“Something about not being fit to light a cave inhabited by bats and blind spiders.”

“Yes, that was one of them. Anyway, forgive me?”

“Okay.”

“I know its not quite finished. Theres still the counters and the backsplash and, oh, a few more things, but I dont want to wait anymore. Ill move in tomorrow, and we can start, officially, living together.”

“I dont want to live together.”

Her face went blank.

“What?”

“Sorry, Mal.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “I dont want to live together.”

“But… but you asked me to move in with you weeks ago. Youve asked me half a dozen times.”

“Yeah, well.” He shrugged. “I changed my mind.”

“You—you changed your mind?”

“Thats right.” Casually, he opened the new refrigerator. “Wow. Look at all this room. And it is shiny.”

She couldnt do anything but stare at him. Her stomach had dropped to her feet, and those feet no longer felt like dancing. “I dont understand. I dont understand how you could just change your mind about something like this, from one minute to the next.”

“Me either. Actually, I dont think I really changed it, I think I just realized it wasnt what I wanted.”

“You just realized you dont want me.” There was too much shock, too much anger for the pain to fight through. So she rode on the shock .and the anger and stepped forward to give him a hard shove. “Well, thats just fine.”

“I didnt say I didnt want you. I said I didnt want to live together.”

“You can take your new kitchen and stuff it. If you cant handle a committed, adult relationship then you cant handle me.”

“There you go, were right on the same page. Committed, adult relationship.” He pulled the box from his pocket, opened it. “This adult enough for you?”

Her mouth dropped open, and he thought shed never looked more beautiful as she stared down, dumbstruck, at the diamond ring.

“Lets be really grown-up, Malory. Lets get married.”

“You want to marry me?”

“I do. Look, I already know my lines.” He grinned at her. “You look a little pale. Im going to take that as a good sign. The jeweler said this was a classic, and Brad gave it a thumbs-up.” Flynn removed the ring from the box. “Brilliant-cut solitaire, blah-blah, whatever. You go for the classic look, right?”

A latch kept trying to slam shut in her throat, but she forced it open. “Yes, I do.”

“There, you know your lines, too.” He took her limp hand, slipped the ring on before she could say another word. “It fits. I didnt think it would, youve got such delicate fingers, but it looks like we wont have to have it sized after all.”

She felt the snap of heat, the spread of warmth from the gold circling her skin. Yes, it fit, she thought dreamily. It looked as if it had been made for her finger. “Its beautiful. Its absolutely beautiful.”

“You could say yes now.”

She looked up from the ring, into his eyes. “Lifes going to be a roller coaster with you. I used to be afraid of roller coasters because you just never know what theyre going to do next. They dont scare me anymore.”

“Say yes. Ill get rid of the lamps.”

On something between a sob and a laugh, she leaped into his arms. “Yes. You know its yes, even with the ugly lamps.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” With her cheek pressed to his, she held up her ring hand and watched the diamond glitter. “How could the same man who bought this gorgeous ring have bought those hideous lamps?”

“The many sides of Flynn Hennessy.”

“Lucky for me.” She heard the front door open and moved nearly as fast as Moe. “Oh, theyre coming. I have to show it off.” She pushed away from Flynn, then nipped back to kiss him again. “I have to show somebody.”

She hurried toward the front of the house, even as Dana hurried toward the back withZoe at her heels.

“What is it?”Zoe demanded.

“Have to show you both at once. Boy, have. I got news for you,” Dana said when Malory rushed toward her.

“Whatever it is, it cant top mine. Ive got news for you!”

Zoepushed between them. “Jeez, somebody tell somebody something before I explode.”

“Me first,” Dana and Malory said in unison, then both held out their left hands.

There were screams, followed by a burst of unintelligible words. At least they were unintelligible to the three men and a boy who looked on.

Simon watched his mother and her two friends jump and squeal like the girls did on the playground at school. Wrinkling his brow, he looked up at Brad.

“How come they do that?”

“Its just one of the many mysteries of life, kid.”

“Girls are dopey.” He clapped for the dog, who was blindly joining in the female ecstasy, and hunkered down for some wrestling.

Flynn looked past the women to Jordan. “Beer?” he asked. “Beer,” Jordan agreed, and skirted the madness to seek the relative sanity of the kitchen.

