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Then he turns as though someone called his name.
I see Ilarion walk into view. I push myself to the very corner of the pane so that if either one of them happens to look up, neither will be able to see me.
I can’t hear a word they’re saying, but it looks like a serious conversation.
Ilarion’s gestures are measured. His composure never wavers. That’s where Celine must’ve gotten it from: that glacial calm that makes me shiver.
Dad seems much less put together. He’s waving his hands around a lot, but then, he was always a hand-talker. Still, I can see it in his body language. More panic. More fear.
Should I go down there? I don’t want to miss what’s about to happen. But I also don’t want to risk watching something happen that I could have prevented.
Before I can make up my mind, Ilarion’s composure cracks. He reaches out suddenly and grabs Dad by the collar of his shirt. I gasp so loud that I’m worried they’ll be able to hear me from the garden.
What the hell is going on? What are they talking about?
Why would Ilarion do this after he promised both Celine and me that our father was off-limits?
Their noses are practically touching as Ilarion growls something to Dad. But then, mere seconds later, he lets him go. And both men play it off as though nothing had happened.
Why…?
A second later, I see exactly why. Adam runs past the pane and into my line of sight. Both men turn to him with fake smiles on their faces. Both men pretend like everything’s alright.
They put on an act for Adam’s sake.
And it’s pretty clear to me now: they’ve been putting on an act for my sake, too.
33
TAYLOR
I splash cold water on my face before I go back downstairs. My first instinct would have been to go straight to Cee and confide in my sister. But I’m no longer certain of her loyalties.
Which is a sobering thought in and of itself.
When I emerge downstairs, Adam is sitting at the picnic table, stuffing a chocolate croissant into his mouth. He’s got chocolate smeared all over his face and fingers. Cee is sitting beside him, dabbing his mouth pointlessly after every bite. She looks almost as delighted as he does.
“Wow, what’s going on here?” I ask, trying to sound normal.
I scan the surroundings. Dad is standing on the steps of the deck, looking out over the garden. Ilarion is nowhere in sight.
“Auntie Cee got us yummy treats, Mama!” Adam sprays the table with bits of pastry and chocolate. He shoves the last of it in his mouth, consents to let Celine wipe what she can of the mess off of him, then goes scampering off in pursuit of a huge lizard capering over the porch railing.
She gestures for me to sit down and then pulls out a small notepad with a leatherbound hardcover. “If I’d known you guys would magically appear in my life again, I’d have moved some appointments around. Unfortunately, I have an appointment in half an hour that I can’t back out of now.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” I say. “You go ahead. Don’t let us keep you.”
Celine marks off something in her notepad and gets to her feet. “I’d love it if you would come with me, actually,” she says. “It’d give us a chance to catch up a little more.”
She seems so earnest about it that I’m having a hard time turning her down. But I also don’t want to leave Dad and Adam alone here with Ilarion in whatever mood I just saw..
“Oh. Uh, yeah, sure,” I stammer. “Can we bring Dad and Adam along, too?”
She raises her brow. “If they’re interested. I’ll go get changed and we can leave in ten.”
She disappears into the house and I beeline straight towards Dad. “What the hell just happened?” I quietly hiss.
He peers over at me with a flustered frown. “What do you mean?”
