I chuckled. “As if it’s not reciprocated…”
His eyes narrowed.
“You promise you won’t tell him?”
He gave a slight shake of his head. “You don’t know me very well, but believe me when I say this. I mean what I say, and I say what I mean. Whatever you tell me will join me in the grave and rot for all eternity with my bones.”
“Not even Fleur?”
He shook his head. “My business is her business, but this is not my business.”
Maybe I was a complete idiot for believing Bastien, but he seemed like a man of his word. “I’ve been trying to keep it together since the beginning, and it’s so fucking hard. Because he’s just too good to be true, and I keep waiting for something to happen. For him to get tired of me…for him to meet someone else on his nightly prowls…for him to wake up and realize there are better fish in the sea. So, my heart is locked up tight, but those bars are bending and snapping, and I don’t have much restraint left.” When I’d told him I was falling for him, I’d almost said something else. “I haven’t had a home or a family in a long time, and he feels like both of those things.”
Bastien continued to stare at me like he really soaked all that in. For a man who policed the criminal underworld, it was like he had the depth to understand such a wordy answer. Then he gave a slow nod. “That’s beautiful. I hope you tell him that one day.” He took a drink from his glass then noticed someone in the crowd who grabbed his attention. “Late as always.”
“You’re lucky I’m here at all, asshole.”
I turned to look at a tall man with a woman on his arm. Dirty-blond hair and light-colored eyes. The details of his body were hidden underneath his tuxedo, but the definition of muscle was distinct. It took a second for the realization to come to me because it started off as dread in my stomach first.
And then it hit me.
Carvel moved to Bastien, and they greeted each other with that one-hand-grip maneuver. Then Carvel turned to look at me, the smile still on his face.
Please don’t remember. Please don’t remember. Please don’t remember.
His smile slowly fell. Deeper and deeper. Until he looked like a ghost.
Shit.
Bastien took a drink from his glass as he glanced back and forth between us. “This is the famous Aliénor.”
Carvel had no reaction. Just stared at me long and hard.
Bastien appeared to catch on to the tension because he said. “You know each other…?”
At that moment, Luca finished up his conversation with a group of men and headed our way.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I wanted to duck out for the bathroom, but the second I left, Carvel would spill all my secrets. And that was not how I wanted to be outed. Without having a defense, without having an explanation, a side to the story.
Luca joined the group. “You’re so late, I hoped you weren’t coming.” He didn’t look at Carvel directly, so he didn’t catch the tension. He moved to me, but when he caught my expression, he must have seen the horror written all over my face. His movements suddenly grew still, and when he put his arm around me, he was so gentle, like he was afraid to touch me.
Carvel continued to stare like he hadn’t heard what Luca said.
I was about to choke on fucking air.
Carvel didn’t play along. Didn’t pretend like he didn’t know me. Seemed as affronted by this meeting as I was.
Luca didn’t ask any questions.
Bastien moved his hand to Carvel’s shoulder. “Come on, I want to introduce you to someone.” He nodded toward the crowd. When Carvel didn’t move with him, he gave him a tug. “And did you try the bacon-wrapped scallops…” Carvel and his date left with Bastien and moved farther into the crowd.
Jesus, Bastien was a fucking godsend. I could cry right now.
Luca remained at my side, his hand still on my back, but the interrogation never began.
To anyone in the crowd, I looked unperturbed, but inside, I was having a fucking panic attack. My heart slammed against my ribs. My palms were so clammy that I would mark my dress if I touched it. All the confidence and joy I’d felt fled the room like someone had left the window open and a breeze came through.
