“No worries.” Liam had fooled the heck out of me when he pretended to be Bowie Ferguson to infiltrate the Sartori pack. “I understand why you did what you did, and you’re right. He acted born for the role.”
“Other people, he can imitate.” He agreed with me. “It’s himself he can’t seem to get a handle on.”
“Maybe he’s spent too long in other people’s skins and needs to figure out how to exist in his own?”
“That’s an astute observation.” His fingers relaxed as he mulled it over. “You might be right.”
Unable to help myself, I covered his hand with mine. “Fayne doesn’t seem to have lost herself.”
“Fayne is very much herself. She has a strong mind and isn’t easily influenced by others. Not one single thing has changed about her since my earliest memories. That’s why she’s been our rock.”
Or perhaps she was a better actor than any of them realized andGranwas the persona she adopted around them. Not to say it wasn’t a genuine facet of her personality, but maybe she had put in the extra effort of maintaining a flawless facade then because she’d had kids depending on her to be that person.
Liam, Rían, and Goldie had all lost their parents, and Fayne had suffered that same grief alongside them. Which meant she missed out on savoring the role of grandmother to the fullest.Instead, it had fallen to her to set an example for them as she had for her own children. Children whose absence still hurt too much for a single word about them to pass her lips.
“What about your grandfather?” I hesitated a beat, weighing my words. “Is it okay to ask about him?”
“Burdock isn’t our grandfather,” he confirmed with a bittersweet smile. “He died before we were born. We never met him.”
Dragons must have the highest mortality rate of any shifter species. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“A decade or so after his passing, Burdock talked Fayne into giving him one date to win her over. She agreed because she was tired of him asking.” He chuckled. “They’ve been an officially unofficial item ever since.”
“Have they ever lived together?”
“He stayed over sometimes, mostly during the holidays, in his own room.” He rolled his eyes like it wasn’t obvious Burdock hadn’t slept in his own bed except for show. “Otherwise, they’ve been content to each live in their own spaces.”
“As long as they’re both happy, that’s what matters.”
“This move to Brentwood marks the first time I’ve had my own place. Liam moved out, but I always lived with Fayne so she could help keep an eye on my sister while I was at work or dealing with clan matters.” His grin stretched the scar in his lip I was dying to taste. “Now that Fayne is living alone for the first time since she was granted custody of Liam, she might find it’s a little too quiet.”
“It almost sounds like you planned it that way.”
“Fayne has given her life in service to the clan, and her family. She deserves to be happy whether that looks like enjoying her new home with only the occasional sleepover with Goldie or if the silence convinces her the spare bedroom ought to belong to Burdock on a more permanent basis.”
“Rían?”
“Hmm?”
“Would you be upset if I said I wanted to go back to Brentwood tonight?”
Quiet settled around us, and his expression flickered between emotions too fast for me to name them.
“Are you uncomfortable with the idea of spending the night alone with me?”
“I sleep down the hall from you, so, no. That’s not it. But I do feel guilty for running away like I did. And, even if Fayne is clever enough to figure out where you would’ve taken me, I’m sure she would feel better knowing you and I are safe.” I rested my head against his upper arm. “Can I get a rain check?”
“You don’t have to come back here to humor me, if it’s not your thing.”
“I like spending time with you like this, when it’s just you and me.” The muscles I was using for my pillow drew taut, and I knew I had misstepped and could guess why. “I bet Goldie would too, if you’re willing to open your boys-only club to more girl members.”
The tension in him eased with a swiftness that convinced me I had been right in my hunch.
“I’m willing to consider other applicants.” He lowered his chin. “Though we should probably keep her far away from the Dunkirks, the bear clan I mentioned. Otherwise, she might start preaching her girl boss philosophy to a receptive audience and end up their alpha.”
Zero effort was required to picture her presiding over eager supplicants she would dispatch on odd jobs to grow her empire and expand her rule. And her bank account. Plus, once she realized the Dunkirks would work for Rían’s clothes to continue deterring males, she would strip Rían’s closet bare and pocket all profits of their enterprises.
“We haven’t discussed it, but your guardianship of Goldie isn’t a dealbreaker for me.”
