“Ill be right behind you.”Zoe picked up her purse. “Ill just run Simon home and see if my neighbor will sit with him.”
“Let me just get rid of these boxes.Zoe , Im going to wrap up some of this leftover pizza for Simon.”
Life, Dana decided, didnt stop. Not even for magic keys and wicked sorcerers. And wasnt that why it was life?
“Meet us there after youre done the domestic stuff.” She grabbed Jordans hand, headed for the door. “And you could wrap up some slices for me while youre at it.“
Chapter Nineteen
“Did you read the book, or did you just say you read the book?” Jordan asked as they drove back to her apartment.
“Why would I just say I read it?”
“Beats me. But you said just the other day that youd never been in a book before. So I figured youd never read Phantom Watch”
“You lost me.”
“Did you read the book?” “Yes, damn it. I hated that book. It was so good, and I wanted it to suck. I wanted to be able to say, See, hes no big deal. But I couldnt. I was going to toss it out, even fantasized briefly about
burning it.”
“Jesus, you were pissed.”
“Oh, brother, let me tell you. Of course, I couldnt burn a book. My librarians soul would wither and die. I couldnt toss it out, either, for much the same reason. And I could never bring myself to turn it in at the used bookstore or just give it away.“
“I havent seen any of my books in your apartment.”
“You wouldnt. Theyre camouflaged.”
He took his eyes off the road to laugh at her. “Get out.”
“I didnt want people seeing I had your books. I didnt want to see I had your books. But I had to have them.”
“So you read Phantom Watch, but you didnt recognize Kate.”
“Kate?” She reached back in her memory. “The heroine? Ah… good brain, a little arrogant about it. Strong-willed, self-reliant, content in her own company—which is why she took all those long walks and ended up with that fascination for the Peak—or the Watch, I should say.”
She dug back a little deeper, let the image form. “Had a mouth on her. I admired that. A tendency toward crankiness, especially toward the hero, but you couldnt blame her. He asked for it. A small-town girl, and happy to stay that way. Worked in, what was it, this little antiquarian bookshop, which is what put her in the villains crosshairs.”
“Thats our girl.”
“She had a healthy outlook toward sex, which I appreciated. Too many women in fiction are painted as either virgin or slut. She used her head, which was a good one, but it was that and a stubborn streak that got her in a jam.”
“No bells ringing?” Jordan said after a moment.
“What bells? I dont…” A ripple of shock had her gaping at him. “Are you saying you based her on me?”
“Bits and pieces. A lot of bits and pieces. Jesus, Dana, she even had your eyes.”
“My eyes are brown. Hers were… something poetic.” “ „The color of chocolate, both rich and bitter. Or something like that.”
“Im not stubborn. Im… confident in my decisions.”
“Uh-huh.” He pulled up outside her building.
“Im not arrogant. I simply have little patience for narrow minds or supercilious behavior.”
“Yep.”