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Anton, unaware that Star’s silence was loaded, discussed how his stay in New York had passed and what he’d done during the days he’d whiled away with Lyra. “I just wish,” he finished, “that I’d been able to spend some time with you, Star. I’d like to meet Kat before I have to leave.”
“It’s been…” She swallowed. “…busy. You know, what with the gala... Thank you for your donation.”
With every word she uttered, I felt her mask solidify until her speech had returned to its regular cadence and her expression was relaxed.
The only person who’d be able to tell a difference was me because she was like a block of ice in my arms.
To compound matters, Anton leaned into her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Thankfully, her mask was so in place that she didn’t even flinch.
Her innate strength would never fail to astonish me.
“Of course,” Anton drawled. “It’s a worthy cause.”
My hand tightened on her hip.
Worthy cause, my ass.
“I see you fought and won to keep from having ice sculptures at the gala,” Anton quipped, his tone amused.
“Do you know the carbon footprint of those things?” She tutted. “I don’t know what Rachel was thinking.”
“I’m assuming the foliage was your idea?” he queried, peering at a massive bush of basil that had been pruned into the shape of a spade—the card variety, not the garden implement—and which had the same frosting as the other bushes.
“It was. It ties in with the food. I thought it was clever.”
Anton hummed. “You’ll never be a party planner, dear, but that’s not what you are, is it? Your talents lie elsewhere.”
Star’s smile was lazy and disconcertingly authentic. “I don’t know. I might consider a career change.”
“Please, don’t,” I joked around a fake laugh. “You’ve been a stressy pain in the ass in the run-up to this party.”
Anton chuckled. “Your mother was just the same. Hated dressing the part.”
At this, Star’s mask showed the first signs of crumbling.
I could literally feel her longing for more information about her mother. Knew that she wanted it desperately.
Scraps…
That was all she had left of the woman who’d brought her into this world.
Because of this man.
The one who could dole them out and who was the reason for them.
“She did?” Star questioned, her tone shaky.
Anton’s smile seemed sincere, but hell, he’d fooled me since the start. I wasn’t about to trust my judgment. “She loathed parties. Preferred guarding the events rather than attending. Aleks was far more sociable. He was the one who smoothed the path for me, while Galena protected it.”
Star swallowed. “I wish I’d gotten the chance to know her better. The real her.”
“I doubt she played a role with you, child,” Anton demurred.
“She was the life and soul of every party we ever attended as a family,” Star admitted, tone raw.
I beckoned over a server and reached for a champagne glass. Passing it to her, I watched as she took a deep swig then snagged one for myself. Anton did the same, slowly sipping his as he mused, “People change, Star.”
“Not that much,” she snapped before sucking in a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter.”
