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“Yeah, you do need a little advance information.”

I had no doubt the group would enjoy meeting him. Whether I’d survive the interrogation?

That was something else.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

I leaned back, my hands wrapped around my mug of tea. “Why do I not like the sound of that?”

Quinn tapped his fingers against the side of his mug. “My housemates have noticed I’ve been… distracted.”

“Have you?”

“Yes.” He flushed. “Apparently, cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush was a giveaway.”

I blinked. “I’m not even going to ask.”

“Good. Because I don’t want to talk about it either.” He took a breath. “They want to meet you.”

I sat upright. “Why?”

“Because they care about me,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “And because last time I got involved with someone, things got…messy.”

Grant. I didn’t say the name out loud.

“I don’t want to do that again,” he added.

I tried to keep my tone nonchalant. “What does ‘meet’ entail?”

“Dinner. In Walthamstow. Maya will cook something impressive. Jess will pretend she’s not assessing you. Sam will absolutely assess you.”

“You live with three people.”

“Yes. They’re all students.” He cocked his head. “Want more information? Because I get that you might.” He counted off on his fingers. “Maya’s twenty-four, doing an MSc in Public and Global Health. Sam is twenty-five, in the first year of a PhD in Computational Linguistics. And Jess is twenty-three, studying for an MA in Curating and Museum & Heritage Studies.”

I stared at him.

Dinner.

“And you want me to do this?”

“Yeah, I do. I’m not expecting anything from you, I’m just… not hiding you.”

It was more than that. He was asking me to exist in his life.

“What do they know about me?”

“They know about Obsidian, and I told them you’re a Dom.” His lips twitched. “I didn’t provide a PowerPoint to explain that. Besides, I think they already have a good idea what that means. Jess, especially.”

I exhaled.

“But Jess also said that if you hurt me, they’re forming a committee,” he added.

I smiled. “Of course they are.”

He hesitated. “If it’s too much, say no. I won’t read anything into it.”

That was my out, no hint of ‘if you cared you would.’ He’d simply made it my choice.