“It opens more doors.”
He looks impressed by that.
I look down at the top of his dark curls and experience the strangest sensation. Like something beneath conscious thought is trying to force its way upward.
Livia steps closer immediately, almost protectively.Her hand settles lightly against Nico’s shoulder.
The movement snaps my attention to her.
She’s tense, and it's not the ordinary workplace anxiety.
It feels like something deeper. I don't know what it is, but these two personalities deeply intrigue me. Something about them I can't quite place my hands on.
“You okay, Ms. De Luca?” I ask.
Her gaze flicks to mine.“Yes.”
Big lie.
I know what fear looks like.
I built an empire around identifying it.
Nico's gaze catches on the tattoo winding beneath the cuff of my shirt where my sleeve shifted slightly.
“What’s that?”
Livia nearly drops the coffees.
The reaction is immediate enough that I look at her first instead of answering.Her knuckles tighten around the paper cups.
Nico steps closer to me, completely oblivious.“It looks like plants.”
I chuckle now. “It sort of is.”
“What does it say?”
I glance down at the black ink disappearing beneath my watch.
Olive branches curled around a broken key.
A reminder.
A wound.
“It means I lost something once.”
Nico studies my face carefully. “Did you find it?”
My eyes lift automatically to Livia.
She’s completely still in the doorway, her coffee forgotten.
Her breathing is shallow, and as those brown eyes lock onto mine, I feel something shift in the air entirely.
I look back at the child. “Not yet.”
It's silent for a few seconds.
