Goddess Revenge: Goddess Series Book 4 (Young Adult / New Adult) (16 page)

He opened his gift and immediately started laughing. “Tickets to the see the Lakers? You didn’t stick to the budget we
all
agreed to,” he chided Calli playfully.

“Yes, I did. Someone gave them to my dad, and when he found out I had to get you something, he offered to let me have them. I figured since they were your fav, you’d get a kick out of going.”

He laughed again and reached over to hug her. “Thanks.”

“Legacy’s turn!” Calli squealed, and turned toward River with a smile planted on her face. He pulled out a beautifully wrapped box.

“I, er, thought long and hard about what to get you. I, um, remembered you talking about painting, and I considered getting you some art supplies, so you could start painting again. But then I didn’t think it was personal enough.”

She tried not to gasp. Painting supplies would have been very personal. She’d only mentioned her love for painting once to him, and they hadn’t talked about it since. Not only would it have been personal, it would have been very thoughtful.

River handed over her gift. “Merry Christmas, Legacy,” he whispered.

She smiled at him as she took the present. She opened the box and pulled out a picture. It was of a woman holding a baby. It wasn’t a professional picture. It was a snapshot someone had taken right after the woman had given birth. The woman was looking at the baby like it was the most import thing in her world. She noticed the woman’s frizzy, blond hair and the inscription at the bottom of the photo—
Dora and Legacy
.

She started shaking, staring at the first true photograph she’d ever seen of her mother. Tears pricked her eyes. “How?” she asked in a state of total disbelief.

“My father took the photo,” River said softly. She looked up at him while her tears leaked over. His eyes were glistening. “The first gift you gave me was a photograph, which I loved so much, so I figured it seemed fitting for me to give you a photograph, too, as the first gift I ever gave to you.”

She was speechless. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever given to her.

“Merry Christmas,” he whispered through smiling lips.

She leaned over and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He gently stroked her back. “Thank you so much,” she said as she pulled away from him.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered, stroking her hair once as she moved away.

“Okay, River wins with the sappiest gift. Now, let’s eat,” Calli said, standing up.

River stood up and helped Legacy stand, and they all went into the kitchen to eat the prepared food that Calli had ordered. They talked and laughed and enjoyed their own little Christmas celebration. Several times, she caught River looking at her in a way that caused her stomach to flip. He knew he’d scored big time on her gift, but she didn’t see a victorious look in his eyes. He had such a warm and loving expression, which was why she had the butterflies. She always handled his cockiness better.

In the back of her mind, she knew that the butterflies were partly related to her feelings for him. He’d been her best friend for months. He’d helped her with finding out the truth about her mother and herself and honing her abilities. And now, he was the one to put a face to her mother. She didn’t allow herself to think about the negative because she knew she couldn’t, not with him right here. So she thought about the positive. His warm heart. His caring soul. His protective nature.

She thought happy thoughts about River, and it was as easy as breathing. She kept any thoughts about her personal feelings toward him hidden deep because she knew if she thought about her feelings, she’d dwell on and fret about them.

With their first real date tomorrow, she knew she had plenty to fret about already.

Chapter Twelve

Legacy spent all morning going through her closet, picking out the best outfit to wear. River had told her dress warm, so she figured they’d be outside at least part of the date. Wearing big, bulky clothing in an effort to keep warm didn’t exactly mesh with a sexy outfit, so she had her work cut out for her.

After much deliberation, she decided on a winter white, cashmere sweater, white boots, and white and black skirt. She wore her platinum tornado necklace that her mom had sent her too. She left her hair down, but curled it, and with a splash of perfume, she was ready.

She heard River pull in her driveway right on time. She headed downstairs while he made it his way to the door. When he knocked, she got the butterflies from yesterday again.
Ignore them.

She opened the door and smiled at him. He looked absolutely perfect. He had on a thin, black, v-neck sweater over a patterned, gray dress shirt, black pants, and black shoes. His dark hair tamed, and green eyes glowed. As he stepped closer to her, he smelled of the cologne he wore on special occasions.

