Page 14 of Edge of Stars

As real as the duel to which my logic has now brazenly challenged my heart.

“I’m sorry. This is all…a lot.”

I know she sees the honesty of my remorse, though not for the apparent reasons. My regret stabs deeper, into the soul that sees the foolishness of trusting her right now. If Operation White Lace and Peace Up fails today, Kara and I will have a room full of fuming deities ready to play the blame game. Mom’s day will be easier if she can look at the guy who put that bracelet on her arm and declare she knew nothing about the plan.

“—imus?”

My head jerks, the gray matter recognizing this likely isn’t Mom’s first summons.

“Sorry,” I mutter again. “I mean it. It’s just—”

“A lot.” She chuckles it out while patting my arm. “Got it. And it’s totally okay.”

“I was actually just thinking…about you and Z.” I run a thumb over her bracelet, knowing she’ll figure out that I’ve snapped together a few facts. “You two have been spending a lot of time together.”

A blush tiptoes onto her cheeks. I smile, relishing the sight. It’s a rare one. When she replies, it’s in a tender murmur. “We’ve had a lot of happy reasons to.”

I form my hand atop hers. “Which is really cool…”

“But?” she fills in with my hesitation.

“I just want to make sure he’s treating you right.” I slide my free hand into her other one, thankful she’s finally ditched the fist. “He can be persuasive. And persistent.”

Her smile widens. “Yes to Box A. And B.”

“Well, he knows you have a life, right? A happy one? He’s not guilting you into dates or anything? Giving you the whole let me sweep you away to our private villa speech?”

“Yes to those boxes too,” she supplies. “But breathe, baby. And give your mom a little credit. I’m not the starry-eyed missy he first seduced. Slowly but surely, he’s learning that. And getting used to it.” When she glances up and notices my stubborn skepticism, she jogs her chin and adds, “He even went with me to weeding-and-wine at the neighborhood garden last week.”

I’m ready to scoff, but it’s impossible. “That’s so random, I can’t even call bullshit on it.”

“He even flirted with Mrs. Worthington from your building. And he’s likely out there doing it again now.”

“Why don’t we all go see for ourselves?”

The new contributor to our conversation isn’t one I expected. Since we’ve passed the ten-minute mark on delaying the ceremony, I’ve been watching out for my best man to roll in at any second, deftly flinging his version of a fidget spinner.

But instead of Jesse in his wheelchair with the elastic hand snapper, we’ve got Rerek Horne in a shiny vintage suit, wielding a smirk on his lips and a sharp pique in his eyes.

“Horne.” I walk over and shake his hand. “Good to see you. It’s been a while.” By a while, I mean a few hours ago at his place up in Malibu, but Mom still believes what the rest of the world does—that Kara and I have been bunking at Terranea for the last three weeks. “Let me introduce you to my mother, Nancy Kane. And Mom, this is—”

“Oh, I already know.”

“You do?” Rerek and I spurt it with matching bewilderment. Not the fun and quixotic kind. We’re a kinship of disquiet, wondering how far she’s lifted the curtain of our ruse. More vitally, how much she’s allowed Zeus to peek in.

“Wow. It’s a real honor.” She gushes through all five pumps of her handshake with the demon. “Your Paris Fashion Week looks were amazing. But not as awesome as your appearances on Flounce.”

I dip a tight frown. “What the hell is Flounce?”

“It was my favorite part of the show, seeing what you’d wear for the elimination round,” she goes on. “When you walked on set, it was like the chaos just got started!”

Though I’m still putting pieces together, at least Rerek regains his urbane composure. “Well then, I accomplished the mission.” But all too fast, his smirk gives way to a new hit of his palpable tension. “Which regrettably, isn’t this mission.” He turns fully to me, cocking an eyebrow like the thing is tethered to his slicked-back hairline. “If I don’t return to the sanctuary with our handsome groom in tow, Veronica Valari will be feeding valuable parts of my anatomy to a pod of orcas inside the hour.”

“Relax,” Mom exhorts, patting his burgundy satin lapel. “We’ll make it happen. But FYI, the transient orcas are usually only around these waters in springtime.”

“Not if they’ve arrived as part of Poseidon’s envoy.”

The demon is a complete gentleman about it, compassionate to the point of sweet, though it’s not exactly something Mom hears every day. Not as a complete truth, anyway.