“Looking for someone in particular?” Hope’s question pulls my focus back to the happy couple.
“Just wondering if I recognize anyone. Though I don’t expect to since I left town pretty much immediately after integration started.”
“I’ve only been in Harmony Glen since last fall, but I know that some of the longtime residents were aware of the local nonhuman population before the revelation. Did you have any connections like that before moving away?”
Definitely not answering that one. “I’m sure Ogram has explained that trolls are very solitary by nature.”
“He has,” she says, nodding. “But he also said you’d always wanted to perform for an audience and weren’t as reclusive as him.”
“On the subject of my brother’s hermitlike tendencies, there are more people here tonight than I expected.” More deflection. One of my specialties. “Am I the only attendee from the groom’s side, or have you dragged my brother out of his antisocial shell and these are all mutual friends?”
“I would never pressure him to be or do something that doesn’t feel true to him,” Hope says, staring up at Ogram with absolute adoration.
A mirror of that emotion lives on my brother’s face. He adjusts position, lowering his head enough to kiss her without relinquishing even a fraction of their body contact. Impressive, given their height difference.
When the kiss lingers, becoming something not meant for an audience, I take it as an opportunity to get the hell out of here. One careful backward step, then another, subtly retreating toward the stairs I shouldn’t have climbed in the first place. At least I didn’t run into?—
“Apologies,” I say as my back connects with a much smaller body and a feminineoofhits my ears.
Without looking, I know who it is. From the brief sample of her voice. From her scent.
If I don’t turn around immediately, she’ll have a chance to go wherever she was heading without coming face-to-face with me.
You’re not considerate, you’re a coward, the voice in my head taunts. It doesn’t laugh, but it might as well.
“Grüsh.” This voice isn’t in my head, and I’d be an asshole to ignore it.
If the shoe fits, my annoying inner voice challenges, this time with a definite chuckle.
“Cate,” I say as I turn. The moment I lay eyes on her, every memory and feeling I’ve worked to repress rushes to the surface. I stuff my hands in my pockets because if I don’t, I’ll reach for her, and I’m not sure I could let her go a second time.
Silence stretches between us. A few seconds that feel like fucking eternity.
Cate draws a deep breath, then her features shift into smile mode. Not the type she used to have while we were together. Those smiles lit up her entire face. This one is dimmer than the bar’s mood lighting. “I didn’t know you’d be here. It’s nice of you to take time out of your schedule for Ogram’s wedding.”
My gut knots at the thought of telling Cate the truth—that I’m only here because Ogram made it nearly impossible to say no. “I’m glad the timing worked out.” I make a head gesture to the area behind me, where I left my brother and his fiancée. “They were happy to see me for all of about one minute, until they started kissing. Pretty sure they stopped caring I was in the room at that point.”
Cate’s soft laugh zings through me like a shot of adrenaline. Then her smile lifts into one more genuine, one that reaches her pretty hazel eyes. “It’s not just you. They’re always like that, no matter who’s around. Fated mates deeply in love. The rest of the world falls away when they’re together.”
“I remember that feeling.” The words are out of my mouth before I’ve finished forming the thought. “I should probably apologize, but it’d be a lie because I’m not sorry that I said it.”
“You’re only sorry that you felt it.”
The words land like a gut punch from the universe, pushing the air out of me. “That’s not true.”
She flaps a hand dismissively. “What you felt or didn’t feel doesn’t matter anymore. For Ogram’s sake, I’m glad you’re here. You’re still important to your brother. So, how about you stick around for him tonight, rather than slink out of this room behind his back.”
“I didn’t slink out of here behind your back that night, Catherine. I came to your apartment and found you in here instead. You knew I was leaving because you were supposed to go with me. You changed your mind, and I respected your decision. I may be the one who left, but it was you who turned their back. On me. On us.”
No retort leaves her tightly clamped lips. All she gives is silence, wrapping her arms around her midsection as the fiery passion in her eyes dims like flames doused with water.
“Hey! You two seem to have beaten us to an introduction,” Hope says as she and Ogram step to our sides. One look at Cate’s face and Hope’s smile dissolves. Then her gaze falls to Cate’s stomach-clutching posture. “Cate, are you okay?”
Cate turns her head toward Hope, her mouth lifting as she lowers her arms. “Perfectly fine. Just had a stitch in my side for a moment. It’s gone now.”
I don’t need a face-on view to know the smile isn’t genuine. Based on Hope’s furrowed dark brows, she’s not convinced either.
“Sorry, I’m getting a text,” Cate says, reaching into her pants pocket for her phone. A glance at the screen and a couple of taps later, she tucks it away, then takes Hope’s hand and holds it. “I’m needed downstairs for a bit, but I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
