Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Diana

Teddy doesn’t smoke pot, but most of her parties tend to have it. Tracy and Bud seem to be complete party animals, so when Teddy goes to the kitchen to refill the hors d’oeuvres, I grab her.

“You need help?” I ask.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” she says. “Do you know how to make a salami rose?”

I let out a short laugh. “You’re not even going to believe this, but I do.”

She scoffs. “I was asking kind of as a joke. You’re not known for your cooking skills, Dee.”

“I know, but my aunt is a gourmet chef, and my mother is her second-in-command, so when I’m home, I get roped into doing things just like this. And yes, I actually do know how to make a salami rose.”

“I don’t have to teach you, then. Great.” Teddy hands me a thin highball glass.

I already know what to do. I take the round pieces of salami and bend them over the rim of the glass, slightly overlapping each piece. Once I get a couple layers going, four or five rows of salami at least, I turn the glass over and gently pull it out. The result is a gorgeous salami rose.

“Impressive,” Teddy says as she slices cheese.

I make two more salami roses and then three pepperoni ones. By the time I’m done, Teddy is finished slicing cheese and pours some mixed nuts in a bowl.

She picks up the platter and eyes it. “I think you did better than I could have,” she says. “Maybe there’s hope for you after all, Diana.”

I laugh and take another drink of my water. “I can do a good charcuterie tray. That’s about it.”

Teddy sets the tray back down.

“Something else you can do that makes it look really cool,” I tell her, “is you can take a cookie-cutter and make a shape in the top of your brie. Pop off the white rind, and then put some jam or jelly in the shape. It’s really pretty, and you can grab some of the jam when you take your brie as well.”

Teddy cocks her head at me. “Who are you and what have you done with Diana Steel?”

I can’t help laughing again. “I never do this kind of stuff myself. You know me. I’m kind of a loner and rarely throw parties. But my family throws the most elaborate parties on the planet.”

She strokes her chin. “Maybe you missed your calling. You’re really creative, Diana.”

“Those are tricks stolen from my aunt Marjorie. And as far as my creativity goes, I prefer putting it into buildings and structure.”

Teddy smirks. “I bet you’re looking forward to starting work.”

I chuckle. “I so am. If they don’t let me on that mountaintop project, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“First of all, they’re going to let you on.” Teddy rolls her eyes. “And second of all, if they don’t put you on it, then you’ll work your cute little behind off until they realize they need to let you in.” She sighs. “You’re such a workaholic, Dee. I interviewed with L & L two years ago, and they offered me a job, but did you know they expect their assistants to work over fifty hours a week?”

I nod. “I don’t doubt it. They expect even more out of their architects. But I think it’ll be good for me. I’m no stranger to hard work, and if I can get on this project…”

“Just do your best, Diana.”

“I always do.” I open the nearest drawer. “Do you have cookie cutters?”

Teddy scratches her chin. “I have a few, but they’re all Christmas themed.” She opens a drawer next to the one I was looking through. In it are several cookie cutters. A tree, a gingerbread man, a candy cane… All seasonally inappropriate options.

I pick up one of the cookie cutters, this one shaped like a Santa hat. “Too bad you don’t have any Halloween ones. A pumpkin would be perfect for today. But no worries. I just need a paring knife, a sharp one.”

“Okay, sure.” A few minutes later, Teddy hands me a paring knife.

I start to cut into the brie when— “I guess I should have asked. Do you have jam or jelly?”

Teddy frowns. “Oh… I don’t.” She darts her gaze around the kitchen. “But I do have some honey. It’s fresh. I just bought it a few days ago.”

Honey and brie. That sounds really good. “Yeah, let’s try the honey.”

With the paring knife, I carefully carve a pumpkin shape that turns out to look more like a big cherry, but what the hell? Then I carefully remove the rind from the cutout and drizzle the honey into the indentation.

“This should taste really good,” I say to Teddy, “and it actually looks cute, but it looks a lot better with a darker jam or jelly. You know, to contrast with the white rind.”

Teddy’s eyes are wide. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a charcuterie tray look better, Dee. Thanks for your help.”

“Not a problem.” I shrug. “It’s kind of fun to do. Lets me flex my creative muscles in a different way.”

“Well, you’re a genius at it.” Teddy picks up the tray. “Hey, everyone, look at this amazing piece of art that Diana and I put together.”

Like vultures, the guests descend on the tray, filling up their plates.

“Hey.” Teddy’s friend Tracy grabs my arm.

“Yeah?”

Tracy takes another sip of her beer. “Where did your friend go off to?”

“Who? Teddy?”

“No, that guy you brought with you.”

“Oh, Dragon…” I cast my gaze around the room. “I don’t see him. He’s probably in the bathroom.”

Tracy scratches her arm. “He’s not. I just checked.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You checked the bathroom for a guy?”

“Well, yeah.” Tracy’s cheeks turn pink. “But no one was in there. I can’t find him anywhere.”

I look around Teddy’s loft. She only has the one bedroom and bathroom. Plus this big open living area and kitchen.

“Is he seeing anyone?” Tracy continues.

“Uh…” I keep darting my gaze around. “What?”

