Free Black Dahlia (The Dahlia Trilogy of The Gilded Flower Series Book 2) by Vivian Winslow Page A

laughs.
    Dahlia leans against the door and takes a deep breath. After a moment she says, “I was beginning to feel the same way. It scared me because I felt that it was too soon, too fast. But I realized on the beach earlier that I love you as well. I’ve never loved anyone this way, so passionately, but so . . .”
    “Platonically.” Kai finishes her sentence.
    “Yes!” Dahlia laughs. “It’s the best of friendship and sex.” Then she pauses, “Why are you telling me this now?”
    Kai sighs. “Because of something the Old Woman said. I want you to know that I’ll be here for you if you ever need a friend.”
    “Spit it out, Kai.”
    “Fine. She said that the painful part of your journey isn’t over yet. You’ve only just healed one part of your heart, but another part will be torn open and someone you love will betray you.”
    “Does this woman ever deliver good news?”
    Kai nods. “Of course. The other thing she said was that someone you’ve already met but don’t expect will come into your life and help heal your heart.”
    “You realize that sounds like a terrible horoscope reading.”
    “Perhaps, but she’s rarely wrong.”
    “When has she been wrong?”
    “She thought you would’ve died by now.”
     

Chapter 32
    The night sky begins to give way to dusk. Kai bends down and kisses Dahlia. “I have to go,” he says.
    She gets up on her knees and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him tightly to her.
    “I don’t have to leave for another few hours.”
    “Yeah, but I’m terrible with good-byes.”
    Dahlia covers his face with kisses and smiles. “You’re not even going to try to convince me to stay?”
    Kai smiles back and kisses her deeply, parting her lips with his. Dahlia gently pushes her tongue into his mouth, which he takes and sucks greedily.
    “I will miss this incredible mouth,” she says.
    “I will miss all of you.” Kai embraces her and kisses the top of her head. “I won’t try to talk you into staying. You deserve to the live the life you want to lead. If you decide you want me to be a part of it, you know how to find me.”
    He takes a step back and looks into her eyes. “No matter what ends up happening, I’m your friend, I will be here for you.”
    Dahlia nods, knowing full well the truth in Kai’s promise to her. His wide grin breaks the silence that falls between them. Grabbing her ass, he whispers, “I believe we owe each other a special farewell.”
    Dahlia pulls him back toward the bed and presses her body into his.
     

Chapter 33
    “It’s about time you called, D,” Lily says in a tense voice.
    “What the hell is up your ass, Lil?”
    “Besides being worried that my sister would take a bunch of sleeping pills while she was alone on an island grieving for her lost husband, oh, nothing.”
    “You didn’t really think I would go that far, did you?”
    “You should’ve seen yourself. Although on second thought, you probably don’t need that image in your head.”
    “You’re sounding way too snippy, Lil. Don’t tell me Alejandro turned into a sociopathic control freak as soon as you moved to Miami.”
    Lily chuckles. “Alejandro is great. It’s just . . . Gustavo is proving to be a big pain in the ass.”
    Dahlia shrieks, drawing the attention of a few people in the airline lounge. “What has that bastard done now?”
    A loud announcement over the speaker drowns out Lily’s response.
    All she can make out is, “Where are you, D?”
    “Hong Kong. Insanely long layover. I’m bored as fuck.”
    “You want to tell me what you did while you were away? Vi mentioned there was some cute guy.”
    “I’ll tell you about Kai later. What’s up with Vi? She was a hot mess when she left.”
    “I don’t know. I called her the other day to give her some news, but she rushed off the phone after two minutes.”
    “What news?”
    “Alejandro and I are engaged!” Lily says excitedly.
    Dahlia smiles, genuinely happy for her sister. “Oh my God,