Page 42 of His to Keep
So, I do what I do best and blow shit up. “Oh, yes, do tell, Princess.” I shoot her an exaggerated wink, hoping like hell she knows all the shit I’m about to spew is just that—shit. “Yeah, Scar, tell us about your secret admirer.”
“Oh, um.” She licks her lips. “It’s actually been pretty quiet.” She glances down at her plate. “No new notes or anything.”
She’s fucking lying. Her refusal to make eye contact with literally anyone is a dead giveaway. Guess we’ll be talking later, because I know I was clear when I told her to keep me in the loop.
“Makes sense.” I hum under my breath. “Must’ve lost interest.”
Nora makes a small noise of outrage while Atlas simply glares, but I don’t miss the shit-eating grin he tries to cover with a yawn. He’s absolutely thinking the same thing as me—well, the same as me, had I not seen it with my own eyes—there’s no way in hell anyone in their right mind is leaving her love notes.
A pang of hurt flashes across her face. “Because not even a creep-o stalker could want me, right?”
“Your words, not mine,” I say, leaning back in my chair.
“Wait,” Nora says, leaning toward Scarlet. “What do you mean by stalker?”
Scarlet starts to reply, but I cut her off. “You know how your girl here loves to exaggerate.”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Scarlet hisses, sounding as menacing as a pissed off kitten.
“Can’t you two be nice for once?” Nora asks, spearing some green beans onto her fork.
“I’m not the problem.” Scarlet cuts her eyes my way, silently but clearly insinuating that I am.
“I’m just saying what we’re all thinking, Princess.”
“You don’t speak for me, Ellis Wilder.” Nora pins me with a steely glare. “I, for one, think Scar’s a catch. Any man—or woman—would be lucky to have her.”
“Kind of feeling like maybe you don’t know what lucky means, Nora,” I quip back, shooting for playful.
But judging by the glare pointed my way, it was a swing and a miss.
“I’m well aware of what the word lucky means, Ellis Wilder. I’ve been to hell and back and lived to tell the tale. You’d do well to remember that.” Nora shoves back from the table and takes off toward her bedroom.
“Such a jackass,” Scarlet mutters, hot on her heels.
I turn to Atlas, only to find him with his brows lowered, lips tight, and arms crossed. “You know how out of line you have to be for me to agree with Scarlet?” he asks through gritted teeth.
“Fuck.” I shove a hand through my hair. “I didn’t mean?—”
“I know you didn’t, man. Just like I know Scarlet gets under your skin. But maybe try to leave my fiancée out of y’all’s bullshit?”
“Yeah.” I easily nod my head. “You got it.”
“Good.”
We fall silent, both picking at our plates, as James squishes noodles and shoves green beans into his mouth. The kid’s making one helluva mess, but if I’m being honest, I think the one I created tonight might be bigger. Which really fucking sucks, because I was only trying to help.
When Scarlet and Nora come back into the dining room, I jump out of my seat and rush to apologize. “Nora, I’m so fucking sorry. I was careless with my words. I know exactly how strong you are and?—”
She holds up a hand to stop me. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it, Ellis.”
“Anything else you’d like to add?” Scarlet asks.
The answer’s yes. I want to apologize to her, to explain, but now’s not the time or the place—not if we want to keep a low profile.
So, I throw a little more gas on the fire. “Nope.” I rock back on my heels. “That pretty much covered it.”
“Right.” She nods. “Of course it did. You know what,” she says turning to Nora. “I don’t think I have dessert in me tonight.”
