He gives the dark-haired woman, who I’m assuming is Rhiannon, a quick one-armed hug. Then he does the same to the tattooed man—Hawk, I presume—standing beside her. “Hey, guys. Nice to see you.”
“Indy.” Rhiannon beams at him. Her attention flickers to his prosthetic hand still wrapped around mine. A beat later, she smiles brightly at me. “Hi. I’m Rhiannon. And you must be Beatrix. It’s so nice to meet you.”
Hawk’s angular features soften with a small smile. “Hey, Jones. And Beatrix.” He holds his hand out to me. “I’m Hawk. These guys treating you okay?”
I clasp his hand and give it a quick shake. “They’ve all been great.” To Hawk and Rhiannon, I add, “You can call me Bea. My parents call me Beatrix, but—” I shrug. “Bea’s good.”
“I just figured it out,” announces Yara. “Beatrix Potter, right? That’s where your name came from.”
Ace tosses a Jenga piece at Yara—more like whips it at her, really—and she catches it effortlessly. “No shit, Yar. Of course,it’s from Beatrix Potter. How many other Beatrix’s do you know?”
Rhiannon and Hawk walk inside and Hawk immediately locks the door behind him. “There could be other Beatrix’s,” Rhiannon offers. “Or maybe Bea’s mom just liked the name.”
As we all head towards the couches, I reply, “She did pick the name because of Beatrix Potter. And when I was younger, I was so mad at her for it. I wanted a cool name, like Annabelle or Eloise.”
Or at least, my thirteen-year-old self thought those names were cool.
Yara nods. “Tell me about it. I got the whole gamut of terrible nicknames.Yarr she blows. Yarr, shiver me timbers.” She sighs. “They loved all the pirate talk back in middle school.”
Indy waits for me to sit, then settles down beside me. He lets go of my hand to reach for a paper plate, filling it with an assortment of chips and dip and vegetables. “Here you go,” he says as he hands it to me. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“I can get drinks,” Yara offers. “What does everyone want? I’ve got soda, water, beer, hard seltzer…”
After everyone rattles off their requests—water or soda for all the guys, and hard seltzers for Yara, me, and Rhiannon—Yara drags Tyler off into the kitchen to help her. Ace finishes his Jenga prep and joins us at the other end of the couch, while Hawk plops into an armchair and pulls Rhiannon onto his lap.
“So.” Rhiannon turns her attention to Indy. “How’s everything going?”
It’s an innocuous enough question on the surface. But there’s a weight to it that tells me it’s notreallythat simple.
Indy meets her gaze steadily. “It’s good. HQ is nearly finished. And we’ve been keeping busy with new cases.”
“Eden?” she asks. “How’s she doing?”
Indy brightens. “Really good. Even if she did pick Rafe—” He shakes his head, and everyone chuckles. “He’s good for her. And she’s good for him.”
Hawk gives an approving nod. “I’m happy for him.”
“And you?” Rhiannon asks.
“Rhi,” Hawk warns. “Maybe not when wejustgot here.”
Pink stains her cheeks. “Sorry, Indy. I’m being nosy. Forget I said anything.”
“It’s fine.” Indy moves our entwined hands so they’re resting on my leg. “I’m good.” He glances at me. “Really good, actually.”
My heart erupts into a frenzy of wingbeats at the look in his eyes.
Rhiannon studies Indy’s face. Something in his expression must reassure her, because she smiles at him, the biggest one yet. “Yeah. I can see that.”
“Okay. I’ve got drinks.” Yara comes back into the living room and starts handing out drinks. “Did I miss anything? Any good gossip? Did Nolan finally find a woman? Levi?”
“Not yet.” Rhiannon flicks a side-eyed glance at me. “But you never know. Something we’ve discovered about Blade and Arrow relationships—they come when you’re least expecting it.”
“Not me,” Ace replies. “I’ve got enough going on already.”
“Same,” Yara agrees. “But you’re right. You B and A guys seem to find love in the most unusual circumstances.”
Tyler doesn’t join in. He just attacks his pile of celery with single-minded determination. And it makes me wonder about the pale band on his ring finger, nearly the same shade as his skin, but not quite. It makes me wonder if the sad look in his eyes is just because of his prosthetic, or something else.
