“It’s an act,” Zane told him. “He needs something from me, you heard him. He wants to present the perfect family on his planet so his coworkers continue to buy the caring, angelic doctor spiel. If either of our parents would make better candidates, he would have gone to them instead.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t know anything.”
They settled into a quiet for a bit as Zane drove them in the direction of the Little Palace, but it didn’t last long.
“Ask me,” Pavel’s voice was husky in the partial darkness of the car, his eyes never leaving Zane’s face despite the fact the other man was actively ignoring him.
“Ask you what?”
“I know you’re curious about what Aodhan said back there. When he recognized me.”
“About how you supposedly chased after their car after my adoption?” Zane clicked his tongue. “Why would I be curious about that? Did it even happen?” Of course it had. Aodhan had an impeccable memory.
“You weren’t crying,” Pavel told him. “You refused to even look my way. Sat with your back straight and your gaze ahead right up until I lost you. The hovercar was too fast.”
That must be why he’d been so angry when Zane had brought up how he often walked away without looking back. It was a sore spot from their past, something else that he couldn’t remember.
“How old were you?” Zane asked.
“We’re the same age.”
“We aren’t.”
Pavel smiled. “I’m around nine months older. At the time, I was eleven. A week after you were adopted, the Undergroves found me.”
“Found you?” Zane frowned, hating that he was invested in this but unable to stop the questions from pouring out of his mouth.
Pavel nodded. “I ran away from the orphanage that same day you left. I was trying to find you, but I was young and naïve. When they found me, I was already dehydrated and starving. They took me in, went to the orphanage and filled out the paperwork to make it official, and that was that.”
“Did you…” Zane shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Of course I did,” Pavel answered anyway, knowing what he’d been about to ask. “I looked for you everywhere, but I didn’t know the name of the family who’d adopted you, or where they were going. I’d actually just about given up when we moved here. Imagine my shock when I walked into the ballroom and saw you standing there. I still remember it. You were wearing a rose-colored three-piece suit over a navy dress shirt, and you were talking to Madden with confidence. Laughing at his jokes. You were so different from the kid I remembered, I almost thought I was seeing things.”
“How was I when I was younger?”
“Shy,” Pavel said. “But calculating.”
He hummed. “Not much different after all then.”
“You’re so far from shy now, gorgeous. I almost wish you still were. Then I wouldn’t be so jealous all the time.”
“Whether or not I’m shy, I’m definitely not that kid, Pavel.”
“I wasn’t in love with that kid,” he stated. “I was a kid myself, I didn’t even know what love was. I was protective of you, and I had a sense of duty toward you, but that was all. When I found you again…I wanted to approach you, but it was clear you didn’t recognize me. Later, when I heard you’d lost your memories, I thought perhaps it was for the best. Those weren’t exactly pleasant days, they didn’t mistreat us at the orphanage, but we had the bare minimum and you were constantly picked on for being a runt.”
Zane had seen family photos from his adoption and knew he’d been on the smaller side back then. “Puberty hit me hard at sixteen.”
“It did.” Pavel reached out and traced the curve of Zane’s ear, smiling some when he didn’t pull away from the contact. He dropped his hand. “Tell me you aren’t mad, gorgeous.”
He thought it over, trying to feel himself out but… “I’m not mad. I’m…”
“Uncertain?” Pavel pulled away. “I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” His eyes began to glow slightly. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you.”
