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“Hey! There really is a Jeeves,” I joked, trying to break the ice wall that appeared to be growing.
Ash didn’t say anything, his fine jawline moving as he chewed his food, and I peered at my plate, no longer hungry despite the attractiveness of the meal in front of me.
“Eat,” he ordered me. “There’s no meat there.”
I had noticed that, too, and I was vaguely touched he’d made the effort to ensure I wasn’t fed any, but I couldn’t bring myself to swallow a bite.
“Ash, I—”
Rachel flittered into the room, almost screeching to a stop like a cartoon character when she saw me.
“Oh. Oh, you’re here, too,” she chuckled, regaining her steps to join us at the table.
Confused, I looked from the fae to Ash, but he kept his eyes fixed on his plate like it was the most interesting thing he’d seen in his life.
“Did you make your order?” Ash asked.
It took me a second to realize that he was talking to me.
“My order?”
“Online,” he demanded impatiently.
I shook my head. “You kind of stormed out of there,” I reminded him cautiously. “I wasn’t sure what to do.”
Ash dropped his fork with a clang and picked up a linen napkin to wipe his mouth, setting his crystalline eyes on me. The stare sent a shiver down my spine, although his face was the same stoic front he always wore.
“I didn’t think I’d have to hold your hand through that,” he intoned flatly. “But I suppose Rachel can do it if you need help.”
“I’ll help her,” Rachel agreed, sliding into the chair across from me and offering me a quick grin. “Did you find anything you liked?”
Confusion rocked my head. “No. Yes. I don’t know.”
“It shouldn’t be this hard, Briar,” she said gently. “We’ll look together.”
I parted my lips to tell her it wasn’t the shopping that made it so confusing—it was Ash.
“That’s a good idea,” Ash said, rising from the table. “In fact, from now on, all your questions and concerns can go through Rachel directly. Briar and I don’t need to be in contact with one another at all.”
Stunned, both Rachel and I gaped at him as he threw the napkin back onto the table and began to walk out of the room.
“You called me here for this?” I cried out, hurt that he was casting me off to someone else.
“I’m a busy male, Briar. I don’t have time for online shopping trips,” he growled, avoiding my eyes.
“That was your idea!” I shot back indignantly. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“Rachel can help you with whatever you need, can’t you, Rachel?”
“Sure…” the fae agreed, drawing out her response, sounding just as perplexed as me.
“Good. Then it’s settled.” He started back out of the room again, but I didn’t want to let him go, not yet.
“When am I going home?!” I yelled, tears of frustration filling my eyes.
He had already answered this for me, but I was grasping at straws now, sensing that he was serious about disappearing from my life and not coming back. Ash grimaced and faced me again.
“You already know when.”
