Thirty Nights (American Beauty #1)(117)

I tap and scroll until I find what I want. “I think we need some music for this.”

He frowns but then his forehead locks in understanding. His posture tenses as though bracing for impact. The tectonic plates shift for the first time in the last three days. He gives me a swift, jerky nod. I grip his hand and wait as his eyes roam my face. The instant they lighten to turquoise, I tap the screen and turn up the volume.

“Well, I got a woman,” Ray Charles booms into the air.

Aiden’s breathing picks up, his shoulders ripple, but he doesn’t look away from me. I lean into his chest, wrapping my arms around him as, atom by atom, the tension leaves his body and he sighs.

“You did it,” I murmur, wiping my tears inconspicuously on his T-shirt.

By the time the song finishes, Aiden pulls away. I think he’s about to silence the iTunes but he taps the screen and Ray starts all over again. He rests the phone on the grass and, together, with synchronous movements, we lower Marshall into the ground. Big hands, small hands, tilling my own piece of land, covering the roots until the fir stands on his own.

“Grow well, Marshall,” I whisper, shuffling his needles.





Chapter Fifty





Allegiance


“Elisa! Elisa! Baby, wake up!” Aiden’s voice is urgent in my ear, his hand shaking my shoulder gently.

I jolt up, my heart racing.

“What? Aiden, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, love. Here, Bob wants to talk to you.” He shoves his phone into my hand but my fingers are shaking so badly that it drops on the covers twice. Finally, I grip it along with the sheet and press it to my pounding ear.

“Hello?” My voice is in shreds.

“Elisa, Bob here.” His voice echoes in the bedroom, and I realize he’s on speaker.

“Yes?” I clutch Aiden’s hand.

“Did Mr. Hale tell you about the witness?”

“Yes, he said you’d let us know?”

“Yes. Well, I think we have an out, dear. I just got a call from the DOJ. They’ve reviewed the evidence and have put the investigation on pause. They feel they have enough to prosecute Feign.”

“Really?” My voice is going to shatter the glass wall.

“Yes. Obviously they don’t disclose witness names but I got the substance of the testimony. It incriminates Feign enough to charge him.”

“What about my friend? Was there anything there about him?”

“No, dear, but of course, if other clients come forward or the state wants to push maximum sentence, they may rehash it. But by then, hopefully, you’ll have your green card and you can protect your friend.”

I try to fight the warmth on my skin before I lose everything again. “What do we do next?”

“We need to file today and expedite the process in case they pick up again.” Bob’s voice cracks in excitement. It’s not until I hear that note that I start thawing.

“Elisa?”

“Yes?”

“I won’t congratulate you yet but—with crossed fingers—welcome to the United States.”

I listen but I don’t hear. I look but I don’t see. The world falls silent and disappears. An aura of life starts from the soles of my feet and soars to my eyes, incandescent. Then I see her. A little girl with purple eyes and black hair, one hand in her father’s and one in her mum’s in an English rose garden. They lift her up and she giggles. Our eyes meet. Through my tears, she blinks and smiles. Her face changes in slow motion over the years, within reach now, eye to eye. I smile back as she becomes me. This is what dreams are made of. This one belongs to me.

“Elisa, are you there?”

The rose garden disappears. “Yes.”

“The application is ready. Come to my office at four and we’ll sign and seal.” Bob’s joy jolts through the phone and suddenly, the purest laughter I remember bursts from my lips.

I don’t recognize the girl jumping up and down, squealing, bouncing on the bed, and running in circles around Aiden’s bedroom, into his closet, down the hall and back. Amidst the screaming, I hear Bob ordering me not to get into any accidents or commit any misdemeanors before four o’clock.

When he hangs up, I scream some more while ringing Javier and Reagan but neither picks up. I toss the phone across the room and launch myself at Aiden, tackling him to the bed, laughing and kissing every inch I can find.

“Thank you!” I squeal between kisses. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

For the first time in the last six days, he smiles. No sound, no dimple, but still a smile.

“I love you,” I say. My desire is cellular. Not just for his skin or the exterior that contains his soul. I want him inside out.

I expect him to push me away but he doesn’t. There’s indecision in his face but he surrenders with a groan. It’s been too long since he’s kissed me like this. He rolls with me on the bed until his body covers mine and everything that’s not him disappears.

He kisses me in places old and new. The top of my head, along my hairline, my eyelids, temple, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, jawline, throat. Slow like whispers. As if he’s determined to kiss every millimeter of my body. At the realization, I make a decision. It’s time.

“Kiss me here,” I whisper, pointing to the center of my forehead.