“She went on this journey to find what makes her ‘exceptional.’ She tried all kinds of hobbies and was actually really amazingat photography, but it broke her. So she did a TED Talk where she explains what it really means to be ‘exceptional’ and how she found that balance in her life.” I shake my head. “Super inspirational. I loved her story.”
“Interesting. I’ll have to check it out.” Ryder pulls his phone out of his pocket and starts typing Emma’s name into the search engine.
“I’ll have to introduce you to Garen next week,” Aram says, his back to us. “I don’t think he has a girlfriend.” He turns and winks at me over his shoulder.
Ryder slams his phone on the table, making me jump and Aram furrow his brow. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ryder says firmly.
“Mmmkay…why?” I ask.
“It’s just…” Ryder looks at me, then back at Aram, and his eyes narrow. “I just think that maybe you don’t need to meet people who…you know…aren’t from Brookhaven.”
“Uh huh,” I say, unconvinced.
“And you don’t need to get into any kind of, you know, romantic relationship right now.”
My eyebrows shoot all the way up my forehead. I catch a glimpse of Aram’s wide eyes and smirk as he turns back to the grill. “I don’t think you need to be worried about my romantic relationships,” I say to Ryder in a furious whisper.
“I’m notworried,” he retorts. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“How about you stick to your lane?” I say. “Protecting me from actual danger and all that. I can handle the rest.”
He huffs and stands. “I’ll wait outside for you to finish.” He pushes his chair in with a loud scratch and storms out of the restaurant.
What in the world wasthat?
“I haven’t seen a man that jealous in a long time,” Aram muses.
“What?” I ask.
He turns and faces me, pointing at the door. “That man isjealous.”
“No, no,” I reply quickly. “He’s not… We’re not…”
Aram snorts. “You can tell yourself whatever you’d like.” He turns back to the grill and grabs a skewer, sliding the meat off the stick and onto my plate with a piece of pita. “Eat. You’re too skinny.”
I chuckle and make myself a little sandwich, but I don’t take a bite until I look outside and catch one more glimpse of Ryder standing with his back to the restaurant, hands clasped behind his back.
Could Aram be right?
Is he…jealous?
CHAPTER 31
Ryder
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN — NOCTURNE NO. 1 IN C MINOR, OP. 48
Lily’s in a bad mood.
I can tell how she’s feeling by the type of music she plays. Most nights, except for the first night, she’s been playing slow, beautiful, calming music.
Not tonight.
Tonight, she bangs on the keys, angry notes bursting from the piano on stage.
She wouldn’t say much as we walked from Aram’s restaurant to the theater, just marched to the entrance and waited for me to open the door.
I keep thinking about what happened. How I let go of my self-control when Aram mentioned his nephew as a potential…what? Date? Boyfriend? I don’t even know where he was going with the idea, but it was enough to make my blood boil. I felt myself turn into full caveman mode.
