Talon takes the phone, and instead of looking annoyed at the interruption to his night, he answers with an enthusiastic, “Hi Mom!”
Eloise blends in just as seamlessly as her brother, although she has a sharper edge.
Talon isn’t gone as long as she was, and when he returns, he sets a glass in front of me. Tiny bubbles race to the surface of the liquid.
I look up to find Talon already staring down at me. Behind him, a waitress is holding a tray with enough glasses of Prosecco for everyone.
As the rest of the table is busy receiving their drinks, Talon leans down and says, “I noticed you’re the only one who didn’t have a drink, and I wanted to make a toast, but didn’t want to call you out. There’s no pressure to drink it, though. And just so we’re clear, this is acelebratorydrink. Not apitydrink.”
I barely register the words because the warmth of his breath on my neck makes my dick strain against my zipper and blurs the edges of my vision.
“A toast!” Talon says, snapping his attention back to the table far more quickly than I can. Now the only one standing, he easily reaches the center of the table, but his groin is right next to my shoulder.Fuck,I haven’t even had one sip of alcohol yet, and I already want to turn my face into him.
Desire has been missing from my life so long that feeling its presence now physically rocks me, and to my horror, I end up brushing against Talon’s upper thigh. It’s too loud to issue an apology, so instead, I try to move away quickly, putting space between our bodies.
But before I can create any distance, Talon plants his big hand on my opposite shoulder, very casually holding me against himself.
It’s not like I can feel his dick through his pants. It’s a completely benign move as he continues the toast, but it’s waking up things inside of me I thought were too damaged to ever make an appearance again.
“To a successful opening night forThe Truth in the Mirror. May we all have Nathaniel’s courage to examine our lives and love ourselves in spite of what we see and whom we believe ourselves to be.”
Most days, I hate what I see, but maybe it’s time to take some dramatic steps toward changing that.
The hope that courses through me is overwhelming in the best way possible. It’s like being physically close to Talon allows his strength to bleed directly into my veins.
“Well, isn’tthiscozy?”
The veins that were filled with fire only a moment ago now fill with ice as Derek squeezes into our table. Talon tenses beside me. As he takes his seat, he slides his hand to my knee discreetly under the table.
“Derek!” I shriek in surprise, trying my hardest to act like I’m thrilled that he’s here.
He plants a kiss on my temple as he drapes his arm across the back of my chair, making me want to vomit. Mostly because Talon’s hand falls from my knee as Derek’s arm claims me from the seat he wedged next to me on the other side.
“Forgot my invite, did you?” he asks sweetly.
“I wasn’t planning on staying long,” I explain.
He takes a sip of my champagne.
“It’s okay, Buttercup. We can stay as long as you’d like. Tonight’s all about you,” he says loudly enough for everyone to hear. Iloathewhen he calls me Buttercup. It’s so fucking condescending andweak. Why couldn’t he just call mebabyorbabeor even just use my fucking name since he doesn’t actually give a shit about me?
No one at the table can see the way his arm has moved from the back of my chair to my side, where his fingertips are pinching me so hard I have to grind my teeth to avoid grimacing.
It’s a promise of what’s to come, and just like that, the most magical night turns into a nightmare.
Chapter 13
Talon
If I hadn’t already known I hated Derek with a passion, I’d know it now. I can smell his narcissism a mile away. I’m usually better at holding my tongue, but watching him kiss Zeke as if he actually cares about his well-being has me desperate to pick a fight.
“If tonight’s all about him, why weren’t you in the audience?” I ask, taking a casual sip of my Prosecco. It’s a total stab in the dark, but when I saw Zeke walk into the pub without him, I was pretty confident it was because Derek couldn’t be bothered to come show his support. I can’t see the asshole’s face because he’s on Zeke’s other side, but I feel the energy shift at the table.
Eloise must feel it too because she whispers, “What are you doing?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I had somewhere else I needed to be tonight,” Derek answers calmly, his tone dripping with disdain. “Zeke knows I support him. Don’t you?” he asks the man next to me.
I watch as Zeke gives him a very strained, veryfakesmile. “Of course.”
