“It’s been washed, but if that’s going to be a problem for you, then I’m going to have to apologize for the kitchen counters too, and the table, and the—”
I hold up a hand as I cut her off. “I get it. I get it. Well,yougot it is probably more apt.”
We descend into a fit of giggles as Bodin enters the kitchen. He heads straight for his wife and bends down to run a tusk up her neck, leaving a light red mark in its wake before he claims her mouth in a bruising kiss.
Taking that as my signal to leave the kitchen, I swiftly make myself scarce and burrow back under the blankets, pulling Anita into my lap as I sip at my decaf.
After a while, Bodin grunts his goodbye and Tilly waddles into the living room, rose-cheeked and glowing as she lowers herself into a seat with a contented sigh.
“You two are couple goals, you know? You look so happy it makes me sick,” I say, knowing Tilly understands my heart when I give awkward compliments like this.
“I know you don’t like relationships, or haven’t found someone worthy enough to be obsessed with. But, if you one day do meet someone, my wish for you is that they’d make you as happy asBodin makes me,” Tilly says sincerely, running an appreciative hand over the marks going down her neck.
“Sickening, honestly,” I breathe out with a faux huff of annoyance.
We settle into a comfortable silence as my free hand strokes gently down Anita’s back. The little cuddle muffin snuggles closer until her snout rests under my shirt, her wet nose tickling my skin and warming my heart.
An apology is written across Tilly’s furrowed brow as she looks over at me. “So, about the housing situation. Bodin talked to his mom last night while the girls were over. He wanted to catch up on anything he might have missed at the meeting. It seems like there aren’t a ton of options for you, but I’ll tell you about the ones you have.”
I crack my neck like I’m getting ready for some kind of battle. “Hit me. Anywhere’s better than this couch.”
Tilly’s nose scrunches as she mutters hesitantly, “Aurelius offered his spare bedroom.”
“Mothman who propositioned you back in the day with his funky dick? That guy?” I ask, recalling the story of Tilly shooting him down so expertly.
Tilly’s nod is small. “That would be him. But he’s worked a lot on himself lately. And he’s seeing someone.”
I quirk a brow at her. “You mean the satyr who had his hands down Aurelius’s pants at The Singing Seahorse on the last karaoke night I was here for?”
“The one and only.”
Surely Tilly knows this isn’t a viable option—for anyone, except the satyr it seems. If I got propositioned like she did, I might just cut the guy’s dick off and shove it down his throat. I might even rip his balls off too and shove them up his ass for good measure. I think that would be frowned upon though.Clearly Tilly is much more adept at handling situations like that than I am.
“Pass. Next.”
Tilly cringes through her next suggestion. “Uhm, we could kick Charlie out of Bodin’s old apartment and ask him to move in with Aurelius, then you could take his place above The Bandaged Heart?”
I’m already shaking my head. “The skittish hairy dude? Yeah, I know I have some bite to my words, but I never considered myself to be a purposefully mean person. And that move would be mean.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Tilly confirms softly.
Needing to tease my cousin a little, I say, “Just because you kicked Bodin out of this cottage when you moved to Starry Hill doesn’t give the rest of us the right to do that.”
“Hey, that’s a low blow.” Tilly chucks one of her colorful pillows at me and it sails over my head, hitting the wall with a light thump.
“It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?” I ask through a laugh, giving Tilly’s stomach a pointed look.
“Yeah, yeah” Tilly says, patting said stomach affectionately. Looking up at me again, she fixes a smile on her face but the slight wince doesn’t escape me. “Uhm, another room that was generously offered to you is Pierre’s attic. Apparently it’s a little stuffy up there, but at least it’s not this couch?”
My hope dwindles as I blow out a slow breath. “Not to sound like an ungrateful bitch or anything, but isn’t he the dude that shouts at people for getting frisky in town?”
“You know about that?”
I shrug. “Calixta and Beryl told me.”
“Bodin and I were also reprimanded before. But yeah, I don’t see you enjoying life much if you had to stay there. Especially ifyou were looking toentertainsomeone for an evening or two. Any prospects in that area?”
My mind instantly flashes toward Arran, to the look we shared last night, the way he didn’t flinch from my suggestive wink, but rather returned my stare with a glint of hunger limning his eyes.
