“She’s in the back living room.” Henry’s eyes dip to Xave and my joined hands, but he quickly lifts them.
“This is Xave,” I tell him. “My boyfriend.”
“Hi,” Xave greets.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Henry says, and there’s genuine warmth both in his eyes and his tone. “Will you or your friends need anything?”
“No, thanks. Are you almost done for the night?”
Henry and most of the staff are usually gone by this time, and I don’t like the idea of having too many witnesses around right now.
“I was just leaving. Unless you need something?”
“No, we’re good. Enjoy your night.”
“You too, and it’s nice to see you again.”
“You too, Henry.” I glance back at Xave’s cousins, who are all standing behind us and looking like a group of supermodel enforcers. “It’s this way.”
They follow me as I lead them through the house and to the back living room, which used to be the girls’ playroom and is now a media room where they watch movies.
“Kait?” I call when we reach the closed door.
“Damon?” she calls back.
“Are you decent?” I ask loudly. “I have some friends with me.”
There’s a pause. “Yeah, come in.”
I push open the door and find her sitting on one of the couches in a pair of leggings, a tank top, and a cardigan.
She looks between the group of us, her eyes flicking to mine and Xave’s joined hands a few times as her expression goes from shocked to curious to weary before landing on welcoming.
“Hi,” she greets and pulls her sweater around her a little tighter. “This is a surprise. I didn’t know you had, I mean, were bringing friends.”
“Like I said earlier, it was a last-minute thing,” I say, ignoring her little slipup.
“Do you want to sit?” She motions to the many couches and chairs around. “Or maybe you want to grab something to eat? Marta’s already gone home for the night, but you’re welcome to raid the fridge and pantry if you guys are hungry.”
“We’re good.” I glance at the guys behind me. “Want to grab a seat?”
The four of them sit on the nearest sofa, and I bring Xave over to sit on the loveseat closest to where she’s sitting.
She looks between me and Xave expectantly as we sit down, and I can practically see the question marks in her eyes.
“This is Xave,” I tell her. “My boyfriend.”
Her eyes widen, but she pastes on a smile and leans forward, her hand out. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Kait.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.” He shakes her hand.
“I need to talk to you about something,” I say when she looks at me again. “And it has nothing to do with me and Xave.”
“Okay.” Her expression grows concerned. “Are you okay?”
“No, and that’s the problem.”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
