Page 3 of Edge of Stars

I roll my eyes. “Don’t you ever just want to turn that thing off?”

“Don’t you ever just want to trust me with the whole story?” She cocks her head. “Especially right now?”

I probably could have dealt with her first probe. But the second, offered on a plate of her concern and swimming in a puddle of her affection, is my undoing. In her nose, I’m probably a cheeseburger, large fries, and a triple-thick shake by now. Which I sincerely wish we could take off and go grab for ourselves, this very second. My little sprout, seeming to plug into my yearning, gives it an encouraging wiggle. I answer the sweet thing by rubbing a hand across my stomach.

“It’s okay, little one. It’s going to be okay.”

Kell walks a few steps, frowning down at the long skirt she holds away from her strappy heels. “You sounded the exact same way when you told Veronica you like this color combination.”

“But I do.”

“Kara, it’s weird.”

“It’s different. Dusty rose and gold is kind of trendy…isn’t it?”

Heavy air bursts from between her teeth. “I look like a slab of eighties bathroom granite.”

“But a gorgeous one. The hairpiece gives your eyes a nifty Morticia vibe.”

I’m not lying, but she narrows her smoky-make-upped look anyway.

“You were working on that one, weren’t you? But do we even have time for it?”

I glance over, already conceding that part of the exchange to her. It’s worth it if I succeed in gaining a little more of her trust. Maximus and I could use an extra ally at this point of the day.

No. Not just that.

At this point of the game.

The much larger picture to things.

The risky ruse that he and I are running, in the form of the most prestigious Hollywood wedding of the year.

“Okay. You’re right,” I go ahead and murmur. “Time isn’t exactly an expendable commodity right now.”

“So start talking, and fast,” she counters. “Though for the complete record, I was so damn certain about this.”

“Uhhh…this?” Because feigning confusion is suddenly the easiest buzzer to slam down. Because even if it’s not a hundred percent confusion, my fallback of suspicion is just as effortless.

“This,” she volleys, sticking harder to her conviction. “Whatever is up with the two of you. Don’t bat those big browns either. I’ve known it all day. No, probably since last night. You barely touched your food during the rehearsal dinner.”

I demure, rubbing at my stomach. “It’s called having a demigod baby do the cha-cha on one’s digestive tract.”

“So what’s Maximus’s excuse? We were having the chef’s special cut at mar’sel, and he only ate a couple of bites too. Everyone else thought you were tangling toes in each other’s business under the table, but I wasn’t having it. You two smelled like stress on matching skewers. I said as much to Jaden, but he didn’t bel—”

“Zeus and Hades know I’m pregnant.”

Her rambling stops, making way for her fully dropped jaw. “How?”

“They both think that Hecate might know too. Though if she does, she’s pulled out a really good poker face.”

“Wait. That’s impossible. You and Maximus have been so careful. You even moved into that casita at the Terranea just in case the seedling decided to have a sudden growth spurt. Granted, if you’re going to hole up anywhere, that’s the place to pick…”

I shrug. “Maximus gets frustrated with the Wi-Fi. It’s the sun bouncing off the ocean during the afternoon and how it hits the windows. Sometimes his video connection looks like a bad Star Trek episode.”

“Oh, no.” She drapes a melodramatic hand across her forehead. “Not Professor Hottie getting fantasy cast into Starfleet itself!” She side-eyes me with as much meaning. “Just not a red one, right?”

I roll my eyes. She’s undeterred.