Page 85 of A Barista's Guide to Love & Larceny
“Likewise,” Mr. Gianakos said, though he seemed to be looking everywhere but at her, restless to move on and greet the rest of his constituents. Dr. Virtanen, however, was not ready to release him.
“Where’s your son this evening?” he asked. “Such an important occasion, I would have expected a family show of force.”
“Ah, yes,” said Mr. Gianakos. “And we would have liked to present a united front, but regrettably, Kass—”
“Made it just in time!”
Everyone turned to look, Dani’s heart pausing its operations. The world seemed to tilt toward her from all sides, a house of cards crumpling inward, as Kass came jogging up from behind his family, a smile on his face.
“Hi,” he said breathlessly to the group. “So sorry I’m late.”
Thirty-One
Kass.
Dani hadn’t expected him to be here. He wasn’tsupposedto be here. She wasn’t ready to face him, having no idea what he thought of her at this point, or whether he’d even bothered to open the message she’d sent him over a week ago.
But here he was: real and solid before her, touchable and yet so far out of reach. His gaze skimmed from his father to Dr. Rodriguez then to Dr. Virtanen before it inevitably, resoundingly landed on Dani. She had the distinct feeling that she’d brought this upon herself by wishing he could see her in her gown, but now that they were here, Dani wanted nothing more than for a hole to open up at her feet so she could plummet deep into the earth until she landed in its core and was consumed wholly by lava. Yeah, lava sounded good.
But it seemed a reprieve of a molten nature was not in the cards. “Lukas,” said his father, moving aside so Kass could slide in between him and Dr. Rodriguez, completing the family portrait. “What a happy surprise. But I thought we had established you had more important places to be tonight?”
He was doing a poor job of hiding his displeasure at the sudden appearance of his son—Dani saw it in shades of reddish brown, like rust flaking from old metal.
“Yes,” Dr. Rodriguez added, with a Miss Congeniality smile. “To what do we owe this unexpected honor?”
But Kass’s eyes were still on Dani, his expression unreadable, and a terrible thought struck her in that moment of scrutiny: Maybe Kasshadread her letter, guessed that she’d be attending the gala, and he’d come here specifically to expose her in front of his family. Maybe he was about to tell Dr. Rodriguez and Mr. Gianakos exactly what she’d been up to and put a stop to it here and now in a grand show of familial loyalty. She locked eyes with him, trying wordlessly to communicate a thousand things, like all the regret and self-loathing she’d cultivated in the two weeks since they’d last seen each other—and a little bit of surrender, too. Her fate was in his hands now.
Go ahead, she thought.Get it over with.If he was going to do this, she wanted him to rip it off like a Band-Aid.
It’s time?Katya said.
No!cried Silva, and Dani realized that she had accidentally sent her thought through the shell to the rest of the group.No, stand down. Miss Lionet, what’s happening?
But Dani didn’t respond, because Kass was opening his mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact of his accusation.
“What are you talking about?” Kass asked, and she knew him well enough to hear the artifice in his agreeable tone. “I wouldn’t dream of missing your big night. Ha, get it? Dream. Man, I’m so proud of this guy.”
She opened her eyes in time to see him slap his father on the back, definitely harder than would be considered friendly. Dr. Rodriguez cleared her throat, her smile losing ground.
“And my sister, of course,” Kass added. “They’re both such hard workers, always forging ahead even when it doesn’t make sense.”
Dani’s mind raced as she tried to figure out what was going on. His words were laden with some hidden meaning, but it wasn’t as a result of her ability. Whatever he was hinting at, his father and Dr. Rodriguez must have understood, because there was a palpable tension in the air, igniting the space between them. It was almost awkward to witness, like going to a friend’s house and seeing themfight with their parents. Dani didn’t know whether to keep watching or to look away.
Dr. Virtanen was picking up on the vibe, too. “The Gianakos name is certainly one I associate with endurance,” he said cautiously. “I’ve always looked to you as a paragon of business acuity myself, Lukas.”
No one was paying attention to him. Kass stepped just in front of his father, forcing the man to look at him. Kass was a few inches shorter, but a powerful intention was rolling off him in waves. He had come to the gala todosomething—Dani just wasn’t sure what. She barely caught what Kass said next, his voice low and urgent.
“Dad. I need to talk to you. Can we step aside for a minute?”
“Nonsense,” Mr. Gianakos said at full volume. “Our presentation is only twenty minutes away. Whatever you want to discuss can wait.”
“No, it really can’t.”
“Well, I’d best be off,” Dr. Virtanen said, taking the obvious cue. “I have to get my head on straight before I get on stage. Wonderful to see you, as always, Luke—and Dani, I hope we’ll cross paths again later?”
“Uh,” Dani said, blinking. Kass glanced at her, his brow furrowed, and unless she was reading too much into it, that look on his face was jealousy. She didn’t want to answer Dr. Virtanen’s question directly, but he was clearly waiting for a reply before he would leave her side, so she just said, “Good luck.”
“Gods, that guy’s such a tool,” Kass muttered once Dr. Virtanen was out of sight.
