He dipped his head to level his gaze with hers, forcing her to finally face his concern. Guilt swept through her, knowing she couldn’t tell him the truth.
“Don’t tell me thatcabróndared to come within twenty feet of you.” The underlying growl beneath his softly spoken words accompanying a lethal glint in his dark eyes brought her back ramrod straight. She shook her head, forcing a small smile as she rested her hands on his biceps.
“No. I’ve been feeling off. I honestly didn’t sleep well last night and stupid me mixed beer and wine and some creamy dessert drink. I’ve been dealing with stomach upset from myown poor life decisions.” She managed a short laugh despite Brandon’s piercing gaze. He didn’t buy it, and she damn well knew it, but she pushed the narrative because it was the only thing shecoulddo shy of spilling the unbelievable truth. “You should’ve come and saved me from my own self-destructive behavior.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for the next dinner date.” After a few more seconds of soul-deep assessment, Brandon slowly straightened up, slipped his hands from her arms to her face, and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “I worry about you. You’re too strong for your own good. It’s not healthy to keep things bottled up inside. There’ll come a time your shield will buckle and break beneath the weight of conflict. Deflecting isn’t a good way to cope with the past either, Rori.”
I wish I could tell you. God, I wish I could unload this burden with you.
Tight-lipped, she nodded once, curling the corners of her mouth in the semblance of a grin. Brandon sighed and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I know you well enough to know there’s something going on. When you’re ready, I’m here for you, okay?” Rori nodded again, finding grounding in a tight fist around the strap of her bookbag. “I was going to grab a quick bite at the diner before work. Want to join me? May help your stomach.”
Rori motioned to the classroom door. “I’ve got to stick around and ask some questions, then head home. I’m going in early tonight to try and make some extra cash for bills.” She rested a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t we plan for some drinks beachside Friday? Celebrate another week of clinicals and exams in the books. Cassy said something about ladies night or karaoke at the bars. You know she’s always up for a night out.”
“Sounds good. Might need a night out after Friday’s exam.” Brandon glanced around the emptying hallways. When his eyes turned back to her, they softened. He playfully tapped her nose. “If you need anything, I’m always here.”
“I know.” She started back to the classroom. “See you at work.”
“Always,querida.”
Rori reached up and gingerly touched her forehead where Brandon had rested his kiss as she returned to the classroom. It wasn’t the first time he’d made the gesture, but for some reason, today it felt different. His kiss, as tender as it was, possessed more meaning, more emotion, more inclination. There was an extra whisper of hope, a layer of protection, an implication of promise. A subtle nudge, maybe a test, to see if she might be willing to give him a chance in the way he sought.
Or maybe, just maybe, it washerwishful thinking that his kiss could wash away the happenings of the night before. That a simple, friendly kiss could ground her back in her old reality from a mere twenty-four hours earlier.
Twenty minutes later, the automatic sliding doors opened to the humidity of the late fall, greeting her with a blast of hot, sticky air. The Florida sun cast its unbearable rays down from a cloudless blue sky. Heat waves snaked off the pavement, distorting the distant parking lot beneath the sweltering mirage. She squinted against the blinding sunlight, cupping a hand over her eyes as she fished out a pair of sunglasses from her purse and slipped them on. After three years of living in this state—a pact she and Cassy had made after high school graduation and months of traveling until they decided to set down roots here—she still couldn’t get used to the weather. For one, her pale skin from her Irish roots didn’t befriend the sun like Cassy or Brandon’s did. The closest to tan she gotwas roasted tomato, a measure of well-done she never cared to experience after the first time.
Brandon’s Hispanic roots gave him a skin tone she envied. The man could tan like it was nobody’s business, and he wore the sun’s splash of color utterly well.Brandon. Her trustworthy friend who didn’t take pleasure in blades and murder plots. Her dear friend who came to her at the drop of a dime in her darkest times. A wholesome heart with a handsome face and a tender touch. So what if his hair was the color of raven feathers and his eyes dark brown. So what if his skin was kissed by the sun and he decided to paint his upper arms in tattoos.
So what if he wasn’t as perfect as Thaddeus, with eyes that held so many different hues of icy blue, hair with more shades of white-gold than she thought possible, skin like marble, both hard and impeccable.
Magic wasn’t the only no-go on her list of things she wanted in a man.
Entirely engrossed in her thoughts, she came up short a space away from her car. Her heart hammered unnervingly, her stomach flipping when she realized who leaned against her trunk. Had she been paying attention, she would’ve seen her surprise guest before she made it to the parking lot and perhaps avoided this confrontation.
Cael pushed off her car and waved, a bright smile playing over his mouth. A smile that insinuated there was nothing wrong with the fact that he still had that strange, albeit beautiful, golden hair and very pointy ears. She knew in her heart that the smidgen of hope she held that his dark sunglasses hid brown eyes was lost with logic. If the rest of him retained the changes from the night before, so did his eyes.
Which meant Thaddeus was real.
Oh, the logic. How ironic.
“Hey, Rori. Figured I’d try and catch up with you after class.” He closed the gap between them and eased her bookbag off her shoulder. Her stunned mind didn’t quite follow what was happening until he slung the bag over his own shoulder and nodded toward her car. “Hope you don’t mind?”
“I, uh, well…”
He chuckled and, with a hand against her lower back, guided her to her car. “It’s okay. I’m sure you’re still trying to process everything.”
Rori stiffened, stopping a few steps from her car, and shrugged off his hand. “I’m sorry, butwhyare you here?”
Cael twisted, pausing to look back at her. Through his sunglasses, she sensed the moment his eyes leveled with hers as soothing calm filled her mind and warmed her muscles. Whether it was magic or not, she appreciated the natural anxiety remedy. Whatever the story was with Cael, he had never treated her wrong. Or that she was aware of, given his knack for conveniently making people forget things they shouldn’t witness. As his girlfriend’s best friend, he was inclusive, thoughtful, and when shit went down with Rich, he was there alongside Cassy and Brandon, helping her escape and providing her with the protection she needed until things cooled down.
Her misguided anger and caution toward him, that sense of betrayal, was entirely out of line. Had he meant her any harm, he’d had plenty of opportunities to do so before last night.
He protected you against his brother.
Yes. Yes, he did. Looking at him now, she couldn’t find a hint of danger or threat in his demeanor. Despite the change in appearance, he remained the same familiar man she’d known for the last year.
“Does Cassy know you’re meeting up with me?” Rori groaned and rubbed two fingers against her temple. “God, does Cassy evenknowabout you?”
