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generously bought the round of drinks as a birthday present to her, it prompted Tamyn into wondering if she should go over and thank him.

Then it turned into Tamyn wondering if she should just go over and ask for his number. And because everyone was drunk, they all thought it was a fantastic idea.

I was trying not to be a party-pooper, but my muscles were getting tenser and tenser by the second.

“I think maybe we should just leave him alone.” I raised my voice to be heard, trying not to scowl as Tamyn pulled a compact mirror from her purse to check her face. “He’s having a drink with his brother. He probably doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

“I won’t disturb him.” She waved a hand, examining her teeth in the mirror. “I’ll just ask for his number then leave them alone.”

I frowned. “That is disturbing him though. Would you like it if some random guy interrupted your quiet evening with a friend to hit on you?”

“Honey.” Tamyn snapped her mirror shut. “My traditional demiurgus mother would be very disappointed in me if I didn’t aggressively go after what I want, including men.”

Devi chuckled, squeezing my arm.

“You’re not going to talk her out of it. You know what she’s like.” Then she peered at me, and because she knew me so well, she asked, “Are you worried it’s going to make you look bad? If you know him through work…”

I gripped my glass tighter. “No, I just…”

But Tamyn was already striding off, and I watched with a sick feeling in my gut as she stopped beside var Rorik’s table and placed her hand on his arm, which was once again stretched out along the back of the bench.

He jolted and looked up sharply, then blinked at her as she swept her hair back over her shoulder with a practised move and flashed him a grin. His brother watched with an amused smile as she leaned down to speak to him, the front of her loose silk shirt gaping and no doubt giving them both an eyeful.

I took an angry gulp of water, unable to tear my gaze away. var Rorik’s brows shot up as he politely paid attention to Tamyn, but when she stopped speaking and looked at him expectantly, his gaze immediately cut over to me.

I turned away quickly, trying to look like I was paying attention to whatever Devi and her friend Melissa were talking about. But the back of my neck tingled, my shoulders wanting to hunch, and when Tamyn reappeared, I froze, my ears practically swivelling as I waited to hear the outcome.

“So?” Devi asked with a sly smile, nudging her friend.

Tamyn pouted. “He said he’s seeing someone.”

I went stiff all over. My fingers clenched too hard around my glass. My gut sank.

So he was seeing someone. That was… fine. Why shouldn’t he? I’d told him nothing else could happen between us.

I hoped he was very happy. I hoped he and his new lady friend were having lots of wild, animalistic desk sex in front of those big windows in his office for the whole world to see.

Maybe they’ll even hire us to plan their wedding, I thought with a stab of vicious, teeth-clenching amusement. Not that we did weddings, but Corva could be, and had been, swayed to plan them on occasion, for the right extortionate price.

I wanted to go home.

But I couldn’t. Devi was having a great time, laughing with her friends, completely unaware of how clenched up and miserable I suddenly was. I was never the life and soul of the party, so outwardly I probably wasn’t acting all that different. I smiled and nodded when her friends spoke to me. I laughed at the appropriate times when Tamyn made a joke. I answered questions about my work, and what Devi had been like as a kid, and what living in London had been like when we were younger.

After ten more minutes, I needed a break. I knew I couldn’t be the first to leave, so I passed Devi my glass and asked her where the bathrooms were. After she’d pointed out an archway at the side of the bar, I gave her a smile and made my way over. My eyes automatically drifted to var Rorik’s table.

It was now occupied by a group of women who were pouring glasses of nightberry wine from a shared bottle. My shoulders slumped a little, though I wasn’t sure why. He was gone. This was good. Now I could relax.

I shared a brief smile with the human woman who walked past me as I stepped into the cool, narrow corridor, the din of the bar fading a little as I made my way toward the doors at the end. But just as I reached them, the door to the men’s swung open.

And var Rorik stepped out.

We both froze. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“Hey,” he eventually said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “We, uh, we’re just leaving.”

I nodded, licking my lips. There was no one else back here. The right angle in the corridor meant we weren’t visible from the bar. Not that it was relevant. He was seeing someone. We were professional acquaintances. Nothing more.

The door swung open behind var Rorik before another tall demiurgus guy bumped into his back.