He did.
“Of course not,” Misha interjects, his charm cranked up to eleven. “He’s simply impressed by your… unique perspective.”
God I’ve missed their banter.
A mixture of amusement and longing twists in my chest as my gaze meets Oliver’s, who looks like he has to suppress a laugh.
I missedthem.
Fuck.
Amelia lookslike a trapped animal between her brother and this Daniel guy, and it’s absolutely killing me. She’s visibly uncomfortable, but still, a twinge of jealousy rushes through me as I watch Daniel lean in close to whisper in her ear.
This Amelia doesn’t look like our Amelia, and I hate it with a burning passion. They’ve turned her into a fucking doll. A beautiful doll, sure, but a sad one, all porcelain and fragile edges.
Although I’ve got to admit, those stilettos that make her even taller than me? Hot as fuck, and that’s putting it mildly.
Amelia’s father launches into a monologue about Grey being the grandson of Professor Donovan, but I tune him out. Mystomach growls so loudly I’m surprised the whole room can’t hear it, so I grab a little sandwich.
I’m absolutely famished—haven’t eaten a morsel since well before we left Seattle, too worried about Amelia.
Which is so not like me.
But now that I’m close to her again, that I can see she’s at least somewhat fine, my hunger returns with a vengeance.
It’s funny, really. When we’d called Grandpa earlier, he was shocked. He remembers Amelia’s father, too, but not for the reasons her old man might hope. He couldn’t believe such a person could have fathered someone as incredible as Amelia. But he promised he’d dig out his old notes and give it some more thought.
Amelia’s blue eyes meet mine over the table, and there is something more behind the hurt.
Everything will be all right, Bug.
She just jumped to conclusions—partly right ones, mind you—and got a bit lost. But that’s okay. I lose stuff all the time, and I always find them again.
Now that we’ve found her, we can fix this.
We can make it right.
It’s like debugging a complex piece of code. Sometimes, you have to trace back to the source of the problem before you can solve it. We just need to show her that we watched her out of concern, love, and yeah, maybe a little obsession.
But that’s fine, isn’t it?
Love can be a smidge obsessive sometimes. I just hope she can see that, can understand, even if our methods were a bit… unconventional.
But what isn’t unconventional about us?
These tiny sandwiches are a joke.
Without hesitation, I reach for another, then another, piling my plate high with delicate pastries and finger foods. The spreadlooks impressive, but it’s all style over substance. I’m half-tempted to ask if they have any proper food hidden away in the kitchen.
“Misha,” Oliver mutters, giving me a look that screamsbehave yourself.
But I catch Grey’s smirk from the corner of my eye. His expression seems to say,Fuck their posh manners.
I couldn’t agree more.
As I continue to devour the miniature feast before me, I notice Amelia’s mother watching me with narrowed eyes. She’s sizing me up, trying to determine if I’m a threat or an opportunity.
Little does she know, I’m both.
