Page 42 of Bad Influence
“I haven’t seen enough of it to know whether I like it or not.”
“If you want, I can be your tour guide,” he offers. “Eve and Lilith will vouch for me.”
I’m taken aback by his offer, and I open my mouth to decline because he might be friends with Eve and Lilith but he’s still a stranger to me. I don’t get the chance to turn down his offer, though.
“That won’t be necessary,” Killian says from behind me. I look at him over my shoulder. He doesn’t even glance at me, his gaze on Wes.
Is he serious? Does my opinion matter so little?
“I can’t spend my days cooped up in the Tower of Exhaustion,” I tell him.
He finally deigns me worthy of eye contact.
“The apartment is not exhausting.” He frowns like he can’t imagine why anyone would say such a thing. The apartment itself isn’t exhausting, except he never leaves it.
“It is when you can’t leave it without someone thinking you’re going to end up on the 5 o’clock news.”
“New York isn’t safe for someone who’s lived a very sheltered life,” he says.
“Why do I think you’re using sheltered to mean stupid?”
We’re both ignoring Wes, though he’s still standing there. There’s a little grin on his face, which makes me wonder if he’s actually enjoying this.
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Caroline,” Killian says in frustration. “Argumentative, definitely. Not everything is a court case and you don’t have to defend yourself.”
I’m overreacting. I can see the words on the tip of his tongue and he stops himself from saying them. Turning, I pick up my glass from where I set it down on a side table. I never learned to fight for myself. What I did learn is to shut myself off from people who clearly don’t appreciate what I have to say.
“Excuse me,” I say to Wes.
“Caroline--”
I don’t wait for whatever Killian wants to say. He can save his apologies because I’m really not interested.
Lilith waves me over and I paste on a polite smile as I walk to her and the group of people she’s with. She introduces me to her friends and the whole time I’m aware of Killian hovering. I don’t look at him.
He can keep his opinions to himself, and I’m going to finally live my life the way I want to.
CHAPTER 13
Killian
“Why didyou have to do that?” I ask Wes.
His eyes are bright behind his glasses as he smiles at me. “Why did you have to lie and say you’re not jealous?”
“I’m not fucking jealous, Wesley.”
I’m grinding my jaw hard enough to crack a molar. What I’m feeling can’t be explained away by simple jealousy. Caroline is too trusting. She blooms like a flower if someone offers her a little attention and she doesn’t wait to see if that person is a complete asshole or not. I don’t want her to get hurt. Maybe there’s some jealousy there, which I don’t have any fucking right to feel.
“It didn’t appear that way to me,” Wes says.
“You barely leave your apartment and computers, I doubt you know anything about human emotions,” I snap.
“Because I’m your best friend and I know what you’re feeling, I’m not going to take offense at that.”
My eyes follow Caroline across the room, laughing at something one of Lilith’s friends says. Her shoulders are set in a rigid line, spine straight. Is this what she’s like with Beckett, or does she allow herself to relax? Does helether relax?
“She’s going to marry my brother,” I tell Wes. I’m alsoreminding myself since I seem to forget it every time she’s around.
