“When the fuck did he tell you that?” Duke’s growl is unmistakable. If it wasn’t obvious before that he had more than a professional interest in me, it is now.
“Within about five minutes of meeting me for some reason,” I say, piling spare ribs and dumplings onto a plate.
“It sounds like Noah needs to go over DeVere’s company policies a little more thoroughly with you. Dating a co-worker is a bigno,” he says, emphasizing the last word.
“You didn’t seem that bothered aboutyourcompany’s policies the other day,” I remind him, jutting out my hip as I face down his scowl. “I’m willing to bet there’s something in there about not–” I seal my mouth shut so fast I almost bite down on my tongue.
Duke’s gaze is smoldering, reflecting the heat of my embarrassment. He’s daring me to finish that sentence. Meanwhile, Maddie and Hunter have abandoned their sparring with each other and have matching grins.
The plate I’m holding teeters and I grasp it in both hands. “If Max isn’t going to join us, he still needs to eat,” I say curtly. Duke’s partner in crime has been our shadow all day and has posted himself outside the main entrance. His devotion to duty gives me the perfect excuse to escape. “I’ll take him this.”
“I’ll come with you,” Maddie says, quickly setting down her plate and grabbing some silverware and a beer from the fridge.
As we leave the kitchen, she gives me a fist-bump. “You and I need to be friends,” she says. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my sisters-in-law.”
“Rory mentioned one of them is pregnant,” I reply as we continue down an oak-paneled corridor.
“That would be Quinn.”
“I love babies,” I say. “Or to be more precise, I love crocheting baby clothes and toys. It helps me relax.”
“Ooh, could you make something for Quinn? I’ve been wondering what to get them and handmade gifts are extra special,” Maddie says as she directs me through a door. “This way’s quicker.”
“I could make a soft toy, maybe a baby griffin?” I suggest. “Oh, but isn’t the baby due soon? I don’t know if I’d be able to finish it in time.”
Maddie guides me through a narrow passageway that staff would have used to move discreetly from room to room. “We’ve still got a couple of months. Would that be long enough?”
“But I thought… From what Rory said, the birth sounded imminent. It’s why we came today. He didn’t think you’d be traveling again for a while.”
When Maddie’s frown matches mine, I connect the dots. The fake urgency was part of Rory’s scheming.
“It’s OK,” I say quickly. “I must have got it wrong.”
Maddie waggles her eyebrows. “It sounds like someone wanted to give you and Duke some alone time out of the city.”
As a Griffin, Maddie will know Duke’s engagement is a sham, but it’s no less embarrassing having yet another person in on the secret relationship Duke and I arenothaving. “It’s not what you think.”
“I’m not thinking anything,” Maddie says with mock innocence as she opens another door and we step into an elegant but sparsely furnished room draped in dust sheets. “I’m just happy to finally meet the girl from Philly.”
“That makes me sound so bad,” I groan.
“Far from it,” Maddie assures me. “You’re practically a legend.”
“A legend?”
Instead of answering, she points to the far end of the room where I see gilded picture frames partly covered in another dust sheet. “The painting I mentioned will be amongst those. Don’t forget to check it out.”
We leave the drawing room and enter the corridor that leads to the main entrance. I can feel a breeze that grows chillier as we approach the foyer.
“So, you and Duke…” Maddie prompts with a knowing smirk.
“There is no me and Duke,” I try. “It’s–”
“If this is where you’re about to tell me it’scomplicated, you should know I’m married to a Griffin,” Maddie says. “They’re the masters at complicated when it comes to relationships. And Duke is a kindred spirit.”
“Honestly, we’re not involved,” I insist.
Our heels echo off marble tiles as we cross the foyer to the main doors that have been left ajar. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it looked like back in the kitchen,” she says, her eyes twinkling beneath the glittering chandelier high above our heads. “And I don’t just mean the part where you were going to describe whatever you guys did in his office.”
