-if I could even call it that. Surely the head over heels part would come soon.
We talked for a long time after the meal was over. The waitress brought us an unsolicited dessert menu when we finished, and I surprised myself by saying, “Wow… I can’t believe how much I want gelato right now. That never happens.” Maybe the sweat and heat had leached my nutrients… or maybe I still had Adrian on the brain.
“I’ve never heard you order dessert,” said Brayden, sliding his menu away. “It’s not too much sugar?”
It was another of those weird statements of his that could be interpreted a number of different ways. Was he judging me? Did he think I shouldn’t have any sugar? I didn’t know, but it was enough for me to close the menu and set it on top of his.
With no other scheduled forms of entertainment for the night, we decided to just go for a walk after dinner. The temperature was down to moderate levels, and it was still light enough out that I wasn’t as concerned about the Warriors of Light jumping out from corners. That didn’t mean I ignored Wolfe’s teachings, however. I still kept an eye on my surroundings, watching for anything suspicious.
We reached a small park that only took up one city block and found a bench in the corner. We sat down on it, watching children play on the opposite side of the lawn while we continued a discussion on bird watching in the Mojave. Brayden put his arm around me as we talked, and eventually, we exhausted the topic and simply sat in comfortable silence.
“Sydney…”
I turned my gaze from the children, surprised at Brayden’s uncertain tone, which was very different from the one he’d just been using to defend the superiority of the mountain bluebird over the western bluebird. There was softness in his eyes now as he looked at me. The evening light made his hazel eyes take on a little more gold than usual but completely hid the green. Too bad.
Before I could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed me. It was more intense than the last one, though still a long ways from the epic, all-consuming kisses I’d seen in movies. He did rest his hand on my shoulder this time, gently bringing me a little closer. The kiss also lasted longer than previous ones, and I again tried to let myself go and lose myself in the feel of someone else’s lips.
He was the one who ended it, a bit more abruptly than I would’ve expected. “I-I’m sorry,” he said, looking away. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why not?” I asked. It wasn’t so much that I’d been yearning for the kiss as it was that this seemed exactly like the kind of place you’d want to kiss: a romantic park at sunset.
“We’re in public. It’s kind of vulgar, I suppose.” Vulgar? I wasn’t even sure if we were really all that much in public, seeing as no one was next to us and we were in the shade of some trees. Brayden sighed with dismay. “I guess I just lost control. It won’t happen again.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
It hadn’t seemed like that much of a loss of control, but what did I know? And I wondered if maybe a small loss of control wasn’t such a bad thing. Wasn’t that kind of the basis of passion? I didn’t know that either. The only thing I knew for sure was that this kiss had been a lot like the last one. Nice, but it didn’t blow me away. My heart sank. There was something wrong with me. Everyone was always going on about how socially inept I was. Did it extend to romance as well? Was I so cold that I’d spend my life never feeling anything?
I think Brayden misread my dismay and assumed I was upset with him. He stood up and held out his hand. “Hey, let’s go walk to that tea shop one block over. They’ve got this local painter’s art on display that I think you’ll like. Besides, no calories in tea, right? Better than dessert.”
“Right,” I said. Thinking of the gelato didn’t cheer me up any. The Italian place had had pomegranate, which kind of sounded like the best thing ever. As I stood up, my cell phone rang and startled both of us. “Hello?”
“Sage? It’s me.”
I had no reason to be mad at Adrian, not after what he’d done for me, but somehow I felt irritated by the interruption. I was trying to make the most of this night with Brayden, and Adrian unsettled everything.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Are you still downtown? You need to come over right now.”
“You know I’m out with Brayden,” I said. This was pushy, even for Adrian. “I can’t just drop everything and entertain you.”
“It’s not about me.” It was then that I noticed how hard and serious his voice was. Something tightened in my chest. “It’s about Sonya. She’s missing.”
CHAPTER 19
“SHE WAS LEAVING TOWN,” I reminded him.
“Not until tomorrow.”
He was right, I realized. When we’d spoken to Sonya last night, she’d said two days. “Are you sure she’s really disappeared?” I asked. “Maybe she’s just… out.”
“Belikov’s here, and he’s freaked out. He says she never came home last night.”
I nearly dropped the phone. Last night? Sonya had been gone that long? That was nearly twenty-four hours ago. “How did no one notice until now?” I demanded.
“I don’t know,” said Adrian. “Can you just come over? Please, Sydney?”
I was powerless when he used my first name. It always took everything to an extra level of seriousness-not that this situation needed any particular help. Sonya. Gone for twenty-four hours. For all we knew, she wasn’t even alive if those sword-wielding freaks had caught her.
Brayden’s face was a mix of incredulity and disappointment when I told him I had to leave. “But you just… I mean…” It was a rare moment of speechlessness for him.
“I’m sorry,” I said earnestly. “Especially after being late and ruining the museum. But it’s a family emergency.”
“Your family has an awful lot of emergencies.”
You have no idea, I thought. Instead of saying that, I simply apologized again. “I really am sorry. I…” I nearly said I’d make it up to him, but that was what I’d said when I left the Halloween dance early. Tonight was supposed to have been the makeup date. “I’m just sorry.”