too.” She glanced at him. “There are people who say getting married doesn’t change anything for a committed couple. That a piece of paper doesn’t matter. But I don’t believe that. It’s a rite of passage in our society and the choice to participate in that, or not, makes a statement.”
He wouldn’t have thought of a wedding that way, but knew that she was right. So what did it say that his serial killer wanted to destroy that moment in someone’s life? Did he care he was ruining the memories forever? Did he not think of it that way? Was the killing for the greater good?
“And I’ve lost you.”
He looked at Renee. “Sorry. I was—”
“Working on the book. Yes, I’m starting to recognize the glazed look. Go home and be brilliant.”
“No. You let me be a part of this. I should at least...” What? Buy her lunch? Take her to bed? The latter was the most appealing, he admitted. But would it be tacky to ask?
She laughed as she stood. “Go,” she repeated. “I will see you later. You’re in the zone. Take advantage of it.”
He grabbed his notes, circled the table, kissed her briefly, then headed for his truck.
Maybe the serial killer wasn’t thinking about the damage he was doing. Maybe that was something he figured out along the way and it bothered him. That would give him some interesting angst as he plotted his next murder.
So many possibilities, Jasper thought happily as he drove home. Inspiration was everywhere.
* * *
“I’VE BEEN THINKING about what Nick mentioned the other night,” Pallas said at their weekly update meeting.
Renee kept her expression neutral, waiting for Pallas to come down on one side of the issue or the other. She didn’t want to assume good news.
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself.” Pallas smiled at her. “I’d love to have you as a partner, if you’re interested.”
“I am. I have a lot of ideas about how we could divide the labor—especially with you having Ryan. And I’ve been thinking about hiring people. Would we want one or two full-time employees who can do everything or more part-time employees who are specialized?”
“Oh, you mean like wedding specialists to help on the day? I think that would be great. Another pair of eyes and hands to help with whatever happens.”
“Exactly.” Renee leaned toward her. “I think you should stop handling wedding days completely. At least for the next few months. Why not manage more of the meetings and let me deal with the weddings?”
“Until we hire some people,” Pallas said.
“Until then.”
“You are exactly who this business needed. You’re so reliable and creative and easy to get along with. I’d be lost without you.” Pallas paused. “I really want to move forward with this. Let me think about the best way to bring you on board. In the meantime, I’d like you to be thinking about what you would like the partnership to be. We’ll discuss it all in a couple of weeks. Does that work?”
“Absolutely.”
Renee floated back to her office. On her next day off, she would take the morning to put together her thoughts. She’d been given an exciting opportunity and she really wanted to make it happen.
When she slipped into her chair, she had the brief thought that if Pallas knew everything about her, she might not be so willing to take her on as a partner. Not that she ever needed to find out. Renee was getting good at keeping that part of her life separate.
She finished up her paperwork and was about to head home when she got a call from Jasper.
“How’s it going?” he asked when she picked up the phone.
“Good. Today was actually light and I was just about to go home.” She hoped she sounded more casual than she felt. To be honest, she was hoping he was asking for a booty call because she was so over the whole foreplay thing. What had she been thinking when she even suggested that?
“I was wondering if I could get your help with something,” he said. “Want to come by? I’ll provide dinner.”
“Sure. What do you need help with?”
He hesitated a second before admitting, “Kissing.”
Renee started to laugh. “I can say from personal experience, that’s not really true.”
“Thanks for the endorsement, but I’m talking about in the book rather than in life. I don’t know what to write or how to describe it. Writing ‘he kissed her’ seems like cheating, but if I go much further