He pointed to the girls, seemingly going in age order, with Liliana being the youngest. She was probably a year or two older than Ginny, with Jiya a year older than her, and Hira looked around Saphira’s age.
“Oh, hi! It’s nice to meet you all,” she said. Basim nodded; he looked a bit stern and serious, very much the eldest child, while the girls looked excited.
“They were just leaving,” Luke said, trying to shove them all out the door. Basim seemed ready to go, but the girls and Farhan all held their ground. Liliana, especially, was looking at Emmeline with wide eyes, like she was meeting a celebrity. Emmeline bit back a smile.
“You should join us!” Liliana said. “We were going to get hot chocolate. We were trying to convince Luke to come along, and I’m sure he’ll join us if you are.” She batted her lashes sweetly in a manner that told Emmeline she was used to getting what she wanted.
Before Emmeline could reply, Luke cut in. “No, I don’t think she wants to,” he said. Emmeline gave him a funny look as Liliana and Jiya exchanged a glance. Hira shook her head at Luke.
“Thanks for the offer,” Emmeline said, “but I should get home and get cleaned up. Have fun!”
“You heard her,” Luke said, pulling open the front door. “See you later!”
As they exited, Emmeline caught Farhan’s gaze lingering on Jiya, and she recalled how Farhan had said chicken pilau was Jiya’s favorite.Hmm.
“Bye!”
“It was nice meeting you!”
“Hope to see you again!”
The girls’ voices tangled together as they all said bye, and Luke all but shoved them out. Once they were gone, he closed the door, leaning against it and releasing a sigh.
“Don’t mind them,” he said. “They’re basically my annoying little sisters.”
Emmeline smiled. They had reminded her of how she and Ginny loved bothering Aiden. “They seem sweet,” she said.
That got a smile out of him. “Yeah, they’re the best.” He paused, thinking of something. “You know how I freaked out about Flint?”
“Yeah,” she replied, confused as to why he was bringing all that awfulness up. He tensed, and she was afraid they would argue again.
“It wasn’t just because he’s part of the gang that runs the races,” he said. “You met Liliana—well, she’s always beenreckless, and when she was hardly eighteen, she went to a party and attracted Flint’s attention. He spiked her drink.”
“Oh my god,” she replied, horrified. Luke clenched his jaw, visibly agonized by the memory.
“She managed to call Farhan to say she wasn’t feeling well, and we got to her in time, but...” He trailed off, shaking.
“That’s horrible,” she said. She understood now why he had reacted the way he had, especially when he saw Flint had given her a drink.
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair, releasing a long breath. “I got into a nasty fight with him and made him swear to stay away from anyone I cared about. It’s what I held him to that day by the lake to get him to stay away from you.”
Her blood roared in her ears, and shame burned through her. She had been so angry with him that day, and he’d only been protecting her.
“I’m someone you care about?” she asked, voice quiet.
He looked at her as if she was silly, a small smile playing on his lips. “Obviously.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks felt warm, and his eyes sparked with amusement. He looked as if he was enjoying this.
She cleared her throat, changing the subject. “The girls seemed nice,” she said. “It would have been fun to hang out.”
“Mm, it could have been,” he said, stepping toward her. “But the thing is, I don’t want to share.”
She blinked. She had always known he was charming and flirty, but it had never had such an effect on her. Before, it had all felt shallow, like a trick, but now, it felt like he meant every word, and that only made her heartbeat quicken.
She’d been given plenty of compliments by men beforebut, for some reason, it felt like it was worth more coming from him. It felt more genuine. She had been awful to him, and yet he was still kind to her, flirting with her, looking at her as if he wanted to devour her.
“Oh,” she replied stupidly.
