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“What is it?”

I watched his brow crease until he seemed to come to a decision.

“Nothing,” he finally said. “Just lead the way.”

I frowned, perplexed over his hesitation, but then dismissed it with the thought that perhaps he was just tired from traveling. Pushing our way through the crowd, I stepped up to the bar. When Will eventually made his way over to us, I smiled at the pub owner.

“Hey, Will. How’s it going?” I asked.

“Why, hello there, little lady.” Will greeted me with a smile. “I hear you’re the guest of honor at a party here tonight.”

“It’s just a small goodbye party with the people from Wally’s. Oh, and Alex too,” I said, turning around to motion Alexander forward. “Will, I’d like you to meet Alex.”

When the two men locked eyes, there was no denying they already knew each other. I felt Alexander’s body stiffen beside me, almost as if he were bracing for a fight. Will’s eyes flashed with distinctive anger.

“Will,” Alexander said, reaching across the bar to shake his hand.

Will simply nodded his response and returned the handshake. If I wasn’t mistaken, they both seemed to be squeezing a little too hard. However, to the average outsider, their exchange was nothing but cordial.

“Your party is waiting for you at your usual table, Krys. I’ll send Lisa over with a round of drinks on the house,” Will told me with a dismissive wave. And at that, he turned his attention to another patron who was waiting to be served.

I looked back and forth between Alexander and Will. It was probably the most bizarre interaction I had ever seen between two people. As soon as we were able to walk out of Will’s earshot, I pounced on Alexander.

“What was that all about?”

“What?” He feigned innocence.

“Oh, come on! You two obviously know each other.”

“Yeah, we do. He isn’t one of my biggest fans—I’ll say that much.”

“Will is normally so down to earth. I’ve never seen him act like that. What happened between you?”

“It doesn’t matter, Krystina,” he said with a shake of his head. “Let’s just go meet your friends.”

Another secret.

I felt my stomach plummet.

However, there was a certain amount of finality to his tone, warning me not to press the issue. I was contemplating if I should or not when I spotted Melanie waving to get my attention. I raised my hand, signaling I would be there in a minute.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but you seem uncomfortable. We can go if you want to,” I offered.

“Don’t tempt me, angel,” he said with a wink. “I believe you still have a punishment coming to you.”

I knew he was trying to steer me away from the conversation to avoid giving me the truth once again.

“I’m serious, Alex. I’ll just make an excuse, and we can go.”

“That would be foolish. These people are here for you, and we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer.”

Alexander linked his hand with mine and led me to the back of the pub, successfully drawing the matter to a close.

For now, at least.

His constant vagueness drove me to the point of insanity but pushing for answers in the crowded pub would not earn me a favorable result. Whatever the story was behind Alexander and Will, I would get to the bottom of it after we left Murphy’s.

Alexander