Thad had too. It wasn’t so much him showing it, though he, also like Frey, was not afraid of showing affection and he often teased her in a way I thought was super sweet. It was that Thad told Frey and Frey told me so I had the inside scoop that Thad had fallen, and hard, for my Jocelyn.
Thad was also recovered, or as much as he ever would be. He’d sustained an injury to his leg which would mean he’d always walk with a hint of a limp. But I had noticed he wasn’t letting that slow him down and I also noticed that none of the other men said a thing about it, called attention to it or treated Thad any differently.
Ruben was with us too, his woman not there, as were Laurel, Ulysses and Frederick.
I stopped shuffling and smiled and chatted while I dealt the cards, every card I threw on my husband’s pile I dealt from the bottom of the deck.
Then I set the deck down, picked up my cards and started to fiddle with them in my hand but didn’t get very far.
Frey threw his hand down on the table face up and announced, “Finnie cheats.”
I looked to the table at the fantastic hand I dealt him then lifted a hand up to touch my chest and my eyes moved to my husband’s.
“Me?” I asked with sham innocence.
Frey grinned. “You,” he answered.
“Well, I never,” I muttered.
“Yes, you do, Finnie, every single time,” Thad stated.
He was not wrong.
“Finnie?” I heard a voice that was familiar, a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time, a voice I thought I’d never hear again and I turned slowly in Frey’s lap and looked at the woman standing behind him and my heart leapt into my throat.
“Claudia?” I whispered, taking in my friend wearing a Lunwynian style gown, her hair pulled back, a redhead, also in a Lunwynian gown, standing behind her, her lips tipped up in a cat’s smile.
“Claudia!” I shrieked, jumped out of Frey’s lap, rounded him and threw myself in my friend’s arms. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God, God, God!” I chanted, holding on tight and swinging her side to side.
“Oh Finnie, honey, oh God,” Claudia muttered in my ear then burst out crying, her arms spasming around me.
“Oh Claudia, honey,” I muttered back then I burst out crying.
After we did this awhile, I pulled back, framed her face with my hands, grinned into her wet, twinkling eyes then I let her go and threw myself at Valentine.
“Valentine,” I whispered, holding on tight.
“My goddess of love,” she whispered back, giving me a squeeze.
We said no more, just held on. I hadn’t seen her in ages, she left shortly after Frey and his dragons routed the enemy and I hadn’t heard from her since.
Finally, I pulled away, smiled at her and held her upper arms then my eyes caught on a flash at her throat, they dropped there and I saw a very, very large Sjofn ice diamond, what I had mistaken as aquamarines in my crown and the jewels I wore on my wedding night but what were actually very sought after, very expensive diamonds found only in the depths of Lunwyn. Diamonds that legend held were touched blue by the elves.
I looked at the diamond then at her.
Then she whispered, “I told you, love is everything and your husband knows this.”
I blinked.
Frey had given her that diamond. Somewhere along the line, Frey had given her an expensive diamond from another world in payment for her bringing Claudia to me.
In payment for her bringing things I loved from my old world to my new one.
I released her and slowly turned to Frey who was watching me.
“You did this,” I whispered.
“Indeed,” he replied.