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I nodded. “Want to help me add details to Level Seven?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” She grinned. “By the way, I think Nessa Lily Pad needs a magic lily pad that could take her places like the flying carpet in Aladdin.”

“I can show you the world . . .” I sang an awful rendition of the song.

“Oh, my god.” She laughed and shifted her body to face the computer.

“I’ll leave the magic lily pad for you to design.” I massaged her shoulders.

“Yeah?” Excitement filled her eyes. “And I think the warrior, Whistler Ren, needs a powerful cane that’s a magic pen and a spear all in one.”

I laughed, agreeing with her design. “The boys and I should hire you to help design the game. You’re good at this.”

She leaned back and looked up at me. “It’s because I’m hanging out with the best of the best. It’s like osmosis, you know.”

“I sense a cheesy plant line coming.”

Her eyes sparked with mischief. “Do you know you have flowers on your face?”

“Where?” I patted my cheeks.

“You have tulips.” She grinned, pressing her finger to my lips. “I want to plant a kiss on them, but I’m too nervous. What plant am I?”

“A sweaty palm.”

Her face brightened. “You realize we’re having a very cheesy conversation, right?”

“Yup, and I’m loving it.”

My stomach growled, having missed lunch. It was past dinnertime now.

“Let’s have dinner first, and we can resume later.” She hopped off my lap and grabbed my hand.

“No, we can’t.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because I haven’tbotany.”

“Oh, my god.” She rolled her eyes but laughed. “That’s stupid.”

“It made you laugh. I’m catching on, aren’t I?”

“We have plenty of leftovers.” She dragged me into the kitchen. “After we eat, I’m going to make Whistler Ren the coolest protagonist in existence. Your friends will be jealous of this character.”

Pride and love radiated from me. I was in love with an intelligent, creative woman with a big heart and a strange sense of humor. “I can’t wait to see the revision.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

VANESSA

Attikus leftthis morning for a business meeting in California. Then he was flying to New York for another meeting at the end of the week. He’d been gone for an hour, and I already missed him.

The more I got to know this brilliant man, the more I fell in love with him. Level Seven was ninety-five percent complete, and I was thrilled to help him with the details. He could now cross that off his priority list.

Despite that, I still sensed his stress. I knew he was trying to protect me by not sharing all his concerns. I overheard his conversation with Orion the other day. Something about apprehending a Trogyn member, but then Attikus walked into his office and closed the door. I couldn’t sit around and let him do all the work.

Before he left, he told me not to worry about my mom’s freedom.Attikus discovered that the prosecutor and judge were linked to The Trogyn. His lawyer was currently preparing documents to submit to the court for a new trial. Hope sparkedin me. Perhaps I didn’t need to extract my mother from prison at all. Maybe she’d be released soon.