“Hi,” he said softly. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks, you look great.”

“Are you ready?” he asked, taking another step.

She nodded as she stepped out and pulled the door shut.

River reached out and took her hand, guiding her to the car with a gentle touch and soft smile on his face.

Once they were on the road, he reached over and took her hand into his again. He held it gently and she wondered if he would say anything. After a couple of minutes of silence, she decided to break it.

“So when did you decide to ask me out on a date?” she asked, looking over at him.

“Last week. I was going to ask you Friday night after the game. That’s why I put my hand on your leg during lunch. Not because I was going to ask you out,” he said quickly, “but because I’d decided I didn’t want to wait any longer before moving forward.”

“And you’re okay taking the risk now?” she asked, looking down, not sure how she felt about that.

“I was okay taking the risk before,” he murmured. “I just needed to learn you were right about what you said that night I stayed and helped you with your calculus final.”

“What did I say?” She’d said a lot. She wanted to be sure they were on the same page.

“You said I needed to be there for you and not take your conflicted emotions personally.”

He didn’t do a good job of this before. How did he expect to act differently? “Do you think this will be easier on you now?”

River sighed. “No, but the way I see it, I’ve helped you with so much already, I need to help you with this too.” Looking over at her with a smile, he said, “If I can help you with this, I’ll get the ultimate reward.”

“That’s a positive way to look at it.” She laughed.

He chuckled and squeezed her hand.

When they arrived at the restaurant, he escorted her in, and they ordered. It was the type of establishment that seemed a little uppity, and she felt slightly under dressed, but the food was fabulous. They laughed and talked throughout the evening, and everything was simply effortless. When they finished eating and were staring out into the stars through the wall of windows they were sitting by, he took her hand into his, and she looked over at him.

“I wanted to take you out tonight because it is the winter solstice,” he said softly. “Um, it’s part of the changing seasons and identifies the change in the lengthening of nighttime. Because of its importance to climate patterns and the seasons, many ancient cultures believed it signified a rebirth, so each culture contained its own gods and traditions to celebrate it.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “Your life is linked to the seasons, and you will one day control them, so I wanted to celebrate this day with you because you are the type of goddess who was revered on this day.”

She stared at him, speechless. He smiled, stroking her hand, waiting for her to say something.

“Wow,” she whispered. “That’s totally cool.”

River guffawed, grabbing his chest and looking up, trying to get his composure.

“Sorry, I probably should’ve said something more romantic,” she said as she bit down on her lip.

“No,” he said, as he wiped his eyes. “What you said was perfect.”

They both laughed some more, but then his smile faded.

“I should probably tell you something else about this day.”

Uh-oh. “This sounds serious.”

“No, not really.” He shook his head. “Um, on the winter and summer solstices, all the Greek gods—and goddess—meet on Mount Olympus.”

“Oh,” she said softly, feeling relieved that it wasn’t anything bad.

“Including Hades.”

“
Oh
.” Her relief dissipated.

“Yeah, he’s allowed there only those two times a year. When I talked to my dad earlier, he told me he saw him.”

“So when I become a goddess, you’re telling me I may have to see Hades twice a year?”

“It’s a possibility, yes.”

“Hmmm…well, let’s hope I ascend before ever having to see him.”

“I hope for that every day,” he whispered. She didn’t think he was talking about seeing Hades as much as he hoped that she’d ascend without incident.

They continued chatting and staring at the stars until it started to get late and they were the last two people in the restaurant. Then River escorted her to his car and drove them to the cliffs by the river. When he got out, he walked her out toward the edge.

“How far are we going? You know I’m scared of heights,” she said, hesitating.

River stopped and looked at her panicked eyes. “Over there, to those boulders.”

