Her laugh came louder, brighter. “The males don’t have to get color. Some just have their nails cleaned and shaped. Some even get massages for their hands and feet while they relax.”
I arched a brow. “Massages, hmm?”
She nodded, eyes bright. “Hot water, oils, scrubs. The female who told me about them said it feels like the world melts away for a little while.”
The way she said it made my chest tighten. There was a wistfulness there, threaded through her smile. Like she could already feel what it might be like.
I shifted closer, running my thumb over the back of her hand, tracing the crystals of her bracelet. “Then we’ll make it happen. Whatever you want, Lolli.”
She hesitated, her gaze drifting away for a few beats. When she looked back, her voice was softer. “Maybe . . . maybe Everly would like to go too.” She drew in her bottom lip, her gaze now on her lap. “And maybe Teddy and her girls, if they want to.”
The image hit me like sunlight breaking through clouds; Finley surrounded by the people I loved most. She wanted to include them.
A slow grin pulled at my lips. “Would you rather make this a girls’ day? They do that a few times a month with mimosas and music while the males and I watch the younglings.”
“No, no,” she rushed out, gripping my hand tighter. “I want you there. Maybe eventually a girls’ day if . . . if they like me.”
A low, dangerous growl rose from my chest, cutting through the night. “Finley,” I rasped, voice raw. “I’d choose you over them. Every time.”
Her eyes widened, but she loosened her grasp on my hand.
“If you want me there,” I added more gently. “I’ll be there. I’ll even talk Elias and the others into coming. Can you imagine Alastor with fancy nails?” I paused to take in her laugh. “We’ll make a day of it. Would you want Etienne there, too?”
Her breath caught, and I wondered if her mind went back to that quiet, painful confession from days ago, that she’d felt like she was abandoning him.
“Yeah,” she said softly.
“Then we’ll make sure he’s there too.”
I tapped the list she still held. “Come on, let’s see what other trouble you have planned for us.”
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
FINLEY
Warm steam curledfrom the wooden bowl on my lap, carrying the scent of fish stew. It was a dish the people of Vistos made often and one I’d miss when we eventually went back home, after our mission was complete, although I still wasn’t sure how we’d do it.
Just yesterday, Alastor had finally been strong enough to sit upright, propped against a mountain of pillows that Javier now fussed over like a first-time mama.
This had become our new routine. Meals in Alastor’s tent, which he now shared with Javier since the day Alastor had fainted. Several times each day, the five of us gathered on the rugs Willow had given us, pretending things were normal.
Almost normal.
Javier hovered close, scolding Alastor if he tried to lift anything heavier than a spoon. The sight pulled a thoughtful smile from me. Mere weeks ago, I would never have pictured myself sitting cross-legged on the ground, laughing with Brenton’s friends while Javier fretted and Alastor endured with that half smirk of his. But Brenton had eased me into his circle so seamlessly, I’d stopped feeling like an intruder days ago.
There was always space beside him. Always a hand brushing against mine. Always a kiss away from reminding me that I, too, belonged. Brenton made sure of it.
“Javier,” Alastor warned, pushing his hand away for the third time this afternoon, “if you try to feed me like a youngling again, I will make your life very inconvenient.”
Javier huffed from his spot next to Alastor. “You’re insufferable,” he muttered.
“I’m the insufferable one,” Alastor mumbled back, deadpan.
The edges of Javier’s lips twitched, suppressing the smile he tried to hide.
“I think you only pretend to hate all this attention,” Everly said through a mouthful of stew. “Gods knows George would love it.”
