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“Stop chewing on your nail.”

Iris jerked her hand away from her mouth. Audrey had been trying to get her to break that nervous habit for the past thirteen years, to no avail.

“What’s going on? How’s everything at home?” Audrey asked.

Iris became aware of her heart beating faster than normal and was grateful Blair wasn’t around to notice. She’d been holding back so much from Audrey. Just then, the pain of keeping it all bottled up felt nothing short of excruciating. She couldn’t imagine how Gabriel had managed it for so long.

But how much could she safely say? She didn't know how to explain what was going on without revealing every knotty, supernatural detail. Then there was the fact that she had promised Gabriel she wouldn’t share his secret. She’d hurt him enough as it was; she was determined to keep that promise.

“I don’t know.” Iris toyed with the silver bracelet Gabriel had given her for Christmas, which rested next to the one he had gifted her on her birthday last April.

“Has Gabriel still been acting distant? How about Blair, how’s he doing? How’s his apothecary stuff coming along?”

Iris smiled at Audrey’s explosion of curiosity. Her inquisitive nature had endeared Iris to her from the moment they’d first met in art club as high school freshmen, back when Iris was the weird new girl who Audrey had taken under her wing like a young fledgling. Audrey had been the one to encourage Iris to embrace her eccentricities. If Iris could waddle before, it was thanks to Audrey that she was now able to fly.

“Gabriel’s okay,” Iris said, which was somewhat true. Now that Blair had revealed more about his identity and reason for finding them, Gabriel seemed to have let go of much of his suspicion. “Blair is fine. For the most part.”

Audrey’s hand, which had been busy circling the rim of her martini glass, stilled. “What does that mean, ‘for the most part’?” She glanced up as Evette and Minnie approached the table and shook her head sharply. Without a word, they turned on their heels and headed back to the bar. Audrey’s shrewd gaze landed back on Iris, who heaved out a heavy sigh.

“We kissed,” she admitted, thinking it was best to just get it out of the way.

“What?” Audrey leaned across the table, her eyes widening in shock. Iris was a little taken aback by this rather extreme reaction. “You and Blair?”

“You knew I had feelings for him,” Iris reminded her.

“But what about Gabriel?”

Her stomach twisted. “What about him?”

Audrey frowned. “He doesn’t mind?”

“We’re—”

“Platonic life partners, I know. But he loves you.”

“And I love him. Why should my kissing Blair change that?”

“I don’t know.” Audrey took a small sip of her drink, her dark brows knit in thought. “Have you talked to Gabriel about it?” she asked, setting down her glass. “Does he even know?”

Iris bit her nail, and Audrey was too distracted to reprimand her. Audrey’s reaction made Iris feel as though she should feel guilty for pursuing something with Blair without discussing it with Gabriel first. But what she and Gabriel had had never gone beyond a deep platonic bond, and even if she had something different with Blair, that would never take away from the depth of affection she held in her heart for Gabriel.

“I think he suspects something is different between me and Blair now,” said Iris. “But I didn’t expressly tell him.”

Audrey looked conflicted. She tapped her nails against her glass, still frowning.

“It’s not like I’m cheating, Audrey,” said Iris defensively. “Gabriel understands that what we have is different. That was something we decided together. Neither of us wanted something romantic.”

Audrey nodded, lost in thought. It was rare, and a little unnerving, for her to be this quiet. “Maybe what you have isn’t romantic, but it’s still so much more than friendship. Have you two ever defined what exactly it means to be platonic life partners? I know I make fun of it sometimes, but I’m being serious. Have you ever discussed, like, if you’re exclusive?”

The answer was a definite no, but Iris was ashamed to admit that. Now that Audrey brought it up, the fact that she and Gabriel had never discussed the confines of their relationship seemed like an enormous oversight. They had merely agreed that neither of them wanted a romantic connection. And Iris had never expected to someday meet someone who might change that.

But Audrey seemed to discern the truth from Iris’ silence. “I just don’t want you to lose him, Iris. Unless you want to. I mean, what you two have is so unique.”

“Of course I don’t want to lose him.” Iris was suddenly sick with anxiety. Gabriel had told her that it was okay with him if she wanted to be with Blair. But if she made that choice, what if he felt he could no longer stand to live in their house, in the home they had built together?

Audrey grinned slyly. “Not that I don’t understand what you see in Blair, obviously.”

“He’s more than a pretty face.”