I patted Brit’s hand. “Rock status confirmed. Thank you.”Brit gave me a toothy grin and gestured toward Seth.
“Um, right.” Seth’s hands fluttered as if he didn’t know what to do with them. “Ah, first off, I’m sorry. I didn’t know Brody was, well, like that. I’ve cut all ties with him. I would never—”
“Except you did,” Brit said, cutting him off.
I put my hands up. “It’s fine. You still owe Cayden an apology for trashing his name, but I’m sure you’ll work that out.”
Seth narrowed his eyes. Before he could respond, a woman came to his side. Not quite as tall as Brit, her white hair still had hints of its original powder blue. Unlike Seth, I could see a bit of Xan in her lined face. I tried to remember Erick’s book and felt pretty strongly that this was Xan’s grandmother’s sister or something like that.
“Quinn Question,” she said. “It is so wonderful to meet you. Seth has said so many good things. I’m sure he’s passed on how lucky the Silvers are to have our stronghold at the core of what was a joint base in BT.”
I plastered a smile on my face and tried not to groan.
“Our brains and inventions have blessed the world...” she continued.
Every single person had a sales pitch for me tonight, and I fought to keep my eyes from rolling.
“And Yorkshire is prized for its grazing. Our wool…”
I bit my lips shut, as Everly’s fear of wool threatened to make me laugh.
“Seth here...”
The poor guy had turned beet red and looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Scarlett Silver,” said a voice I’d know anywhere.
The air shifted, and heads turned as if the room itself recognized Xan before I did. My breath caught. Want and fear tangled undermy skin, neither strong enough to drown me, but both impossible to ignore.
I clasped my hands together in front of me to keep them from shaking and turned.
Alexander, the Architect, stood before me. Gone were the trainee uniform and rumpled hair. He stood with easy poise. He’d tightened up the short sides of his hair and wore the top longer and slicked back. A simple, but rich, burgundy tunic with silver detail tucked into his gray practical cargo pants. Burgundy loafers matching his tunic completed the look.
Understated, powerful, and incredibly dashing. My body remembered wanting him before my brain could argue.
His eyes sparkled under those thick brows. He looked at me before turning his attention to Scarlett. Pleasantries fell out of his mouth like diamonds. If there was tension between these two, it wouldn’t come out here.
Unfortunately, I was not as good at this, and my list of unresolved issues with the man scrolled through my mind. I needed a drink.
As if summoned, Ezra slid in beside me, subtly placing me between him and his lover. The tension between them pressed against my skin like static. Not close, nothing intimate, but deliberate. My heart raced.
He handed me a glass of something as purple as his eyes. “One swallow.”
I tipped the shot back. Harsh but sweet, plum and cream with a nutty aftertaste slid down my throat. It burned like courage, sweet and sharp.
“You’ll need confidence,” he said before linking my arm and dragging me between two stages. “I’ll get you started before Lady Mile demands steps.”
The moment my feet crossed onto the makeshift dance floor, music I’d barely noticed in the background became a wall of sound. The floor thumped through my heels, every beat a command I couldn’t disobey. Bagpipers on either stage, perfectly synchronized with a fiddle and a trio of flutes raised up in the center.
Everyone danced, most of them following relaxed steps, swinging each other around and laughing. Ezra kept me at the edge, using his body to teach mine the steps before spinning me onto the dance floor.
As a Midwest girl, I’d never imagined crashing a Scottish ceilidh, but here I was. Ezra swung me around, and I spun only to find myself facing someone new. I danced the steps, only to find myself back with Ezra.
The jig turned into a reel, men on one side, women on the other. The two on either side of me helped me through a do-si-do. I swung arms with Brit, who twirled before turning to her next partner. The poor man blinked as if unsure what to do, and she grabbed him, prodding him into a circle in the opposite direction, as my partner did the same with me. I laughed. Stepping on as many feet as the floor. Every mistake drew humor instead of scorn.
Two more songs left me breathing hard. Before I could exit the dance floor, I found myself in Xan’s arms. My world tipped; his hand found my back before my breath did. His baby-blue gaze swallowed the room.
Despite everything. I wanted him to kiss me again. And this time, I wouldn’t teleport him away. As if hearing me, his gaze heated. Just like in the Alun, his hand slowly edged down my back and toward my butt. He started to lean down before pulling back.
