“Really?” It came out as a shocked squeak.
“Do you always need this much reassurance or are you just fishing for compliments?” he asked. I was speechless for a second,but then he flashed me a giant sharp-toothed grin. “Oh, you absolute sweetheart. I’m joking.” He patted my arm with one of his tentacles.
I laughed awkwardly. “You scared me there for a second.”
“I mean it, though. I’m not sure how much he’s told you, but Atlas went through a lot in his last relationship.”
“He’s said a few things, but it’s mainly what hehasn’tsaid, what I’ve noticed, that’s concerned me.” The distorted body image, lack of confidence. All of those were scars left over from his ex.
Fucking bitch.
“She was awful,” Cyrus said. “Royally fucked his self-esteem, and she never wanted to spend any time around us—his closest friends. For a wolven who demanded everything from him, she didn’t give him shit in return. I’ll tell you—” He paused for a second. “Shit. I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place to share any of that with you.”
“It’s okay. I mean, I figured as much.”
“It’s just so bloody nice to know that he’s found someone who meets him where he is. You like him for him, and not what he can do for you. He’s the salt of the earth, that one. A real catch.”
“I think so, too,” I agreed. He was sweet and silly. Considerate. Handsome. He was an absolute catch, and I was lucky to have him.
“Everything all right in here?” Atlas asked, sliding his palm along the small of my back. I loved that he was checking in, but I was more than okay. Atlas’s friends were so easy to be around—Fallon included.
“Everything’s great,” I said. “I was just helping Cyrus with the charcuterie board.”
“Was Cyrus telling you what an insufferable idiot I was in college?” he asked.
“All he did was sing your praises, actually.”
“Aw, Cy,” Atlas said, looking at Cyrus with puppy-dog eyes. “You really do love me.”
“How could you not?” I said it like loving Atlas was second nature, then quickly snapped my mouth shut once I realized what just came out of it.
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and Cyrus gave me a knowing grin.
“Yeah,” he said slyly. “How could you not?”
Thirty-One
Atlas
“I had a lot offun tonight,” Tegan said when I pulled the truck to a stop in front of her home.
“I’m glad you had a good time.”
I was ecstatic that my friends liked her, and it seemed mutual on her end.
“Are you coming inside?” she asked, staring at me expectantly.
I swallowed hard, remembering our conversation from earlier. “I’d love to.”
Tegan was already out of the truck by the time I scrambled over to her side. We stepped onto her front porch, and I held the screen door open for her while she unlocked the front door.
She flicked on a light in the foyer, and I followed her inside.
The interior of the cottage was just as cute as the outside, warm and cozy with mismatched furniture. It was clear it hadn’t been updated, but I loved the lived-in feel rather than the coldness of my new construction. The cottage had character. Good bones.
“Make yourself at home,” she said, setting her keys and purse on the coffee table. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Some water would be great.”
