The fuck did he mean by that? I narrowed my eyes and asked, “So, this is a setup?”
He chuckled lightly, pushing up his glasses. “Relax, Viol. Not everything is a ploy to upset you.”
When he put it that way, I felt like a dickhead. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment at his jab.
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“How is it going with Poppy?”
The question hit me like a sledgehammer. Jade didn’t beat around the damned bush.
“What?” I blurted. “It’s fine. Nothing’s happening.” I glared at the empty tabletop instead of meeting his expectant gaze. “We need some fucking cutlery.”
I stormed over to the drawers, grabbing as many knives and forks as possible in my fists, then marched back to dump them on the table. Jade sighed at the nearest crooked fork, then nudged it straight.
“He looks happier now than he did this morning,” Jade pointed out.
I stiffened. Poppydidlook happier. Probably because he was chatting with his friends instead of being abandoned to solitary babysitting duty by yours truly.
“Good,” I mumbled.
“Did you two talk?”
“What’s it matter?”
Jade’s looming aura made it obvious that dodging his questions wasn’t an option. He pinned his intense stare on me like one of those herding dogs that corralled sheep. And I was the fucking sheep.
“Yes, we talked, okay?” I admitted. “But nothing else. We spent most of the day apart.”
“Is that right?” Jade replied as if he already knew.
“Look, what d’you want me to do?” I said under my breath. “To throw myself at Poppy like the rest of you dirty fuckers? Sorry, but I ain’t doing that. For one thing, he’s only been here for a damn day. And he’s...”
I trailed off before I could say gentle. Soft. Precious. Deserving of someone better than me.
“Not like the other omegas,” I muttered instead.
“What do you mean?” Jade asked casually as he straightened another fork.
An old memory rose to the surface. My cheeks grew hot.Thathappened a long time ago. Things were different between us now.
“I dunno. Poppy’s not...” It was hard to get the words out. I didn’t want to have this conversation, but Jade roped me into it. “He’s not...horny...like them.”
That earned an abrupt laugh from Jade.
“What?” I growled.
He was still laughing as he pushed up his glasses. “Sorry. I’m not laughing at you, Viol. I was simply asking how your day went, and you jumped to a very interesting conclusion.”
Mortified, my cheeks burned. “Oh, fuck off. Like you didn’t imply it!”
“I didn’t imply anything,” Jade said innocently, raising his hands. “But I’m glad to hear your chivalrous nature remains intact.”
I wanted to toss forks at his stupid smug face until he looked like a pincushion. I shoved my hands into my pockets so I wouldn’t be tempted.
“What the fuck ever,” I grumbled, turning to storm off. “I’m done helping you with the damn—”
“How do youknowthat about Poppy?”
