Page 100 of Dark Island: Rescue

"Probably." He pulled her into his arms. "When he gets to know you better, he will realize that your bark is much worse than your bite"

"Sometimes, I'm too much." She fit against him perfectly, her head tucked under his chin, her arms wrapped around his waist. "No wonder you waited so long to commit to forever with me."

"I love you, Angel," he said softly. "I love everything about you, from your big mouth to your sweet kisses and from your barbs to your soft whispers. I love yourextremes, the hot and the cold, and the way you do everything big."

"That's sweet." Her voice was muffled against his chest. "But you still have a lot of groveling to do before I fully forgive you."

"Will investing in your salon chain buy me forgiveness?" Edgar pulled back to look at her face.

Angelica laughed. "You don't have enough money for that. A single location might cost fifty to a hundred thousand dollars to start, and that's on the low end. To build a chain, I'd need millions."

She was right, and Edgar felt the familiar sting of inadequacy about his finances. He was a young immortal, so he hadn't had centuries of accumulating wealth and investing it wisely.

He was well paid as the clan's helicopter pilot, but he hadn't been thrifty with his money. He liked expensive toys, fancy restaurants, and living in style. He had never understood those who saved and lived modestly. He'd lived like someone with unlimited funds because he'd assumed he had unlimited time to build wealth if he ever desired it.

"I don't have millions," he admitted. "I don't even have hundreds of thousands. I've been terrible at saving money."

Angelica frowned. "Aren't they paying you for your piloting services?"

"They pay me well, but I spend most of it." Edgar ran his hand through his hair, embarrassed. "I never thought about the future because the future seemed so far away."

"How much do you have?" Angelica's tone was matter-of-fact, not judgmental. "Roughly?"

"Maybe fifty thousand dollars in savings." Edgar felt heat climbing up his neck. "I'm not rich, Angel. I'm a fifty-three-year-old immortal who lives like a twenty-five-year-old human, because in my head I'm that young."

Angelica was quiet for a long moment, and Edgar braced himself for disappointment or scolding.

Instead, she started laughing.

"What?" Edgar felt defensive. "It's not funny."

"It kind of is." She cupped his face. "Edgar, you're this amazing immortal being with incredible abilities, and you're broke because you like expensive toys. It's cute in its own ridiculous way."

"I'm glad my financial irresponsibility amuses you."

"I'm not making fun of you." Angelica's expression sobered. "It just makes you more real, you know? More human. I was feeling a little intimidated by this whole immortal thing and finding out that you are much older than I am and all that. Knowing that you're terrible with money makes you less scary."

"I'm not scary."

"You have fangs that come out when you're aroused. You're a little scary." She kissed him. "But I love you anyway."

"I don't have much, but whatever it is, it is now yours. You could invest it for both of us. You're brilliant at trading stocks and managing money. You'll grow it faster than I ever could, and it can become seed money for the salon chain."

"You want to give me your entire savings?" Angelica looked shocked. "Edgar, we are not even married yet."

"We are mated, which means more than marriage, and I want to invest in our future."

Angelica's eyes were suspiciously bright. "That's so sweet. I don't know what to say."

"That must be a first for you."

"It is." She sniffled. "I love you so much."

34

ESAG

Esag's hands were sweating as he walked up to Annani's house. He'd requested this meeting with Kian through Wonder, knowing the clan leader was more likely to agree if it came via family channels rather than him directly. Then again, it might backfire.