She paused and tilted her head to consider before nodding. “I am.”
Thank the gods. “I know just the place.”
Evie let me lead her to the best Italian restaurant in my territory.
And just like before, everyone who met her fell in love with her.
My hope was that one day, she’d see me as more than her friend. I never realized the true depth of my feelings for her until Moira called me, and I’d dropped everything to come to her aid. The moment I held her prone body in my arms, I knew the universe had played the greatest, most awful joke I’d ever been the victim of.
I’d somehow fallen in love with someone who belonged to another.
My phone rang laterthat night with a long-overdue video call. I thought about not answering so I could hold on to the high of the entire day, but I knew the asshole wouldn’t give up.
“I expected you to call weeks ago,” I said by way of greeting.
“She’s there, isn’t she?” Caelan snarled into the screen.
Interesting. Everyone in the square that night had seen me carrying Evie away, and yet he wasn’t one hundred percent sure she was with me. Caelan had lost face with his people. Not good. “You look like shit,” I answered.
His face was drawn and haggard, and his normally pristine hair was tousled and messy. The clean-shaven face he usually wore was darkened with at least two weeks’ growth, and he wore a t-shirt with a rip in the neck. Caelan looked like he’d been on a months-long bender.
“Is. She. There.”
“If she is?”
He bared his teeth. “Do not fuck with me, Rowan. Your actions are tantamount to war, and you know it!”
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. “We both know you’re full of shit. Everyone knows Evie isn’t your mate.”
“She’s my godsdamned fiancée!” The sound of wood snapping under his fingers was like a gunshot.
“No,” I reminded him. “She’s not that either.”
Caelan closed his eyes, but not before I saw them flash with gold. He was more furious than I’d ever seen him.
“Is this how it will be?” Caelan asked quietly. “Have you finally stolen Evie from me? Is she warming your bed? We both know you’ve wanted her from the moment you laid eyes on her. Has your dream finally come true? Have you stabbed me in the back?”
I calmed my rising temper and drew on the one thing that had always saved me. Charm.
“That’s a lot of questions at once, Caelan. Too many for this tiny brain to compute. Give me a moment, and I’ll sort through them.”
Caelan’s nostrils flared.
“First, I’ve stolen nothing, not that Evie is a thing or up for stealing.” I rolled my eyes. “No one is currently warming my bed, though I don’t know what business that is of yours, and no one has stabbed you in the back other than yourself.”
“Goddamn bears,” Caelan said and sighed. His shoulders slumped. “Is she with you?” His voice cracked. “Just answer me. Please.”
He’d find out soon anyway. “She is.”
Caelan closed his eyes. “Is she okay?”
I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Good as one can be when the man they loved shattered their heart, I suppose.”
“I could not help Lugh’s influence,” he snarled.
“You are so full of shit,” I said with a laugh. “We both know magic like that only works because it relies on our own insecurities. Lugh played you like a violin, and you allowed it because you always doubted Evie.” I leaned forward. “You brought this on yourself.”
Caelan’s jaw tightened. “Everyone has doubts in their relationships. It makes us human.”
