Why does he look at her? Because he suggested adopting his baby brother and elected her to play mom? She had no interest in being mine back when he found me. Thank Gaea for that.
I glance toward the woman whodidwant me. She must sense my stare because she flashes me a wink before refocusing on Lisa and her baking tips. When Cillian’s name comes up, I list forward a little, straining to listen.
I just catch the tail-end of Lisa saying, “…advised me to swap the sugar for some glucose syrup.Sensationaltip. Says he saw it on TikTok.”
“What can’t your boyfriend do?” Malachi crosses his legs.
“You could watch cooking videos on TikTok too if you wanted,” I say, even though Lisa’s comment has piqued my curiosity.
“Where is he anyway?”
“Working. Besides, family dinner is for family.” Do I stare at Ines meaningfully as I point this out? Absolutely. I’m not above pettiness.
Malachi marks such a long pause that I think I’ve pissed him off, but then he murmurs, “I’m sorry for what I said the other day. I shouldn’t have implied he was using you.”
“It’s fine.” I fling my stare on my dessert plate and the gold floral motif webbing the grass-green porcelain. “Whatever.”
“It’s not fine. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or make you feel bad. I’m just worried, because you’re like a sister to me.”
He grazes my knee. I move it away so fast, I bang it on the underside of the table.
“My concern comes from a place of love.” He continues digging his knife into my open wound.
The only thing I realize is that the man sitting beside me will never love me like I love him. That I could belegit-dating someone, and he wouldn’t give a single jealous fuck.
“Appreciate the apology.” I stand up, my eyeballs stinging like I’m holding them over a pot of boiling water. “On that note, I promised to meet him for drinks.”
I call a cab so no one feels obliged to leave early. As I wait for my ride beyond the property gates, I open my chat with Cillian.
ME:Disregard my last message.
ME:Thanks for offering to help me out, but it’s pointless.
Clinging to what’s left of my pride, I replace “it’s pointless” with “I don’t need your help anymore.” Will he assume I landed Malachi or threw in the towel?
When car beams splash the road, I tuck my phone into the back pocket of my skintight jeans. It isn’t until the vehicle draws near that I realize it isn’t my ride.
Not the one I ordered anyway.
Chapter 12
Cillian
Icruise along the hedge-lined fence of an estate I know too well, its blueprints burned into my memory by years of study. Not only was knowing every facet of the Hadezes’s properties expected of every Holy Hunter, but it was also enforced.
I can still hear my father and Trenton’s dad going back and forth about why the Atlanteans chose those plots. While my father was convinced they sat over more magical sources, Dominic Caruso was betting on secret passages straight to Atlantis. In the end, both theories were debunked.
As I turn into the driveway entrance, I spot a figure standing before the wrought-iron gates. One that develops into the woman I’ve come to see. Has she been waiting outside since she sent me her text message, or did the cameras along the property line alert her to my arrival?
I roll down my window as I slow to a stop. “I drove out here as fast as I could,” I tell her, taking in the splash of color stretched across her breasts. The hue pops against her olive complexion.
She approaches my side of the car like she’s about to take the wheel. From what I’ve seen, there’s no magical fence keepingoutsiders from driving onto the property, so I’m not sure why she’d insist on driving.
But then she stops a foot away, tips her head to the side, and asks, “What are you doing here, Cillian?”
I frown. “What do you mean?” I put the station wagon in park. “You asked me to come.”
She opens her mouth to say something, but snaps it shut when the looming gates grind open and out strolls the asshole Electra is desperately trying to seduce.
