Dad wiggled his eyebrows and grabbed another handful.
Ben chuckled. “Sometimes things change. He and this Rachel woman have a past. Who’s to say things didn’t rekindle as soon as he saw her?”
Because that would mean everything we had was a lie. And if it wasn’t a lie, it was an indicator that what I felt for him was much stronger than whatever he’d felt for me, no matter how doggedly he’d pursued me.
Both left a terrible taste in my mouth and an ache in my heart that would never go away.
“You’re being an asshole,” I grumbled.
“Evie.” He paused. “I know you love him. From everything I saw, he loved you too. But things don’t always work out, and you two weren’t mated, were you?”
“You damn well know we weren’t. I don’t even know if a bond like that can happen between a fae and a shifter.”
“Shifters can mate outside of their species.”
“You are not helping right now.”
Ben’s laugh eased something in my heart. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. And, if it will make you feel better, I’ll travel to Joy Springs in a few days to check him out.”
“Thank you,” I breathed.
“Don’t get too excited,” he warned. “Caelan damn near went to war over you with the Lords, and he has not been friendly to us since. He and Rowan are still on good terms, but he’s testy even with me.”
“It’s because we smooched,” I teased.
“He should be more jealous of Rowan than me,” Ben said seriously. “That man stares at you like you’re the sun.”
I laughed, but Ben didn’t. “It’s not like that between us.”
“Maybe not,” he agreed. “But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t wish for it.”
I sank deeper into the couch cushions. “Enough of such talk. Rowan and I are only friends. Please try to see Caelan if you can. If anything, he needs a friend. Rachel is…”
“I know exactly what Rachel is,” Ben growled. “She is not fit to be their Lady.”
“Then maybe you can talk some reason into him. Even if he doesn’t choose me, Ben, he should choose someone…better. Someone fit to lead his people into the future.”
“Someone like you?” His tone wasn’t mocking or cruel, only contemplative.
I laughed. “Have we met? I’m a hot mess eighty percent of the time. No. Not me. Though I was willing to do it. I have my own problems to worry about now.”
Dad grinned and wiggled his fingers at me.
I suppressed my sigh. Yes. Plenty of problems both current and future.
“I’m sorry, Evie.” He sounded like he meant the words. “Don’t dismiss what I said about Rowan. Not right away. He’s a good man. A good shifter. A good Lord. Wildly different from Caelan, but maybe that’s what you need.”
I couldn’t think about anything other than the ache in my heart right now. “Ben, I’m putting one foot in front of the other, and that’s all I can do. I’m letting go and giving it to the universe to sort out for me because the gods know I have enough on my plate.”
Ben’s chuckle reverberated over the line. “Fair enough. I’ll call you when I make it to town. Until then, be careful. Female shifters are known to be volatile with their current partner’s old flames.”
He hung up before I could squawk. An old flame meant I was in the past, and the sun hadn’t even set over this yet.
Old flame, my ass.
Right now, the only flame burning was the one in my heart, and it was so hot, everything felt like ash.
My father set his bowl of popcorn down and brushed off his hands. “Come. Let us watch some of that fishing net movie film program.”
