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The money s a big part. But I meant what I said earlier& about my mom. I need to know
how she is, and he won t tell me about her. Honestly, I think he just wants to pretend it never
happened either for that reputation of his or maybe& maybe because it hurts him. I don t
know, but like I said, he can t dodge if I m right there. Plus& Adrian glanced away a moment
before mustering the courage to meet my eyes again. I don t know. It s stupid. But I
thought& well, maybe he d be impressed that I was sticking to college this time. Probably not,
though.
My heart ached for him, and I suspected that last part earning his dad s approval was
bigger than Adrian was letting on. I knew all about what it was like to have a father who continually
judged, whom nothing was ever good enough for. I understood as well the warring
emotions& how one day you could say you didn t care, yet be yearning for approval the next.
And I certainly understood motherly attachment. One of the hardest parts of being in Palm
Springs was the distance from my mom and sisters.
Why me? I blurted out. I hadn t meant to touch on those earlier questions, but I suddenly
couldn t help myself. There was too much tension here, too much emotion. You could ve
asked Sonya or Dimitri to drive you. They probably would ve even let you borrow their rental
car.
The ghost of a smile flashed across Adrian s face. I don t know about that. And I think you
know why I don t want to risk being trapped in a car with our Russian friend. As for the rest& I
don t know, Sage. There s something about you& you don t judge like the others. I mean, you
do. You re more judgmental than any of them in some ways. But there s an honesty to it. I
feel& The smile left his face as he faltered for words. Comfortable around you, I guess.
There was no way I could stand against that, though I find it ironic he was allegedly most
comfortable around me when Moroi gave me panic attacks half the time. You don t have to
help, an inner voice warned me. You don t owe him anything. You don t owe any Moroi anything
that isn t absolutely necessary. Have you forgotten Keith? This isn t a part of your job.
The bunker came back to me, and I recalled how one vampire deal had landed Keith in Reeducation.
How much worse was I? Social interaction was an inevitable part of this assignment,
but I was blurring all the lines around it again.
Okay, I said. I ll do it. E-mail me what time you need to leave.
That s when the funniest part came. He looked totally floored. Really?
I couldn t help but laugh. You gave me that whole pitch and didn t really think I d agree,
did you?
No, he admitted, still clearly amazed. I can t always tell with you. I cheat with people,
you know. I mean, I m good at reading faces, but I pick up a lot from auras and act like I just
have amazing insight. I haven t learned to totally understand humans, though. You ve got the
same colors but a different feel.
Auras didn t weird me out as much as other vampire magic, but I still wasn t entirely comfortable
with them. What color is mine?
Yellow, of course.
Of course?
Smart, analytic types usually have yellow. You ve got a little purple here and there,
though. Even in the dimness, I could see a mischievous spark in his eyes. That s what
makes you interesting.
What s purple mean?
Adrian put his hand on the door. Gotta go, Sage. Don t want to keep Dorothy waiting.
Come on. Tell me what purple is. I was so curious, I nearly grabbed his arm.
He turned the knob. I will if you want to join us.
Adrian
Laughing, he disappeared inside the room and shut the door. With a shake of my head, I
started to return to the others and then decided to seek out my Diet Coke after all. I lingered
with it in the kitchen for a while, leaning against the granite countertops and staring absentmindedly
at the brilliant copper pots hanging from the ceiling. Why had I agreed to drive Adrian?
What was it about him that managed to crack all the propriety and logic I built my life
around? I understood why I often had a soft spot for Jill. She reminded me of my younger sister,
Zoe. But Adrian? He wasn t like anyone I knew. In fact, I was fairly certain there was no
one in the entire world quite like Adrian Ivashkov.
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