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“So, she told you?”

Slash and I sat under a tree near the dining building. A week ago I wouldn’t have been able to stand being outside for more than a few minutes, but those few days living in the rainforest had changed me. I’d almost become used to the humidity and heat.

“She did,” he said. “She told me you figured it out, as well.”

“There were a lot of flags. It wasn’t as complicated as I expected. I was going to tell you if she didn’t.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that, but I already knew. I saw her coming out of Father Armando’s office when I was in Italy. When she arrived here at the camp, I remembered her face, so I did a little digging. It took me under an hour to piece it together. It’s interesting you and I came at it from completely different angles, and yet we came to the same conclusion.”

“Great minds and all that,” I said with a smile.

“I would have told you sooner, but there wasn’t a right time or place.” He reached over and tugged on my ponytail until I brought my mouth closer to his, where he planted a kiss. “Anyway, she intercepted me on the way back from nabbing Martim and told me.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I couldn’t see his eyes because they were hidden behind sunglasses, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that the meeting had affected him deeply. “Yes, and no. It was an unusual experience. She had an emotional attachment to me that I couldn’t reciprocate.”

“That’s understandable. You don’t know her, while she’s had her whole life to know you.”

He considered that. “I called her Mother, because biologically, she is, but I didn’t have the same feelings for her as I do for my actual mother. Even thinking of her as my mother felt somehow disloyal.”

I laid my head against his shoulder. “That’s not an unusual reaction. Your mom, stepfather and Father Armandoareyour parents in all the ways it counts. You’ve bonded with them over the years, and you love and care for them deeply, as you should. They’re a part of your life story.”

“Si, yet there’s a part of me that wonders about her... Lilith.”

“Whether you like it or not, she’s a part of your life story, too.”

He bent his knees and clasped his hands in front of him. “Yes, she is. Ever since I learned about my father, I’m conflicted. Part of me never wanted to meet her, while another part wants to know more about my heritage and history. Is that wrong? Do you think getting to know her would hurt my family in any way?”

I put a gentle hand on his biceps. “No, I don’t. You’ve got a lot of things to process, Slash, but guilt isn’t one of them. I haven’t met your mother or stepfather in person yet, but I have a feeling they’d support you whether you decide to pursue a relationship with her or not. As will I. And why would it be wrong to want to know more about from where you come? We’re human, which means we have a desire to learn more about ourselves and how we fit into this world.”

He slipped an arm around me, pulling me closer. “Thank you. And you’re right. I need time to sort it out. I hope at some point, my decision will become clear. At this point, I don’t know where, or if, I want her story with me to end. But I do know I’d never get through it if you weren’t part of that process.”

“At leastthat’snot a problem.” I held up my wrist displaying the small circle. “You’re bound to me now. I’m in for the long haul.”

“Lucky me.” He leaned over, pressing a kiss against the mark.

“So, what do we do about our other wedding, Slash?” I asked. “Now that we’re already married, I’m a lot more relaxed about the whole thing.”

“Funny you say that, because I feel the same way. It’s certainly important to me that Father Armando blesses our union in the church, and it’s also important to your mother and our family and friends that we recite our vows in front of the family in a gown and tux.”

“Then let’s do it. We’ve already had an intimate wedding that, for all practical purposes, was ours and ours alone. Other than Vicente and Salvador, no one else even understood what we were saying to each other. It was truly perfect.”

“It was both the scariest and happiest day of my life,” he said. “I thought I’d lost you, and then I found you, and in response, I promptly married you. In my opinion, anything that comes after that will be significantly anticlimactic.”

I laughed, bumping my shoulder against his. He had this way of making me feel like I was the only girl in the world, despite there being millions. “What a crazy, wonderful, marvelous wedding we had. What do you think, Slash? Do I let my mother and Basia run amok with the planning for the other one?”

“That’s your call. I’ll be happy with whatever you or your mother decide.”

“That’s a pretty diplomatic call.” I leaned back against him, the most relaxed I’d been in weeks. “Okay. Well, I guess I’d better give my mom a call to sort it out.”

He twirled a strand of my hair around his finger. “Not a bad idea, but let me use the satellite phone first. There’s someone I want to talk to right away.”

Chapter Sixty-Two

Slash

The phone rang four times before it she finally picked it up. “Hello?”