“Just a few months ago,” he said softly, “Gabriel wouldn’t have brought you here.”
Jaci’s cheeks flamed, her old insecurities rising to the surface. “Because he hates witches and demons, and I’m just—”
“No, love.” Aiden reached out and touched her hand. “Because he wouldn’t have shared something so important to him with me or his brothers. In fact, he wouldn’t even speak to us at all.”
“Oh. I… Right.” Jaci lowered her eyes and nodded. Gabriel had shared a little about their past estrangement—other than Dorian and Aiden, who’d always been close, the rest of the brothers went fifty years without a single conversation. Then their father died, and the brothers returned home to deal with the aftermath.
In so many ways, they were still dealing with it. Probably always would be.
Jaci knew as well as anyone that some wounds never scarred over. You might get used to the pain—might go long stretches without feeling a thing, certain you were finally healed. But all it took was one cruel word, one cold glance, one dark memory clawing its way to the light, and suddenly you were on your knees again, desperately clutching your chest to keep your heart from falling out through the hole.
“The truth of it is, Jacinda,” Aiden said, “you brought Gabriel back to us. And although he’s a right pain in the arse on thebestof days, all of us are grateful to evenhavethose days with him again.”
Jaci’s eyes glazed with tears, and she nodded, unsure what to say.
A new smile dawned on Aiden’s face, and he held up his glass in cheers. “Unfortunately for you, you’re part of the family now, and there’s no escaping. Welcome to the royal nuthouse—I hope you like to drink.”
She touched the rim of her mug to his glass. “Iloveto drink.”
“Excellent. Already fitting in.”
“Speaking of new members of the family…” Jaci grinned and wriggled her eyebrows. “How are things going with Sasha?”
Aiden pressed a hand to his chest, gasping with mock indignation. “I’m certain I have no idea what you mean, Ms. Colburn.”
“Whatever you say, Mr. Donovan.” Jaci laughed, then sipped her tea. “She’ll be here tomorrow, right?”
“We’ve got plans for sunrise coffee in Dorian’s hot tub in the morning.” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m going to ask her to be my New Year’s Eve date.”
“Have you kissed her yet?”
Aiden turned the most adorable shade of red, then brought the bottle to his lips, totally dodging the question.
“Leave the poor vampire to his schoolgirl fantasies, Jacinda,” a dark voice warned, and Jaci looked up to find Gabriel standing in the doorway, watching them.
“Gabriel,” she breathed, the sight of him filling her with a mix of happiness and relief.
Buthecertainly didn’t look relieved. Despite the amusement in his eyes, she couldn’t help but notice the tick in his jaw, the tightness of his shoulder and arm muscles, the heaviness that seemed to follow him in like a storm cloud.
“You okay?” she asked, getting to her feet.
“Don’t worry about your little princeling.” Aiden laughed. “He’s just jealous I didn’t have tokidnapa woman to get her attention.”
Gabriel glared at him. “Remind me again why I tolerate you?”
“Would you like the full report or just the highlights?”
“Goodnight, Aiden.”
“Right.” Aiden rose from his chair and headed for the door, stopping to pat Gabriel’s cheek. “One day, Gabriel Redthorne, you’re going to wake up, and I’m not going to be here.”
“Is that a promise?”
“You’ll miss me terribly.”
“I’d love the opportunity to do just that. Right now, as a matter of fact.” Gabriel swiped the bottle of bourbon from Aiden’s hand and jerked his head toward the door, his eyes still holding that spark of amusement. “Oh, look. I’m missing you already.”
“But I haven’t even left yet.”
