“You do know you’re in the way, don’t you?” Darcy jokes as she walks by, and I watch as a part of Lincoln’s mask slips back into place.
Right. It’s not real.
It’s not real.
* * *
Felicity is lovely, with intelligent eyes and a striking gap between her front teeth. Her thick brown hair curls down over a draped blouse in cream that makes her skin glow, and there’s the lightest pink dusted over her cheeks. Her smile is soft as I introduce myself. I would love to know how Reed managed to charm her.
Lincoln and I take the seats across from her and Reed, and Darcy plants herself between her brothers, which is clearly on purpose. There’s an empty seat beside me, and I wonder where Astrid is. It doesn’t seem like her to be late.
“Where’s Mum?” Lincoln asks.
Reed unravels his napkin and places it over his lap. “On a last-minute trip to Paris. Something important with an old friend, she said. I’ve got no more details than that, but you can always check with Darcy if you don’t believe me.”
Lincoln frowns, ignoring Reed’s baited accusation, while I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying anything.
“More important than this?”
The tightening of Reed’s jaw is the only indication that he’s not as unbothered as he’s trying to appear. “Yes, well.”
The silence extends, thick and uncomfortable, until the waiter arrives to take our drink order.
I use the distraction to ask Lincoln quietly, “What do you think happened?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not like Mum to miss a family dinner, unless she thought being absent would help.”
I’m not convinced. To do that, we might actually need a séance. Maybe if we channel the ghosts of people who actuallycommunicate, they can finally sort themselves out. There’s only so much I can do.
As I’m ordering a glass of chardonnay, the empty chair beside me is filled. Lincoln tenses, and from the overbearing cloud of cologne, I know exactly who has arrived.
“Sorry I’m late, fam.” Kyle grins. “Hope I didn’t miss anything.”
Oh yay, the court asshole approacheth.
I wonder what chemicals I’d need to mix into this wine for it to instantly kill me. If only I hadn’t failed chemistry. Maybe I can spend the rest of the meal in Lincoln’s lap.
On second thought, if I do that, I’ll never leave.
Under the table, Lincoln hooks his foot under my chair and pulls me closer, draping his arm protectively over my shoulders. Close enough.
* * *
Dinner is more stilted than aLove is Blindreunion. I’ll never know if there’s a different version out there, one where King Kyle isn’t getting high off his own self-importance, because biting back every sarcastic response is taking 70 percent of my concentration. The other thirty is busy getting distracted by the soft glide of Lincoln’s fingers along my bare shoulder while Felicity tells me about her massage therapy day spa.
“It’s not for profit, which was the only way I wanted to do it, and I’ve partnered with both the training school and the women’s shelter to ensure that all of our positions are filled by women who are unfairly looked over for work. Sometimes it’s mothers who haven’t been in the workforce for a long time, or it’s women escaping abusive situations who need a safe and supportive environment. Everything we do is about giving back to the community,” she tells me. It’s as impressive as it is humbling.
“She’s incredible,” Reed says, with eyes only for her. I can’t disagree.
It’s interesting to hear the cross section of accents as we eat. Reed’s and Darcy’s are subtler, probably on account of them living full time in the states for so long. But next to Kyle and the rest of the Bradbury clan? It’s obvious where the differences lie.
Lincoln’s voice slips and squeezes between the harsh vowels around me, curling around my shoulders like my favorite sweater.
“So, Ivy.” Kyle’s arm brushes mine as he faces me, and I plaster on a smile. “What makes you so impressive that you’d inspire the man who never settles down to move across an ocean for you?”
I’m about to tell him to go drown himself in that ocean when Lincoln’s deep, commanding voice does it for me.
“Kyle, if a woman of her caliber had ever deemed you worthy to spend time with, you wouldn’t have to ask that question.”