“I cant believe it!”Zoe gripped both Malorys and Danas hands and bounced on her toes. “Engaged! Youre both engaged. At the same time. Its like magic. The rings. Theyre so beautiful. Oh, boy.” She dug into her pocket for a tissue.

“Sheesh. Mom, get a grip.”Zoe sent her son a glare. “Ill give you a grip.” He snorted, rolled with a delighted Moe. “Are we getting pizza, or what?”

“Why dont you go back in the kitchen and ask Flynn? Politely,” she added as he scrambled up. “Ive got to show you the kitchen,” Malory remembered. “But first.” She grabbed Danas hand again to admire the ruby. “Its gorgeous. So perfect for you.”

“Soshe. Wait until I tell you how he asked me.” , “I can top it,” Malory claimed. “Were you naked?”

“No.”

Dana licked a finger, swiped it down an imaginary Scoreboard. “I win.”

“Mom!” Simon shouted from the kitchen door. “The guys say if you all want pizza you have to say what kind, or else you have to take what you get.”

“Tell you what.”Zoe draped an arm around her friends shoulders. “When we dont have a bunch of guys cluttering things up, you can tell me, and each other, every detail. Well have a little celebration at Indulgence in the morning.”

“Works for me,” Dana agreed. “Im starved, and I dont want a bunch of onions and mushrooms messing up my pie.”

AN hour later, Dana was polishing off her third piece. She stretched out on the floor beside Simon and Moe and said, “Ugh.”

“On that note,” Flynn began, “lets talk about finding this key.”

“Simon, why dont you take your book upstairs? Thats all right, isnt it?”Zoe asked Flynn.

“Sure. He knows the way.”

“You and Moe can hang out. Ill call you when its time to go.”

“How come we cant hang out here while you talk about the magic stuff?”

“Where do you get that?”Zoe demanded. “Simon, have you been eavesdropping?”

“Jeez, Mom.” He sent her an insulted, sulky frown. “I dont have to go sneaking around, I just have to have ears.” He pinched them between his fingers, wiggled them. “Hey, look! Ive got two of them.”

“Well talk about your ears later. Upstairs, to that horrible prison with a TV and a dog. You can write a letter of complaint to your congressman tomorrow.”

“Man.” Though his lips twitched, he rolled his eyes for form, then they widened and focused on what Brad held in his hand. “Holy Cow! WWFSmackdown !”

“Maybe you want to borrow it, take it for a few rounds.” “Yeah?Smackdown ! It really kicks—”He caught himself, swallowed back the word that would get him in serious hot water with his mother. “Really kicks,” he amended. “Thanks.”

“No problem. This way when we gomano amano and I humiliate you, you wont be able to whine that you didnt get to practice.”

“Yeah, sure, right.” Simon took the video disk. “This is so way cool. Thanks.”

He streaked off, hooking his book bag under one arm and calling for Moe.

Zoefolded her hands in her lap. “That was very nice of you.”

“He may not think so when I trounce him in the upcoming match.”

“I dont want you to feel obligated to—”

“I dont.” Brad cut her off, coolly, firmly, then deliberately looked at Dana. “You want to get this rolling?”

“As long as I can start it from the supine position. As previously discussed, Jordan wrote up the sequence of events.”

“He gave me a copy,” Malory interrupted. “And I made copies for everyone. Ill go get them.”

“Shes something, isnt she?” Dana commented as Malory left the room. “Our own Debbie Detail. SinceMals already read it, and the rest of you will, Ill just say that it puts everything into a comprehensive and cohesive form. Its helpful to see just how everythings unfolded to this point. Malory,Zoe , and I getting the invitation to Warriors Peak, meeting there for the first time. Our first contact with Rowena andPitte , and hearing the story of the Daughters of Glass. Though we didnt know they were called that until Flynn stepped in.”

“Theres the way Flynn met Malory, and became a part of the quest,” Jordan continued. “The fact that each of you was at a crossroads,jobwise .”

“We were in trouble,jobwise ,”Zoe corrected. “And that made the offer of twenty-five thousand dollars for agreeing to look for keys—keys I dont think any of us really believed in—that first night too tempting to pass up.”

“Its more than that.” Malory came back in and distributed manila envelopes, neatly labeled with names. “There was the financial incentive, yes. But there was also a sense of mutual frustration, of being in flux, not knowing what we were going to do next. And that almost instant connection between us. Jordan caught that, very clearly, in writing it out.”