Chapter 45
45
DARIUS
T he next day at noon, I’m sitting across from Robert Ross to finalize the waterfall transfer to me. We take turns scribbling our signatures on the requisite documents as Frank and Robert’s lawyer look on.
If this were a normal real estate business deal, I wouldn’t be here. I would have sent an associate from my Manhattan office to handle the paperwork on my behalf.
But it had to be me. I can’t let anything go wrong in this deal.
The property taxes are paid, the legalities have been settled, and now Ross can sell the property to me. Fucking finally.
Meanwhile, Ziggy is back at the office in Starlight Falls, making calls and rescheduling my afternoon, so that we can spend the rest of the day off work.
When the documents are signed, we all stand from the table. I extend a hand to Ross, thanking him for trusting me with this deal. We exchange well wishes. Then, I’m out of there, in a hurry to get back to Starlight Falls.
I arrive back at the office and Ziggy is waiting for me at her desk. She lights up, bolting to her feet at the sight of me. “It’s done? You did it?”
“The documents are all signed, Fairy Girl. We did it.”
Cheers go up around the suite where my other employees are listening in from their cubicles.
Ziggy rushes over, swinging her arms around my neck and planting a kiss on my cheek. “This is so amazing. I’m so proud of you.” She smiles at me. “Do you want me to follow up with your lawyer next week?”
“No, I’ve got it from here.”
She frowns. But I flash her a smile, hoping she won’t see that there’s more to the story.
Because there’s a tiny part of this deal that she doesn’t know about. And for now, I want to keep it that way. It’s a surprise, and I don’t want to blow it just yet. But with Ziggy’s inquisitiveness, I know that it’s going to be hard to keep this quiet.
“Okay, no more business talk,” I say before she can ask more questions.
“No more business talk?” She makes a big deal of standing on her toes and peeking over my shoulder. “Wait—who are you and what have you done with the real Darius Brighton?”
Chuckling, I capture her cheeks and press my lips to her forehead. “Seriously, Ziggy. I just want to enjoy this day with you.”
It works to distract her, but it’s also one-hundred percent true.
I squeeze her tightly. “Ready to celebrate?”
Her eyebrows pinch together as her blue irises pingpong between mine. “Celebrate?”
“Hell, yeah. Why do you think I asked you to clear the day? ”
She laughs. “Well, I just figured you were going to be busy with waterfall business all day.” Her eyes twinkle. “But I won’t argue if we’re getting the afternoon off.”
She hurriedly puts away the file she was working on and powers down her computer. She gives instructions to the receptionist and the bookkeeper.
Then she turns to me. “Where to, Money Man? Or can I still call you that? I bet that buying the waterfall property will set you back a few gold bars.”
I chuckle, wrapping my arm around Ziggy’s middle as we head out the door. “I still have just enough cash to take my girl to the Peace and Pumpkins Festival. What do you say? Be my date?”
Ziggy’s eyes beam. But she’s trying to play it cool. Even still, I can tell that deep down, she’s jumping with excitement. She’s been talking about this festival all week. But between work here at the office and her shop in Honey Hill, she was worried she wouldn’t have time to check out the festival before it ended.
Holding hands, we walk from my office, just a few blocks to the heart of town. We stroll into the outdoor festival, a three-day event full of psychics, healers, crystals, and Ziggy's personal favorite—tarot readings. It’s not really my scene, but Ziggy’s in heaven, and seeing her happy is my scene.
She gets a palm reading done, she drags me into a photo booth, and then I buy her one of those fancy bowls of freshly cut fruit to snack on. The longer we’re here, the more I get swept up in the eclectic vibe.Everyone is just so chill and living at their own pace. This festival is proving to be the perfect way to celebrate all the work we’ve put into this drawn-out property mess.
Not surprisingly at all, we run into Ziggy’s aunt Rainbow, who has her own booth set up at the festival. She’s selling some of her usual farmer’s market produce and baked goods, so I make sure to stock up. Before I can pay, we’re suddenly surrounded by a bunch of the local women.All eyes are on Ziggy and me.
