"Huh?" Kaia blinked.
"You're doing it now." Tara nodded. "You're scratching the leg of the couch."
"Yep," Ember confirmed. "Slowly, lightly, intriguing Sadie. Calling her to you without drawing attention. And here I thought you emitted some kind of magical, come-to-me allure."
"You think that's how she got Ridge wrapped around her little finger?" Aria teased.
Ha! As if. The reverse was true. He had her wrapped around his pinky.
Kaia stared down at her hand, felt the texture of the wood beneath her fingers. She should stop scratching. Deflect her sisters' attention. But then Sadie moseyed over to check out Kaia's fingers.
"Watch," Aria said. "She'll move to scratching the cushion."
"How long have you been observing her technique?" Tara leaned in, clearly fascinated.
"I can't do it now with you all staring at me." Kaia snorted.
"Go on." Ember waved a hand. "Show us your cat luring techniques."
"I didn't even know it was a technique," Kaia said. "It just comes naturally."
"Like Ember's red hair." Aria took a sip of wine.
Ember patted her curly locks. "Thanks to Mom's Irish DNA."
Sadie put her paws on Kaia's soft cushion, studied her scratching fingers with fascination. After a moment, she swished her tail and leaned in to sniff Kaia's fingers.
"Wait for it," Aria said. "Wait for it . . ."
Everyone watched Sadie.
The Siamese hopped delicately into Kaia's lap.
"Boom!" Aria pumped a fist. "And there you have it, the secret to Kaia's cat magic. The reason Sadie likes Kaia best is not just because she loves cats, but because she also understands them."
"Too bad those skills aren't transferable to men," Kaia lamented, rubbing Sadie behind the ears.
Sadie immediately started purring and the contented rumbling reminded Kaia of the romantic rumblings inside her own head when she kissed Ridge.
Kaia inched her fingers along Sadie's spine, thought of the way Ridge had stroked her in much the same way. Realized that in their relationship, he'd been the one holding the mesmerizing magic, and she'd been the one seduced.
Complicated feelings swirled inside her, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to be home alone.
"I've got to head out," she said, transferring the Siamese to Tara's lap. "Let me know what you decide about Archer and Casey's welcome home dinner. Just tell me what to bring."
"Hey," Ember hollered as Kaia started across the living room. "You never did tell us what's going on between you and Ridge."
"Nothing," she said. "There's nothing to tell."
Then as quickly as she could, she headed for the door. How could she tell them something she did not understand herself?
Since the Evektor was a two-seater, it was just Ridge and Duke on the flight home. Ranger was driving Vivi back from El Paso. Remington and Rhett had already returned to their lives, once they knew Duke was out of the woods.
Ridge couldn't decide which was tenser, being alone in the plane with Vivi, or his father. The flight took an hour, but it felt ten times longer than the three-hour drive.
Duke's color was ashen, and he'd lost a good twenty pounds during the two weeks he'd been in the hospital. He kept wriggling around in the seat.
"Are you okay?" Ridge asked.
"Can't get comfortable." He grunted.
"You can let the seat back."
Duke fumbled with the seat, cursed. "Too many buttons. Stupid thing. Why did you have to buy such a fancy plane? Show-off."
Ridge took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His father was feeling frail and powerless. That made him grouchy. Ridge wasn't going to get sucked in.
Finally, Duke settled down, fell asleep, and snored all the way back to the Silver Feather. Ridge counted his lucky stars.
But then that left him alone with his thoughts. All he could think about was Kaia and that look on her face as he walked out the door.
And the story she'd told him. About the humming she heard in her head when he kissed her. Song of the Soul Mate she'd called it. The fable wasn't sane or rational, but he believed her. Believed she believed it anyway.
He wanted to believe it too.
What a terrific notion. That fate played a hand, and that the love of your life was predestined and all you had to do was find her.
Trick was, he had found her, but he wasn't worthy of her.
He'd trained himself not to feel anything. Feelings messed with your mind. Got you in trouble. He could be distant, self-contained, emotionless, and yes, he knew, hard to love. That's the way he'd always wanted it.