“Aw, thanks, flower.” Lita grins.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to eat them,” Xotichl quips.
“And thank you for that as well.” Lita stabs her fork into her stack, and we all follow suit.
The six of us eating in a happy, contented silence, when Dace calls for the waitress to refill his coffee, and I follow his gaze to see a bleached-blond ponytail with half-inch dark roots swinging over a shoulder.
The move oddly familiar, and yet I can’t place it.
Can’t make sense of the overwhelming dread it elicits.
It’s not until she wipes a hand over the front of her apron, and tightens her grip on the coffeepot she wields in her hand, that I’m able to place her. The elaborate snake tattoo that winds up her arm serves to confirm it.
“Marliz,” I whisper her name, as she turns on me with a frosty gaze. Not nearly as surprised to see us as we are to see her. “I haven’t seen you since . . .”
“Since you killed my fiancé.”
She lifts her free hand to her hair, pushes her bangs from her face. Revealing eyes that look tired, rimmed with fatigue. Though her cheeks appear fuller, her complexion flushed and radiant. And while I’m tempted to explain that, technically, it was Dace who killed her fiancé, not me, the hateful glare in her gaze tells me there’s no point in quibbling.
“With Gabe gone, I had no reason to stick around, so I left. Didn’t get very far, not like that time I went to L.A. with your mom. Still, I managed to make it out of Enchantment for a whole five months and counting.” Her lips lift a bit, but the grin is as tight, perfunctory, and frigid as her delivery.
“You could still go back to L.A.,” I tell her. “Jennika’s there. She’s living in Malibu now. Married to Harlan. I’m sure they’d be willing to help you get settled.”
She does an exaggerated shake of her head, causing her ponytail to sway from side to side. “No, thanks. I did my time in LaLa Land. Turns out New Mexico’s a much better match. Besides, it’s not just me anymore. I have my son to consider.” She lowers a hand to her belly, and that’s when I see it.
That’s when we all see it.
The unmistakable bulge straining the seams of her apron.
“Seven months,” she says with a triumphant grin, as though she’s been waiting for this very day. “Looks like a part of Gabe lives on.” She reaches into the neck of her apron, and reveals a long gold chain she arranges to hang down her front. The tourmaline engagement ring Gabe gave her now worn like a pendant, resting precisely at the place where her belly begins to swell with his child.
“So, coffee?” She waves her pot as her gaze moves among us, but we’re so shocked by the sight of her, Dace can barely manage a no, while I can hardly manage a shake of my head.
My pulse pounding, mind reeling, vision blurring, until my entire world shrinks down to one chilling fact: Another Richter is about to enter the world.
It’s the kind of blow I never considered.
I was so sure we got every last one of them—and yet, the evidence is right there before me in the form of Marliz’s protruding belly, along with the only tourmaline that managed to survive.
I struggle to keep my breath even. Fight to steady myself. Only vaguely aware of Dace fumbling under the table in search of my hand, as I lift my gaze to meet Marliz’s. The gleam in her eyes signaling just how much she’s enjoyed the reveal—taking great pleasure in upending our world.
She turns on her heel, starts to move away. Then glancing over her shoulder as though it’s an afterthought, she says, “Be sure to give my regards to Enchantment.” Her lips tilt in a sardonic grin. “Funny how often I find myself missing it. As soon as Gabe Junior’s old enough to truly appreciate it, I plan to return. And don’t worry, I’ll be sure to look you up when I do.”