And as Ever moved out of the way to let me up, her hand reaching out for mine, I saw him.
Standing at the door to that huge mansion, which even Nix would be impressed by, Zoltán’s smile grew.
And my heart—stupid thing—smiled right back.
He was in a suit. A blue colour with a dark purple tie, because of course.
Zoltán Farkas was entirely edible.
Maybe I would break first. Maybe I wouldn’t even give him the chance to shut his door before I dropped my dress on the guest room floor.
Oh god,I was going to break first.
I stood, straightened my dress, and, with my hand in Everly’s, we walked up the stone pathway, holding a champagne glass each and ignoring the shot glasses that surrounded the mostly untouched towers.
This was some wild party.
Classical music tinkled from the other side of the house, and even Ever nodded, humming along.
I’d only glanced at her to see if she could see the nervous energy in my body as we approached Zoltán. He was deep in conversation with someone from the team—one of those behind-the-scenes types I’d never clocked, but his eyes kept drifting back to me.
Up. And down.
“Why are they staring?” Everly asked, nudging me.
Luca stood tall. “They’re obviously intimidated by our Ciclati prowess.”
“Only you are Ciclati,” Ever said and rolled her eyes. “I’m technically every team.”
Luca shook his head. “You tell yourself that.”
Everly was right. We were getting a lot of looks — frowns, even mouths open. Maybe my sister and her boyfriend weren’t as welcome as Imre had promised.
My sister downed her glass as we walked past the second champagne tower, swapping it out for a new one. She smiled acidly at the group of women looking at us with distaste, her eyes bright at the conflict.
“So welcoming,” she beamed.
Luca wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead. “Save your battle armour for the big guns. Not the little old ladies.”
She sighed and lay her head on his chest.
My hand slipped from hers.
Zoltán walked towards me —us— with his hands in his pockets like he was the one who owned the place. “Hey, player,” he said, like wewere alone.
I had not been playing hard to get.
“Hey, loser,” I said, trying to hold back my smile.
“I’m going to be the one losing the game tonight, huh?” he frowned as if he was surprised. “Someone’s confident.”
“In this dress? Yes.”
Behind me, Luca said, “They’re flirting, right?”
Everly groaned and, leading Luca, marched towards the house, vanishing behind Zoltán’s large frame.
His expression changed when she left.Had he recognised the dress she was wearing?
