The sound of the front door swinging open, and voices belonging to Kira and Aiden pulled our attention to the hallway entrance.
We froze in place.
They were back early.
Shit.
Dean casually straightened from the counter and crossed to the fridge, folding his arms and leaning into it as if to give himself a better scope of the room. Just as he brought his eyes to me again, Kira and Aiden stepped out from around the corner. The former dropped her suitcase and clapped a hand over her mouth, while the latter’s eyebrows shot up to his ash-blonde hairline.
“Romeo. Holy shit, man. What are you doing here?” Aiden asked, his face a mix of excitement and shock. Kira, on the other hand, hadn’t stopped beaming at me.
I could feel my face getting warmer by the second.
“We were about to have breakfast...” Dean said, face set to unreadable as his eyes flicked to Kira. “What happened to your arm?”
I frowned and moved away from the stovetop to see what he was talking about. Coming to a stop beside Dean, I followed his gaze to Kira’s right arm. Her wrist was bound thickly in a white bandage.
“Kira, what happened?” I rushed forward and gently lifted her hand.
“I burned myself setting off fireworks.” She smiled awkwardly. “It’s nothing—”
Aiden pulled her in under his arm, squeezing her close as he looked at Dean. “Can’t take her anywhere,” he chuckled.
Dean wasn’t amused by Aiden’s attempts to be relatable.
And Aiden hadn’t noticed as he went to start up a conversation with the fighter. “So, Romeo—”
“I should go.” Dean dragged his eyes from Aiden to me. A very faint smile appeared on his face, but he didn’t say anything else. He just breezed past the other two on his way to the front door.
Ignoring Aiden’s disgruntled murmurs about Dean’s sudden departure, I quickly excused myself and followed him down the hallway.
“Dean, wait,” I whispered, catching up to him as he stopped at the door. “What about breakfast?”
He pressed his lips together as he directed his gaze down the hall for a second. “I don’t really like hanging around the gamblers. They ask too many questions...” His face softened a little when he looked back down at me.
“Okay. But what about these?” I pinched the front of the black T-shirt I was wearing and indicated to the shorts too. “Do you want me to drop them off at The Den?”
His gaze wandered down, but not in the way that would’ve made me uncomfortable. He was only looking at the clothes.
“Keep ‘em,” he shrugged.
Before I could say anything else, he slipped out quietly through the door.
Chapter 34
Lily
There’s a certain time in everyone’s lives when they just need to do something a little selfish. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself so I wouldn't feel guilty.
I had planned on going to work this morning with my head held high, ready for anything Mom might throw at me. Instead, when the bus pulled up in front of the Whitmore real estate agency, I hopped off and kept walking.
After a quick call to the agency front office to say I was too sick to work, I took myself to a bookstore, browsed for a little while, bought several books, and then left for Lana’s cafe to get a start on reading one.
With tea and a generous slice of a freshly baked, sponge cake sitting on my little outdoor table for one, I dove into a world of faraway places, magic, and adventure. After the minor interrogation by Aiden and Kira (mostly Aiden) wondering why Romeo was in the apartment yesterday, getting away from everyone was exactly what I needed. But I didn't realize how much time had passed until a familiar voice pulled me from my book.
“Lily, hey.” Seb stopped beside my table. Dressed in his riding leathers and a mustard yellow T-shirt belonging to the roof tiling company he worked for. I figured he must’ve finished a job in Bay Ridge and went for lunch, going off the takeaway bag in his hand.
“Hey,” I smiled and then nodded to his hair. His usual tight curls were shaved a little shorter, the back and sides fading into his hairline while the stubble across his top lip and along his jaw remained. “It suits you.”
