Chapter 10
10
At the end of the day, he couldn’t trust that the little boy screaming at the top of his lungs was a good enough diversion. He didn’t trust that Janet could be fooled into believing that she had twenty-one rings when she only had twenty.
Magnus ultimately couldn’t trust in himself.
He’d treated Celeste as though she was the only shining star in his black night, and surely Janet had seen that. He’d played the Ball and Chain with too much gusto. And when he saw a familiar warmth in Celeste’s eyes, felt it in her touch, he reared back like a nervous horse. It felt too believable. In that moment, he felt like a ballroom dancer who forgot how to dance. He felt clumsy and unsure about his next steps. He was certain he’d stumble over his partner because he hadn’t had a partner in so long.
So he fell back on practicality and slipped the original ring back in its case while the child caught Celeste’s attention. He then purchased an emerald ring he didn’t need. An engagement ring that wouldn’t unite a damn thing. Even as he held on to her, he could feel Celeste’s body tense.
They walked wordlessly until they were at least two blocks away, on Seventh Avenue. She whirled on him and shot him an accusatory glare. “What happened?”
“It got too hot,” he said. “I changed directions and decided to go straight.”
Celeste’s jaw dropped as her eyes roved over his body. “You left the original ring, didn’t you?” She took it a step further and began going through his jacket pockets. Her hands swiped across his chest, then to his pants pocket... She was frisking him right there on the street. “You for real bought an emerald ring? Jesus Christ, Mags. Why would you do that?”
Because it felt too real and I panicked.
“Buying this ring is nothing,” he said defensively. He could feel his face heating under her glowering stare. “If I want, I’ll fence it. It’s not that big of a deal, Celeste.”
“ That wasn’t the goal!”
Magnus took her by the shoulders to stop her from spinning out. “We did accomplish the goal. You stole the ring, Janet didn’t notice and we probably would have gotten away with it.”
Celeste shook herself free and marched toward the street.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to my store,” she said, hailing a cab.
Magnus blew out an exasperated sigh and followed her. He suddenly did not feel like a man in his forties, accomplished and self-assured. After his third meeting with Celeste, he was now back in his adolescence. Young, silly and mildly horny at the sight of her. As they waited for a yellow cab to pull up to the curb, he stood behind Celeste and watched her shoulders drop.
“What?” he asked. He remembered she had made that gesture when she finally released all the air in her body and was ready to give up.
“Give me a minute,” she said in a tired voice. Once the cab pulled up, Magnus stepped around her to open the door. She slid inside without a word, and he followed her. They didn’t speak for the first block, but he kept catching glances at her, wondering how angry she was. They sat a respectable distance apart and their thighs didn’t touch, but he felt the heat radiate off her body just the same. “You got the twisties, huh?”
“The what?”
Celeste kept her eyes on the back of their driver’s headrest. “It happens to gymnasts while they’re in midair. Their brain kind of shorts out and they lose control of their routine while they’re flying. They don’t remember which way to twist.”
Oh... Magnus bit the inside of his cheek. He didn’t like being found out. All his insecurities were supposed to be nailed down, caged up and hidden from women like Celeste. “I guess,” he grumbled, glancing out his window to avoid her.
She sighed. “Well, it’s really fucking dangerous if you don’t communicate it to the person you’re working with. We both end up falling down and busting our asses.”
“It won’t happen again,” he said immediately.
“It happens to all of us,” she shot back. “But you’re supposed to say something.”
Magnus gritted his teeth. “Was it the twisties when you jumped into a river in Stockholm?”
When their eyes met, Celeste’s gaze burned into his. He matched her intensity because she didn’t get to walk away from this blameless. Not again. She shook her head and let out a huff before facing the window. “I can’t believe I pretended to be in love with you,” she muttered.
“It didn’t look like a hardship from my end.”
“I don’t think we can work together,” she said.
No, he didn’t think they could, either. Except this time, he was the one who’d been reckless. After all these years of stewing over Celeste’s antics, he had behaved in the same way. He had made a big show of inviting her on this outing only to fuck it up. They hadn’t gotten caught but he’d still managed to fuck it up.
Doris would have been disappointed with his performance.
The thought struck him as worrisome. Did Dr. Grant’s opinion of him still matter? After all these years, and after her death? On a very deep level, yes. Her last observations of his attitude had bothered him. Nordic veneer...narrow window? The itch to prove a dead woman wrong had also bothered him. That was the whole reason he’d even shown up at Celeste’s shop.
Magnus rubbed his sweating hands on his pants before speaking. “I can come back...” He gripped his knee and muttered the last part. “Different.”
Celeste turned to face him. “Different? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“According to Doris, we could both stand to be a little different,” he argued.
She narrowed her eyes on him. “So, you were listening to the letter?”
He fought not to roll his eyes.
“If you’re serious, pack a go bag and meet me at Doris’s house tonight.”
He raised a brow at her demand. “Tonight? Are we inviting anyone else?”
“No,” she said, turning her face to the window. “I’d like for us to have some kind of united front before we meet with Bea and Santi. If we’re going to do this right, we need to convince them we can be in the same room without wanting to fuck each other up.”
Interesting choice of words...
“It’s going to take a lot of convincing for Beatrice to buy us,” he said, gesturing between them.
