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I smiled at her. “Are we dating now?”
Lulu snorted a laugh. “Girl, you are not my type. And you’ve only got eyes for Connor Keene.”
“I do not have eyes for Connor Keene.” But I didn’t even sound convincing to me.
“Liar,” she said, taking another bite. “You are a dirty, stinking liar.”
I put down my fork, appetite gone. “He touched my wrist yesterday.”
She paused midchew. “Is that a euphemism for... anything?”
I shook my head. “We were talking, and he took my wrist and looked at me, and he’s so damn sexy, and he cares about the Pack and his family and... I’m falling for him.”
“No shit, Watson.”
I ignored her. “He’s leaving. And I’m maybe going back to Paris—or who knows—but he’s definitely leaving for Alaska. Twenty years I’ve known him, Lulu. Twenty damn years, and I hated him for most of those. Arrogant little punk who drove me crazy just because he could.”
“You can’t drive someone crazy unless there’s emotion there to begin with. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have cared.”
I gave her a narrowed stare. “Is that intended to make me feel better? Because it doesn’t.”
“I’m just over here, eating my waffle,” she said, taking another enormous bite.
“Why did he have to get so hot? And why did he have to get so damn noble?”
“Fucking shifters,” she said.
“Fucking shifters,” I agreed.
My screen buzzed, and I checked it. “That’s my Auto. I have to get to Cadogan House.” I rose, stuffed a final bite of waffle in my mouth. “I’ll keep you posted.”
“Have a good evening, honey!”
“You too, sugar. Don’t wait up.”
• • •
When I’d been a kid, my father’s office had been a place for playtime, for watching television while my father held open-office hours, or for just taking in a few innings of a Cubs game with the House’s senior staff. If I’d gotten in trouble, my parents handled it in our apartments. They hadn’t wanted me to dread being in the office—or dread talking to my father if something came up.
Despite all that prep work, I stood outside his door for a full five minutes, not yet able to walk in.
All the while, I could feel my mother’s sword buzzing, which was one of the reasons I hadn’t yet knocked. Not the only reason, but one of them.
“You should have learned by now,” I murmured to the monster, “that I’m not going to let happen what you want to happen.”
I don’t know if it was chastised or merely biding its time, but the throb of magic turned to a dull roar that I could manage. As ready as I was likely to be, I knocked.
“Come in,” he said, and I opened it, found him alone and at his desk. He wore a dark suit with a crisp white shirt beneath, the top button opened to reveal the gleam of his Cadogan medal.
He smiled when I walked in, but there was caution in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. And that broke my heart a little.
“Is it already time for the meeting?” he asked, and glanced at his wristwatch. As with his vehicles, he preferred the old-fashioned kind.
“Not yet. I’m a little early.” I closed the door. “Can we talk?”
“Of course.” He rose, came around the desk, and gestured to the sitting area.
There was something formal in his manner that made me sad and uncomfortable. Had I completely screwed up our relationship?
