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Elio raises a dubious brow.
She sticks her tongue out at him then turns to me and grins. “This is a new face. I’m Tessa.” She extends her hand, which I’m feeling much more inclined to shake after their brief interaction. There’s nothing at all romantic between them. It almost seems as though they’re … like siblings, perhaps?
“I’m Isa,” I say with a smile.
“It’s lovely to meet you. Are you a friend of Evie’s?”
“No … I mean, yes, but…”
Elio comes to my side and puts his hand around my lower back. “Isa’s here with me.”
Tessa’s eyes go so wide, I worry they might fall right out of their sockets. “Ohh,” she says before shaking off her surprise. “Well, that’s new.”
My lips thin as awkwardness sets in, amplified more so when I peer at Evie, who is also now gaping at us. I feel like we announced a surprise engagement when we’re not even dating. Not really.
This is so strange.
“Anyone want a drink before lunch?” Elio asks, heading to the wet bar. “Food should be up here soon.”
“Me,” I blurt, then grimace. “Maybe something light,” I amend.
Elio shoots me a quizzical look.
Thank goodness, Evie cuts in. “I’ll have whatever white wine you have on hand.”
“What tequilas do you have on hand?” Tessa asks.
“Nice try,” Elio deadpans. “It’s barely noon. I’ll make you a spritzer.”
She gives him a wink and a grin.
Elio must see my curiosity as I study their interaction because he finally sheds light on the situation. “Tessa here was made a member of the crew at the ripe old age of three. Kairos and I were tasked with raising her, which is why she’s still half wild.”
I’m rendered speechless.
This poor girl was raised on a boat surrounded by men? And that means Elio isn’t so much her brother as almost a father figure. I’m relieved but also amazed.
“I can’t even imagine,” I say with awe.
Tessa snickers. “That’s a poor representation. You guys were ridiculously strict.”
“We were not,” Elio quips back. “We were doing our jobs.”
“Sometimes. And sometimes you were plain overprotective.”
Watching their verbal sparring is fascinating. It’s a whole other side to Elio I haven’t seen and only adds to my growing attraction to him. An attraction that is so much more than purely physical. How could it not be? The man knows what I like to eat, held back my hair when I was sick, and nearly killed one of his own men for being rough with me. He’s shown me so many kindnesses since he took me.
I don’t know how to reconcile the two. He stole me, yet a part of me never wants to leave.
Am I crazy? Maybe. But if hating him is sane, I’m not sure that’s who I want to be.
CHAPTER 34
ELIO
“What’s she going to do when she sees what you’ve done?” Drake looks at me skeptically as though he’s glad he’s not in my shoes. Probably smart. It’s been a couple of days since I had Isa tattooed, and she hasn’t discovered it yet.
“I have no idea. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” I figure in this situation it’s best to ask forgiveness than permission.
