Addison takes a handful of the tomatoes and layers them on top of the cheese. “You do make a handsome couple.”
“We are not a couple. I only brought him because I helped him make a huge breakthrough in an invention. He wanted to celebrate, but you’d invited us to this, so I invited him to come. End of story. Would everyone stop acting like it’s such a big deal,” I announce, thwacking the knife on the cutting board.
“Touchy, touchy,” Nana whispers.
Addison nods toward the kitchen window. “They do look comfortable, don’t the three of them?”
Outside, Devlin’s with Feylin and my dad. The three are holding sweating beers and standing by the grill. It’s about as suburban a picture as you can get for magicals.
And as much as I hate to admit it, Addison’s right. They do look very, very comfortable.
“Come on,” my sister says, pulling my attention from the window. “Help me make a green salad. And Nana, if you’re not in here to help, go outside and make yourself busy.”
“I know when I’m not wanted,” my grandmother mutters as she slinks through the wall.
Addison just rolls her eyes, and we share a laugh.
After helpingAddison in the kitchen, I head outside, where Devlin sees me. He strides over, slips his hand down mine, which makes fireworks explode on my skin, and whispers in my ear, “Why don’t we explore the grounds?”
“But dinner’s about to be served.”
“We won’t go far,” he promises, dragging me off.
It’s impossible not to giggle as we walk through the hedges. He asks me what I’ve been doing these past ten years besides working, and I don’t have an answer for him. He tells me whathe’sbeen doing, which is impressive enough to make me want to hide under a rock, but he also admits that his life has been lonely.
“But I do have my grandmother,” he says.
Her words about his uncle bounce around in my head, and my heart aches for him. Since he hasn’t said anything about what happened, it doesn’t feel right for me tell him that I know. So I stay silent.
While we walk, he holds my hand, entwining his fingers through mine. It’s a rush, this jittery feeling that’s inside me, and I don’t know what any of it means.
But I also don’t pull my hand away, because even though my chest is exploding with butterflies, dragonflies and small birds, this feels right.
Okay, so Idoknow what it means, but I don’t know whatwemean. I’ve told him already that kissing him was a mistake (and it was, right?) but I’m letting him hold my hand and relishing his warmth, this feeling of bliss. It could all be fake. It could all be temporary, but right now I’m soaking it up.
“It’s a beautiful evening,” he says.
“It is. So beautiful. And a great view.”
He stares at me, and I feel a blush creep across my cheeks. “It is beautiful.” Somehow I don’t think he’s talking about Feylin’s garden. He points to a tall hedge. “What’s that?”
“A maze. Do you want to do it?”
“Yeah. I’d love to get lost in a maze with you. No telling what kind of trouble we could get up to.”
“Devlin—”
“What?” He turns to me and stops. “What? What is so bad about going into a maze with me?”
My heart squeezes so hard that my entire chest cavity hurts. That’s when the fear hits me. Fear that the past will repeat itself, fear that none of this is real. But it is, isn’t it?
I’m simply not ready to take the leap to find out. “It’s just…we’ve been here before, and you…”
He nods. “I get it. You’re right. Maybe it’s for the best if we remain friends.”
“Friends who hold hands?”
“You caught me.” He stares at me a moment, his eyes searching mine for something. “Listen, Blair, there’s something you need to know.” His gaze drops to my hand, and he runs his thumb over my knuckles.
