The series of poems making up The Lady and the Gray Knight was Alyx’s first work outside the realm of non-fiction, and she had been subjected to nonstop ribbing about how sentimental she had gotten ever since becoming Nathan Callis’ girlfriend. Daria hadn’t stopped winking the entire night while Nik and Constantijin wore smirks that explicitly said, So who was it that said the last thing she’d do was fall for another European billionaire jerk?
It had Alyx gnashing her teeth the whole time. If only it weren’t a crime to bash bottles over their arrogant heads!
“Oh good, you’re back,” Daria exclaimed as soon as Alyx returned to their table after another obligatory round of social calls, with Keanne having dragged her around to meet with other authors, editors, and publishers. “I’ve got something to ask you.”
“What is it?” Alyx took her seat next to Daria and spared a frowning glance at the empty chair on her other side. Where the hell was Nathan? She craned her neck in hopes of catching sight of the ex-model, but he was nowhere to be found.
“So, what do you see here, Anneke??” she heard Daria ask.
Forcing her attention back on the conversation, she turned to see Daria place a pen in front of their friend.
“A pen,” the Dutch heiress promptly answered.
“What about you, Fari?”
The younger woman blinked. “A limited-edition 2013 Mont Blanc pen?”
Daria looked impressed. “You do know your designer labels.”
“A useless talent according to my parents,” Farica answered unhappily.
Daria turned to Yanna. “Any other guess?”
By now everyone had caught on to Daria’s game, and Yanna and the others were doing their best to hide their grins while Alyx sent a ferocious scowl Daria’s way. “Very funny,” she grumbled.
“But I haven’t asked you yet.”
“Don’t bother,” she growled.
Daria said at the same time, “Okay, if you insist, I’ll ask you.”
Alyx gaped. Did Daria not hear what she had just said?
“And you must promise to be truthful,” Daria insisted. “Swear it on your books’ sales, and know that if you lie, the book will be a national flop.”
“Daria!”
The redhead cheerfully waved the pen in Alyx’s face. “What do you see, Alyx?”
“Obviously, I see…”
Love.
“A…pen?”
Daria’s eyes danced in merriment. “Nuh-uh. I know you, Alyx. You see something else. Everything you’ve written in the book is proof that you’re seeing something else.” She waved the pen in front of Alyx again. “What do you see?”
“A...”
Everyone leaned forward eagerly.
“A…”
An aardvark? An apple? An arrow?
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“I see love,” Alyx burst out and shot daggers at everyone. “Happy now?” The way everyone laughed was her answer.
“Tell us why,” Yanna was begging. “Come on, Alyx. Please.”
Knowing she’d end up acting like a sore loser if she didn’t answer, she explained reluctantly, “You think the pen is guided by the hand, but it’s not. The words may flow from the ink coming out of the pen, the fingers moving the pen may be what makes the letters take shape, but it’s, well…”
Alyx’s voice turned into a barely audible mumble as she came to the hard and most embarrassing part.
“It’s the heart…”
The whole table coughed in an ill attempt to hide their laughter at the way Alyx spoke of the last word like it was a shameful secret.
“That’s where the words really come from, and that’s how love works, too. Two persons may make a great couple on paper, your own brain may insist that you should love this person, but in the end it’s the heart that decides…” Alyx stopped, realizing that in spite of her best intentions, she had ended up gushing like an infatuated schoolgirl.
Fuck.
“And that’s that,” she finished gloomily.
Daria threw her arms around Alyx and gave her friend a hug so tight it threatened to choke the life out of Alyx. “You really are in love, Alyx.” She pulled away, saying enthusiastically, “I’m so happy for you!”
Nathan Callis chose that exact moment to return to the table, and having caught Daria’s last words, he took his seat, asking quizzically, “Are you guys talking about the book?”
The other people at the table pretended to be busy, Yanna suddenly pointing to the table centerpiece and asking Constantijin how to say it in Dutch, while Anneke and Farica hastily launched into a detailed discussion of the rather fine qualities of tonight’s table linen.
“It’s so…white,” Farica said lamely.
“And, umm, smooth,” Anneke added just as lamely. “It’s wonderfully smooth to touch!”
Just her luck to have friends who were really good at a lot of things, Alyx thought pessimistically, except acting.
When she caught sight of Daria opening her mouth, the mischievous gleam in her friend’s eyes clued Alyx in, and she leaned towards Daria, muttering threateningly under her breath, “Say one word, and I’ll find a way to get myself crushing on your husband again.”
Said husband, who had also heard the threat, blanched, and not wanting to leave anything to fate, Nik Alexandropoulos swiftly decided to take matters into his own hands. “Daria?” As soon as his wife turned to him, Nik seized her mouth.