There was only one person he could be referencing. I turned, spotting Liam in the crowd, his gaze on mine.
As I watched, Niamh laid one hand lightly on his chest. A flash of jealousy at the other woman’s proprietary gesture took me by surprise.
It didn’t help that Liam made no effort to evade her touch, standing there stoically, his expression unchanging as her hand moved up to his shoulder.
“She wants him back,” Anton observed unhappily.
Back implied they’d been together before.
“Who is she to him?” I asked, curiosity prodding me.
“An old flame,” Anton said, a twist to his lips.
The words did nothing to stem the jealousy that was winding its way through me. The two seemed like they’d stepped straight from a painting, from some bucolic scene. The Fae princess with her prince. How sweet. Not.
“I have a hard time seeing the two of them together,” I said. She was vicious and petty. Liam gave every indication of wanting to be as far away from her as possible.
“What? From your limited time spent with Liam, you think you know him?” Anton asked. He thought about it before conceding.“Maybe you’d be right about the current Liam, but once upon a time the two made quite the name for themselves, each trying to outdo the other for pure viciousness.”
I held up the gloves.“What are these for?”
“Just put them on,” he said impatiently.
I held his gaze with my own, not changing expression and not making any move to don the gloves.
“It escapes me why you were the first person he visited when he returned,” Anton muttered, reaching for my arm and turning it up.
First person? I looked back at Liam again, remembering his recent visit, seeing it in a new light with this news.
“It’s best not to advertise your marks to the world,” Anton explained with a forced patience, grabbing one glove and pulling it up my arm as I watched Liam.
He glanced up at that moment, his gaze connecting with mine. It was like being hit with a fist of electricity, an inescapable awareness, as potent now as the first time it had happened.
He took in the two of us as Anton shoved on my other glove. The smallest warmth entered his expression and he cocked his head, the gesture an unmistakable summons.
I gave him a look that said ask nicely.
In response, he glanced at Anton and jerked his head.
“We’ve been summoned,” Anton muttered, grabbing my arm and hauling me after him. He took the glass from me and set it on a waiter’s tray as we passed.
Liam looked at me and smirked, obviously feeling pretty pleased he’d gotten his way. I gave him a challenging smile. We’d see how long that lasted.
“Are you my keeper for the evening?” I asked Anton, shifting my attention from the small group we were approaching.
“Something like that.”
I gave him a considering look as he avoided my eyes. That was not the responseI’d been expecting.
A shoulder bumped me and a pair of familiar eyes met mine. Cadell looked at my companion and then touched my shoulder. For a brief moment, his hand was warm, almost hot against me.
“You should watch where you’re going,” he said. The words were at odds with the slightly wary look in his eyes, one I understood when a piece of paper was slipped into my hand.
He turned and walked away before I could say anything, weaving around the floor as he headed back to Niall, who very carefully wasn’t watching us.
I looked around, finding no one seemed to have noticed the exchange, or if they had, they’d written it off as the baby vampire making a fool of herself.
“What was that about?” Anton asked, his gaze suspicious as if he knew something had just happened, but not what.