Celeste scoffed. “She’s a smart girl.”
Magnus rolled his eyes. “And Lawrence?”
“We need to be there for him. He’s suffered a huge loss.”
He studied her as she continued to face the city. The Dior bag that she hung on to was of little significance to her as she kept picking at the loose threads. Her shoulders may have relaxed, but she only managed to transfer her nervous energy elsewhere. He wanted to ask her: But what about you? Who’s there for you? He kept his mouth shut instead. He didn’t want to fight Celeste for her feelings. Her mind was a near impossible safe to crack.
“We can be there,” he finally said.
“Have any clues as to the first location on our hunt?”
Impressive sidestep, Dr. St. Pierre... He shook his head. “I didn’t give any thought to it.”
“Really? Besides teaching, what have you been thinking about for the past two days?”
Nope, it’s not going to be that easy. If she was going to keep her true thoughts behind a massive vault, he wasn’t going to volunteer ammo for her to use the next time they went at each other’s throats. He chose to lie instead. He examined his manicured nails and said, “I occupied my time with a friend. She helped keep my mind busy.”
Instead of jealousy, Celeste shot him a grin. “A female friend?”
“She’s a ballerina,” Magnus offered easily. In truth, he hadn’t seen Michelle in over a week. “You might be familiar with her work. She’s the principal dancer with the ballet.”
“Michelle Waterson?” Celeste laughed. “I saw her a couple months ago in the All Balanchine . She’s fantastic. You’re dating her?”
Magnus suddenly lost his footing. This wasn’t the reaction he had expected. “I don’t know if what we’re doing is dating. Also, you don’t have to sound so surprised.”
Her laughter grew louder. “I’m surprised because she’s a random name to throw out there, not because she’s too good for you. Although, she is quite stunning...”
“She’s a lovely woman,” Magnus muttered.
“Very flexible, too, I bet,” Celeste teased.
As much as he wanted to hear Celeste’s husky laugh, a sound that loosened the knots around his heart, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep up the ballerina banter with her. “Yeah, well, I don’t see the relationship working out.”
Celeste rested her elbow on her knee and her pointy chin on her fist. “No? Getting too old to keep up with her, Mags? Worried about her long line of dance partners?”
“Don’t doubt my stamina. I can still run circles around you,” he said, flicking an invisible speck of lint from his pants. “And besides, I’m not the jealous type.”
Her grin widened. “So, what is it?”
He sighed. “If I’m on schedule for a score, I don’t have time to think of anything else. As long as you and I work together, you’ll have all my attention, whether you like it or not.”
Celeste’s brows lifted as her smile fell away. “Oh.”
Now she was on shaky ground. Magnus relaxed in his seat as they traveled another block. If he read her right, she was searching for her next retort. Either engage him in a petty battle or let the ballerina go. He was almost ashamed for even bringing Michelle’s name into the conversation.
“No distractions,” she murmured.
“No distractions.”
“You know I don’t hate you, right?” she said, switching directions again.
This time, Magnus looked at her sharply. “Okay?”
“I still think you’re an arrogant prick who’s too wealthy to be doing this. You tend to hijack plans when they don’t work for you . But I don’t hate you. Oh, this is our stop.”
He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his throat as the cab pulled up along the curb. “An arrogant prick...”
She shrugged, reaching into her purse to pay. “Calling it like I see it.”
“I’ve got it,” he said, pulling a couple bills from his wallet.
“Thanks, man,” said their driver.
Celeste shook her head and climbed from the cab. “See? You buy me an engagement ring and then pay for my ride.”
“It’s not your engagement ring and a gentleman pays for a lady’s ride.”
No, he didn’t need to steal. Yes, he had family wealth that brought him to America with ease. Magnus hadn’t struggled and it was unlikely he ever would. Those were the facts.
“Oh, so I’m a lady?” Celeste asked in a singsong voice when she reached the sidewalk.
You used to be my lady .
“Last time I checked.”
“And you’re definitely fencing the ring?” she asked, placing her hand on the door of her establishment.
“I’m not giving it to you, Celeste.”
She shrugged. “I don’t want it.”
“Then you don’t have to worry.” The ring was safely tucked away in his jacket pocket, waiting for Keith, his fencer. If he called him up tonight, he could have a meeting tomorrow morning. Easy peasy.
“Who’s your guy?” she asked.
“Doris always taught us it was in poor taste to talk about fencers.”
This brought a smile to her face. It shined bright with genuine pleasure at the mention of Doris. Magnus locked that knowledge away in his brain to save for another day. Or maybe later this evening.
“I’ll see you tonight, then? How about nine?”
Magnus nodded. “Sure.”
She waited a beat before disappearing inside, leaving him on the sidewalk. The ring sat heavy like lead in his pocket. He absently thumbed the small velvet box and thought of everything that Celeste said. His mind kept landing on arrogant prick . It wasn’t clear how successful their Ball and Chain job went. Even less clear on how their cab ride went.
He bought an engagement ring.
He tried to provoke her with another woman.
Magnus didn’t know how to interact with Celeste. It felt a lot easier several years ago, back when Dr. Grant forced them...to work together. He chuckled to himself as he walked toward the subway. Dammit, Doris.