“Your friend,” Tracy says. “Is he seeing anyone?”

I swallow. “Not that I know of.”

“And the two of you aren’t…”

Warmth surges over my cheeks. “Oh, no. Not at all. We’re just roommates. He’s a friend of my brother-in-law’s, and I’m letting him stay at my place. That’s all.”

Tracy smiles at me. “I’m glad to hear that. Because he is hot .”

I can’t disagree with Tracy. Dragon is hot. Classically handsome, with granite-carved facial features, amazing eyes, with the long hair and stubble that give him that dangerous look.

I’ve always appreciated his attractiveness, but I considered him some kind of enigma. Someone who’d be hard to get to know.

Plus I always had other things going on and wasn’t interested in finding a man.

I want to work toward my career in architecture. At some point, I want to be one of those architects whose work is featured on the cover of Architecture Digest . The one who billion-dollar corporations hire to design their next amazing building.

Tracy is yammering at me about something, and I catch the last couple of words.

“…you think he left?”

Good question. “Let me grab my purse. I’ll give him a call.”

Tracy nods as I head into Teddy’s bedroom where everyone’s coats and purses are stashed. I grab my phone and?—

“Oh, shit!”

I run out of the room and find Teddy, who’s dancing with Bud. I grab her arm.

She cocks her head. “Yeah, what is it, Dee?”

“My friend I brought with me. Dragon. He went up to the roof, and now he’s stuck up there.”

She drops her jaw. “Oh my God. Yeah, you either have to have a keycard to open it, or most people just stick a brick in the door jamb. There’s a pile of bricks.” She frowns. “I wonder why he didn’t do that.”

“He probably didn’t think of it. If I know Dragon, he probably went up to get some alone time.”

She digs into her pocket. “Here, take my key. Go on up and get him.”

“Thanks, Ted.”

I grab my jacket from the bed and leave Teddy’s apartment. I walk to the end of the hallway to the stairwell and up to the top. I open the door.

I’ve been to this rooftop many times, but it looks way different without people milling about, without lights strung up and glittering.

The air is brisk now that the sun has gone down. The moon is high in the sky. I look around. “Dragon?”

There are a few alcoves on the roof, so I check them.

But when I don’t find Dragon?—

I gasp out in panic.

“Dragon!” I say loudly.

No response.

Okay… No need to panic. Maybe he found another way down. Maybe someone came up and opened the door and he got out that way.

But if he’d done that, wouldn’t he have come back to the party? Or at least told me where he was going?

Maybe not.

This is Dragon, after all. He would probably feel like he was bothering me. He has his own key to my place, so he may have just gone home.

I grab my phone and call my landline. He may not answer, but at least it’s a shot.

But now it rings five times and then goes to my voice messaging system.

Dragon’s the dark brooding type—that much is for sure. But there’s no way in hell he would… My stomach twists.

I walk to the edge of the roof. Nausea curls through my throat as I look down.

Nobody splattered on the road, thank God.

I check the other side. There are only two edges since the building is attached to other structures on either side.

How could he have gotten down?

There are fire escapes outside all the loft windows.

I check again.

Sure enough, on the back of the building, there’s a small fire escape.

I breathe a sigh of relief. That must be how he got down, but… Wouldn’t he let me know he got off the roof?

Something’s not right here.

I let myself back into the building using Teddy’s card and walk back down the stairs to the floor to her loft.

The party is still going strong, and the smell of marijuana is seeping out through her door.

Nothing to do about that. It’s legal here in Colorado. The smell of weed is everywhere, especially on the weekends.

I hate the sickeningly sweet smell, but I’ve gotten more used to it since I’ve been living here in town.

I find Teddy quickly and give her back her card. “I need to go. He’s not up on the roof, and he hasn’t texted me or called me.”

Teddy furrows her brow. “He’s a grown man, Dee.”

“True that.” I run my hands through my hair. “But I also called my place. He didn’t answer the landline.”

Teddy shrugs. “Because it’s your landline. He probably thinks he shouldn’t be doing that. For all he knows, you might get personal and private calls on it.”

I shake my head. “I hardly use the landline. I only have it because it is cheaper to bundle my TV, phone line, and internet service than it is to pay for them à la carte.”

“Yeah, I do it too. A silly reason, but I have one.” She grabs my hands. “I want you to stay, Dee. The party’s just getting started.”

“I’d like to.” I gaze toward Teddy’s front door. “I don’t drink much, but I was considering tying one on tonight since it’s my last chance for a while.”

Teddy pouts her lips. “Don’t think of it that way. Reserve Saturday nights for yourself, Diana.”

Teddy means well, but she’s not an architect. She’s an executive assistant, and she’s gone as far in the firm as she’s going to go.

She has a point, though. I do need to take care of myself, because if I don’t, I won’t have the best to give to my new firm.

“Tell you what,” I say. “Once I figure out where Dragon is, I’ll come back. It’s still early.”

“Yeah. We’ll be going well past midnight.” She squeezes my hands. “I hope I see you again tonight.”

“You will.”

Then I leave.

And I wonder where the fuck Dragon could have gone.