“Is it true?”
“You really saved the waterfall?”
“Oh, tell us it’s true!”
“I, uh…” I start, a little overwhelmed by all the attention.
Ziggy proudly loops her arm through mine. “He sure did. Darius has single-handedly saved the waterfall for all of us,” she announces.
“Oh, thank you, Mr. Brighton!”
“You’re our hero.”
“We’re so grateful that you defeated Edison, that greedy bastard.”
The old ladies huddle around me. Some are patting me on the back. Others are full-out hugging me. Two of them offer me freshly baked brownies, making sure to mention that they’re of the ‘special’ variety.
Heck, even the woman who once put a hex on me is being nice today.
“It worked. My spell worked,” Ms. Holly tries to pat my cheek.
I flinch, jumping a mile backward. “I knew it. I knew you tried to kill me,” I shout accusingly, startling the crowd.
But now that I think about it, ever since I started spending more time with Ziggy, I haven’t been experiencing all those weird symptoms anymore.
My ear doesn’t hurt. My eye hasn’t been twitching. I can’t remember the last time I had a migraine.
Either Ziggy is my magical cure, or taking some time to slow the hectic pace of my life has been good for my health.I’m going to assume that it’s a bit of both. I couldn’t have achieved one without the other.
Right now, I can’t help but wonder if my hex is over. Maybe I broke it with my recent good deeds.
The old woman rolls her eyes. “Kill you? I didn’t try to kill you, idiot. I cast a love spell on you.”
“A love spell?” I echo.
She nods. “I knew that if you found the woman for you, you’d stop being such a money-hungry terror around town. That hard heart of yours was practically begging for some affection.”
Rainbow stomps into the conversation. “That is absolutely ridiculous, Holly. This has nothing to do with a love spell. It’s astrology. I checked on the synastry. Ziggy and Darius are soulmates. It’s written in the stars. They were bound to find each other.”
“I think it had to do with the magic of the waterfall,” someone else adds. “Ziggy and Darius have been working tirelessly together to block the privatization of the land. Falling in love with each other is their reward from the universe. The powers of those waters make people fall in love all the time.”
The old ladies are arguing now. They can’t agree on whether it was Holly’s spell or the astrology or some other mystical phenomenon that brought Ziggy and me together. It’s a battle of superstitions.
But I’m too distracted to engage in the debate. Because Ziggy is looking at me with so much adoration and pride in her bright blue eyes. It’s an honor to be appreciated by the locals, but Ziggy’s opinion of me is what matters most.
Hell—I’d buy every waterfall in the country to keep that look on her face.
“Will you dance with me?” I ask, leaning down to murmur in her ear. “I believe I have a big mistake to undo from when I was a stupid teenager.”
Ziggy blushes.“I’d love to dance.”
I grab her hand and lead her away from the booths—and from prying eyes. We don’t stop until we hit the area of the festival that has upbeat live music playing.
“What are you thinking?” she asks, our bodies pressed together and moving in sync.
“I only want to dance with you at all hippie festivals from now on,” I confess.
She whimpers, leaning her head on my collarbone and hugging me tighter.
“I’m going to keep earning your forgiveness for all my stupid mistakes,” I promise her, my lips pressed to her hair.
“I’d say you’re doing a pretty good job so far,” she murmurs.
I grin into the air, a weird feeling zipping through me as I wrap my arms around Ziggy and glance around at the scene.
I feel like I belong here. For the first time in my 31 years. I feel like I’m a part of this wacky community.I have no desire to run back to Manhattan or San Francisco. I feel, without a doubt, that Starlight Falls is home.
We dance and we dance some more. With every laugh we share and with every touch, I’m falling deeper and deeper in love. In between stolen kisses, I realize with certainty that I’m not dying after all.
In fact, I feel more alive than I ever have.