“If there were more to reveal, I would tell you.” Cassidy linked her arm through her sister-in-law’s. “How bad are my brothers?”
“They’ve been unbearable asses all night. When they saw you walking down the street with him, I thought they were going to tear him apart. I chased them down the stairs to stop Julian from acting like an ass, but once they saw you kissing him, they decided not to become complete, barbaric morons. I think they suspect he might be important to you.”
Cassidy glanced down to find Aida’s eyes twinkling mischievously as she grinned.
“I may or may not suspect the same thing myself,” Aida said.
“You’re so subtle.”
“Always. So, spill! Do we suspect he’s something more?”
Cassidy considered everything that transpired between her and Dante and the way he made her feel. There was no denying he was completely different from any other guy she’d ever known, but…
“I don’t know him well,” she said. “He’s a good man.”
Of that, she was certain. No one spent their lives tracking down missing loved ones for people and relentlessly tried to pump life back into someone they didn’t know if they didn’t have a good heart.
“As long as he’s good enough to deserve you,” Aida said.
“He is.”
Aida squeezed her arm and rested her head against Cassidy’s arm. “Good, because you deserve the best.”
Cassidy dropped her head on top of Aida’s and smiled. Not for the first time, she found herself extremely grateful Aida had turned out to be Julian’s mate. Now, not only was her best friend also her sister-in-law, but they had many years to spend together.
Cassidy sighed when they arrived at the top of the stairs and she saw the door to their apartment was open. She felt like she was walking to the guillotine as she and Aida approached the doorway.
She wanted them to like Dante. Her family was her life, and their opinions mattered to her, but she wasn’t sure how they were going to react after they learned what happened tonight. And she couldn’t keep it from them or lie to them about it.
Julian was sitting on the couch when they entered, but Kyle stood in the kitchen with his hands clasped behind his back while he stared out the window. Last year, before Julian moved in with them, the couch and TV were the only newer things they owned.
Now that Julian was helping to pay the bills, they’d upgraded the kitchen table to a pretty oak one with matching chairs. A trunk that slid open to reveal the video games Julian and Kyle stashed inside had replaced their battered coffee table. A larger TV hung on the wall above a new entertainment center.
Cassidy closed the door behind her and waited for the barrage of questions to start, but no one spoke.
“So, how was your night?” she asked to break the silence.
“I’m guessing it was a lot less interesting than yours,” Julian replied.
“I bet it was,” she agreed. Then she took a deep breath and focused on Kyle. “You can never go back to Lavender Moon.”
Kyle turned to face her. “Whatdid you do?”
“I tried to help.” And with that, she filled them in on most of the details of her night.
She left out what she’d learned about Dante and his sister, but she told them almost everything else. Dante’s story was his own to reveal, and if he decided to share it with her brothers one day, then so be it. Until then, it wasn’t any of their business.
Kyle and Julian weren’t happy she went with him to a vamp bar, but they didn’t harass her too much about it. She suspected the nervous looks they kept exchanging with each other had something to do with that.
“Do you think he’s your mate?” Kyle asked when she finished her story.
Cassidy walked over and collapsed onto the couch. Aida strolled over to sit on Julian’s lap and draped her arms around his neck.
“I don’t know,” Cassidy said.
“But you think there’s something different about him,” Julian stated.
“I do.”
