She found herself chuckling because the kettle at the house was blue.
“You know what I mean, Cal. I think maybe there’s a way for you to survive.”
“Maybe, Paige, it’s never been researched, but you’re missing something. I don’t want to live without you.”
His response hit her in her solar plexus; it wasn’t the response she was expecting.
“We do it together.”
“Ok, together.” There was suspicious moisture in the corners of her eyes, “Where are you taking me?”
“Depends on what you like to eat.”
“Steak.”
“Then I am taking you to the best steak place in town.”
“I love steak although I rarely cook it.”
“Why?”
“You ever get into the habit of not doing as much for yourself as you could? It’s a left over from the orphanage. Mostly I ate out at fast food places even when I wanted to dine in a fancy restaurant.”
“Time to bring that to an end,” he said as he pulled into a parking space. “It’s not a big city restaurant, but the food is excellent and the company is great.”
He looked over at her smiling.
“Use your talent to open the door, Paige.”
“How?”
“You not only stopped knives, but held them in the air. I entered your old suite via the secret door to collect them before Aviana and Mckayla made it to the room. Then you flung a spoon of sauce at Victor, you can figure out how to open a car door. See you inside.”
He left the car with her sitting there staring at him with an open mouth. He left us, her inner voice chimed in. Not really. She could picture her inner voice’s eyebrow arching, yeah he really left her in the car with a locked, closed door.
How to open a door? The question vibrated through her brain. She knew the think light thought didn’t work. She imagined herself popping the lock open with her hand and peeked out of one eye at it. Nope, it was still locked. She should be better at this by now. If she took into account that she lost a week sleeping maybe she was exactly where she should be.
There was a vibration in her chest; fearing the venom snake she tried to look inside. Instead of looking she fell into herself. There was a rocky downward path leading to the inside of a cave. The darkness of the wall repelled her as the rattle called to her. Shoving the fear into her rolling stomach, she kept walking. How could this place be inside of her? Maybe she left her body like she and Cal did when they entered the soul bonding tests.
Vines hung down reminding her of Cal being wrapped in them. The desire to turn around snapped at her heels while the rattle became clearer, maybe that of chains.
She walked on, accepting the simple truth that life as she once knew it was over. She kept walking as the rattling got louder. Eventually it was so loud she couldn’t think straight, she also couldn’t find the source. After examining the section of the cave where she was standing, she took a seat on the floor. It had to be here somewhere. Leaning back in exhaustion her eyes caught a white glow above her head. It was wrapped in what looked like super thin chains, not that she was under the misguided impression she could break them.
Standing, she lifted her arms trying to touch the bright light. Nothing. She went to her tip toes, nothing. Finally she began jumping feeling foolish, but she jumped anyway. Eventually her fingertip grazed the white light. She was jerked back into the front seat of the car. The door was unlocked and opened. She got out knowing she would have to puzzle this event later.
Right now Cal was waiting for her with dinner and his sexy smile. How could she ask for anything more?
Chapter Twenty Two
The interior of the place was homey. It had the kind of family feel that made her want to come again. There was soft Christmas music in the background, the kind both parents and children would know. The light was high enough not to suggest extreme intimacy while being low enough not to be garish or in her face.
There was a Christmas tree decorated in one corner. The tables were a nice size giving the occupants not only space but a place to put all of the dishes.
Cal stood and waved her over. Paige by passed the waitress standing in the foyer, walking directly to him.
“I see you managed to get out.” He gave her a well done smile before they both sat.
“I did, I’m still not sure how I did it,” she sighed, a restlessness moved within her. If she didn’t figure it all out soon…
“You’re learning, Paige. You can’t ask yourself to do more.”
“I can, it doesn’t mean I am up to the challenge.”
Their waiter approached the table. “Good evening, can I get either of you something to drink?”