“Caleb tried to tag along. Thankfully, there was an emergency with one of his overseas investments that he had to sort out. He’s still grasping the concept of girl time,” Lex says as she drops her handbag onto the seat beside her and picks up a menu. A gigantic red ruby on her ring finger catches the light, nearly blinding me.
Claire lets out a dramatic gasp before snatching Lex’s hand and practically plastering the glittering jewel in her eye. “What is this?”
“A promise,” Lex says softly, a slight blush dusting her cheeks.
“An engaging kind of promise?” Claire says.
Lex officially started dating one of the city’s most eligible billionaires last month, Caleb Heart. Claire has told me all about how obsessed the guy became with Lex after they had a one-night stand a few months ago. It turned out he had also become an investor for her family’s pub, a few hours south of the city, along with the whiskey distillery her brother, Dylan, had started.
Claire shifts her friend’s hand, putting it right in my face so I can see the new bling too.
“It’s not an engagement ring. Caleb just wanted his intentions known. I don’t know if it’s to reassure me, to prove to everyone else how serious he is, or to show every other man I’m off limits—”
“It’s definitely the last one,” Claire interrupts, making Lex chuckle.
“He also got a tattoo,” Lex adds, taking her hand back.
“A tattoo?” I ask.
Lex rolls her lips together. I can see the grin she’s trying to fight as she looks between us. “My name on his chest.”
My mouth drops. Men actually do that? Caleb sounds absolutely smitten, Lex is positively giddy, and I can’t help but think these bubbling feelings sitting in my stomach might just be a hint of jealousy. Am I jealous? I’ve come to terms with what my life has had to be. It’s a whole lot better than it could have been, even if it means keeping most people at a distance. But still, I wonder what it’s like to be so in love with someone you’d get their name tattooed on your chest. Better yet, what’s it like to be loved by someone who does that.
“Are you kidding me?” Claire huffs. “I’m gonna see if Leif will tattoo my name on himself.”
“I’m sure he would,” Lex says.
“But I want it above his dick,” Claire adds. “And it’ll sayProperty of Claire.”
“I bet you could convince him if you got on your knees and asked real nicely,” I say.
Claire slowly turns her head to me with a wicked gleam in her eyes and a salacious curve to her lips. “Now you’re speaking my language.”
We all head up to the counter to place our food and drink orders, saying a quick hello to a flat-out Liv, before we sit down again.
“I won’t make it to dinner this Wednesday, by the way. I’m driving down to Killara Bay to help Dylan interview new staff for Jed’s so he can start spending more time on the distillery,” Lex says, sipping her iced latte.
“No worries, babe. How is everything going with Legacy Malt?” Claire asks.
That’s the whiskey distillery her brother started. She co-owns both the distillery and their family tavern, but Dylan’s been more hands-on over the last few years while Lex got her business degree in the city.
“It’s good. It’s hard being so far away from Dylan. I had planned on moving back home this year, the two of us slingingshots in Dad’s pub.” Lex smiles as she fiddles with the ring on her finger. “I’m not going to keep working at Hallucinogens once the distillery’s fully functional, but I can’t imagine moving away from Caleb either.” She looks up at me now. “Do you have siblings, Maevyn? I feel like I should know this already.”
She doesn’t realise how complicated that question is. I look at Aurora, sitting at the table beside us.
I swallow down the hurt and anxiety that come whenever I think of my old life. “It’s just me.”
“And you’re from Port Yarra?” Claire asks. “Thyra’s looking at moving there when she and Astrid get back from Sweden,” she says, mentioning her boyfriend’s twin sisters.
“I’ve lived all over Australia,” I answer. The words Royal drilled into me in those first few months echo in my mind.Never give them specifics. Deflect and redirect.
“Are your parents still there?” Lex asks.
The last I heard from Royal, my mother had finally found a rehab clinic that worked for her. She’s been free from under my dad’s thumb for a few years now, while he’s rotting in a jail cell where he belongs.
“They could be.” I shrug. “I tend not to keep track.”
My mind casts me back to that place. The hurt and the fear. The decision that forced me to flee. The night I finally took my life into my own hands and completely derailed others.