She nodded, and they proceeded. He took off his coat and laid it on the boulder for them to sit on. They sat and talked about everything, and it was just as effortless as it had been at the restaurant. They talked about Greek mythology, basketball, painting, school, parents, and any other topic they ventured into. A few times, he stroked her hair out of her face when the wind moved it, but other than that, he made no other move than to hold her hand.

When she started shivering, he guided her back to his car and drove her home. He reached over and rested his hand on her leg, and she placed her hand on top of his, gently rubbing it. The action felt not only effortless, but okay.

When they arrived at her house, he walked her to the front door, and she turned around to face him. “Do you want to come in?” River had been over here much later than this when they were just hanging out, so she didn’t think much of him coming in now.

Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t think so.”

She nodded, but felt the butterflies again. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. She figured he was going to kiss her goodnight. They’d already kissed several times before, but they hadn’t kissed since movie night at Calli’s house. She realized then that was probably why she felt nervous. The last kiss they shared hadn’t ended well.

“I had a wonderful time with you,” she murmured.

“Me too.” His eyes glowed.

Stepping forward, he put both hands on her cheeks and tilted her head up. Her heart pounded. He leaned down and closed his mouth over hers, kissing her softly. She reached around his back and held him to her, making him take a step forward up against her.

He kissed her slowly but passionately. When he pulled away, he gave her a quick kiss on her upper lip before tucking her head against his chest, holding her. He held her in an embrace longer than he’d kissed her.

“Let’s take this one day at a time, okay?” River asked, rubbing his hands on her back.

She nodded into his chest.

She definitely needed to take this one day at a time, to live in the present only. If she thought about the future, it scared her to think who she’d be spending it with.

* * * * *

Legacy spent the last few days talking to Calli about her date with River and hanging out with them at Legacy’s house or at Calli’s. Her BFF hadn’t seemed too thrilled about her date because she knew what Legacy was up to, but she didn’t harp on her feelings about everything. And when she’d seen River, he was a little flirtatious, but hadn’t kissed her again. She figured he really wanted to spend all day every day kissing her, but he probably didn’t want to take the chance of pressuring her and pushing her away. She didn’t want to think beyond the now with him. She considered ignorance as bliss when it came to anything more than the here and now. She had her recurring dream every night. Still the same message. She was pretty sure the warning was about River, and she wondered if she should find a way to talk to him about it. She knew she couldn’t ask him for help, but if he knew she was having this dream, she wondered if he’d act any differently. If he knew she was on to him, maybe it’d circumvent the future.

The police had also contacted her about Casey. Apparently, he was spinning a different story, so it was her word against his. No one was happy about this, but she was determined to put it behind her. She had more important things to focus on than some wretched experience at a basketball game. She was stronger now anyway. Something like that wouldn’t happen to her again.

Legacy woke up Christmas morning bright and early. She wasn’t a little kid anymore, so one would think she’d be a little more mature about this holiday. She wasn’t. Even though winter wasn’t her most favorite time of year, Christmas was her favorite holiday.

When she walked downstairs, she smelled coffee brewing and walked into the kitchen.

“Merry Christmas, Legacy,” Lissa said as she poured a cup of coffee.

“Merry Christmas, Lissa,” she replied as she walked to the coffee pot, grabbing a mug.

They both took their coffee into the living room where Olive was already sitting with some cocoa. She wasn’t a coffee drinker.

Lissa passed out the gifts, and they all tore into them. There was no need for finesse.

Everyone got the usual basics: robes, slippers, clothes, shoes. Lissa wanted a new cappuccino machine, so Olive and Legacy got one for her. Legacy wanted a designer handbag, so that was her big gift from Lissa.

Lissa reached under the tree, pulled out a small box, and handed it to Legacy. “Here,” she said with a smile. “It arrived last week.”

She pulled out the card.
One of nature’s beauties for our nature’s beauty. Love, Mom and Dad
. A Christmas present from her parents? She guessed she shouldn’t have been surprised. She opened the box and took in a breath. Inside was a beautiful strand of huge pearls. They looked elegant, yet funky.