A single sentence had caused Velario to charge around the desk to get to her. He had to believe she could do this. But did he trust her?
She watched him struggle with his response and realized trust had nothing to do with his hesitation. He was holding himself back physically. She had to decide: trust or hold back?
Reyn closed the distance between them and placed one hand on his chest. “Relax. I’ll only flirt with him a little. It won’t take much to get him bragging.”
Velario’s hands clamped down on her hips. He wasn’t hurting her—far from it—but it was not a gentle grip, either. “I don’t think Enzi handles rejection well, Reyn. You may only plan on a little flirting, but he might not listen if you say no.”
He wasn’t just jealous. He was worried.
“Then I guess you’d better be nearby to ride to the rescue if needed.”
Velario’s eyes widened. “You’ll do this with me lurking nearby?”
“It’s probably better that way, even without the worry over Enzi’s inability to handle rejection. If you hear him implicate himself, things will go smoother, I suspect.”
“We may need more witnesses if we really want to ensure he can’t talk his way out of anything.”
Reyn nodded. Velario’s word against Enzi’s would be a tough call, and her input wouldn’t sway people unless she used her magic. “What if we arrange things to happen at the Geratisi’s ball? You and I can have a public fight tomorrow. If I can bump into Enzi the day after that, he’ll jump on the chance to get me alone at the ball that evening. I’m sure Lisca and Khiran would help us set up a place for me to have a ‘private’ conversation with him. They wouldn’t even demand an explanation first.”
“At this point, it is probably better to explain. If we get Lord Geratisi on board, he can bring a few other witnesses. That is, if you are willing to have people besides me watch you flirt Enzi into a confession?”
It hit Reyn in a rush that Velario didn’t doubt she could pull this off. His only hesitations had been over her safety and comfort. She went up on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his in a quick kiss. “I don’t mind.”
She could do this.
