She yanked the ring off, holding it out to him. When he refused to take it, she crossed to his bedside table and placed it there with unmistakable finality. “If you’ll have my bracelet repaired, I’ll consider us even.”
He wouldn’t. Not by a long shot. She squared her shoulders and turned her back on Kiko. The expression on her face almost brought him to his knees. Despite the love and support she’d received from her grandmother, everyone else in her life had abandoned her. So many rejections in such a short life. And here it was happening to her again.
Well, not for long. No matter what it took, he intended to make things right.
The next couple of weeks were absolute agony for Larkin. Rafe made no attempt to get in touch. Nor did she go to the house, even though she missed Kiko fiercely. She made noises a couple of times about sneaking over while Rafe was at work so she could see her dog, but Gia informed her that her brother had elected to stay at home for the remainder of his vacation, and Larkin couldn’t bring herself to confront him. At least, not yet. Not while recent events were still so raw.
Midway through the third week, word finally came that the repairs to her bracelet were completed. “Meet me downstairs in five and I’ll drive you over,” Gia called to say. “I think I’m almost as excited as you to see how it looks.”
It wasn’t until they made the turn onto Rafe’s street that Larkin realized where they were going. “I thought the bracelet would be at Dantes,” she said uneasily.
“Nope. Rafe has it.” Gia spared her an impatient look. “You’ve done nothing but grouse about the fact that you haven’t seen Kiko in weeks. Now you have the opportunity to see both her and the bracelet. You should be over the moon. Don’t tell me you’re going to let a little thing like my good-for-nothing brother spoil your big moment.”
“No. No, of course I won’t.” Maybe not.
To her surprise, Gia pulled up in front. Instead of parking, she waved her hand toward the house. “On second thought, why don’t you go ahead without me.”
Larkin turned to glare. “You’re setting me up, aren’t you? You think if I go in there alone, maybe Rafe and I will resolve our differences.”
Gia shrugged. “Worth a try.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“Then it won’t work. But at least I’ll have given it a shot.”
Realizing it was pointless to argue, Larkin exited the car. Snatching a deep breath, she forced herself to climb the steps of the front porch at a sedate pace and knock. A minute later the door swung open and Rafe stood there. They stared at each other for an endless moment before he stepped back to allow her past.
She didn’t know what to say. Emotions flooded through her. Powerful emotions. Longing. Regret mixed with sorrow. Love and the sheer futility of that love. And overriding them all was pain. A bone-deep, all-invasive hurt.
“Where’s Kiko?” she managed to ask.
“Out back.” For some reason he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her, his gaze practically eating her alive. “The gentleman who brought the bracelet wanted you to inspect it before he left and I wasn’t sure how well he’d take to having a wolf hovering over him.”
She almost smiled, catching herself at the last instant. “But Kiko’s okay?”
“She’s fine. Misses you. But then, that seems to be going around.”
She blinked up at him, not quite sure what to make of his comment. Not that his expression gave anything away. “I guess we shouldn’t keep your associate waiting.”
Rafe led the way to the den and shoved open the door. She could see her bracelet spread out across the empty glass-topped desk, captured within the beam of a bright spotlight. A man stood nearby, silent and attentive.
Larkin approached the table, her breath catching when she saw the bracelet. She swung around to glance at Rafe, tears gathering in her eyes. “It’s beautiful. Please tell Francesca she did an amazing job restoring it.”
The man beside the table cleared his throat. “She made a few minor changes. The fire diamonds, for instance. They’re similar in size, but the quality can’t be compared. And I understand she used Verdonia Royal amethysts. The color is stunning, don’t you think?”