AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She chortled while putting the steaks in the pan. Meat sizzled excitedly, crackling with life, filling the room with a delicious, seasoned scent that instantly made me drool.
“If it’s that important to you,” she started, “you can make dessert.”
I practically assaulted the counter. “What would you like?”
“Chocolate cake.”
“Goddess, I love that about you.”
Effort halted like an assembly line that had stopped working. Both of us froze over our stations, unsure of how to proceed. Well, I couldn’t exactly speak for her, but at the same time, I had been reading her pretty clearly all day. And all last night. And yesterday.
I was getting motion sickness from my emotions swinging like a pendulum around her.
Galanthia cleared her throat and poked the meat in the pan with a fork. “What’s that?”
“You know what you want when you want it.”
“I suppose I do.” Her features drooped slightly. “I don’t know everything.”
I shrugged. “You don’t have to.” I grabbed a giant bowl and all the makings for a cake which were, thankfully, all in the same cabinet. “Hey, you’re organized too. That’s great.”
“Is it?”
“Jazmin never liked labeling things. She never knew what she wanted. She didn’t even want to name Leo, let alone hold him much.”
Galanthia turned one of the steaks, the raw side sizzling loudly for a second. “She sounds like she wasn’t a good woman for you.”
“She wasn’t.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
I measured and stirred the dry ingredients into a bowl. “It’s whatever.”
“No, it’s not whatever.” She vehemently placed the fork on the counter. “She hurt you. She abandoned you with a child. That’s unforgivable.”
I stared into her eyes, noticing the way her tattoos glowed and ignited her bulbs like they were torches in the night. Mercy would never be found in this woman. I mean, who could blame her? She’d encountered abandonment of her own—by the pack that was once at my back.
I hung my head. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve nothing to be sorry about, Avi.”
“I can’t believe you’re still calling me that.”
She sighed while tending to the asparagus. “Would you prefer I didn’t?”
“No, I love it. I love that name. I love hearing it.”
“Your energy rings true in that regard.”
I smiled crookedly. “What does my energy look like to you?”
“So many things. It’s fiery one moment and a gentle ocean the next. It’s a roiling sea that feathers molten lava. It’s lively and passionate. It’s all the things I adore.” She stared quietly at the stove for a moment. “I suppose I have stronger affections for you than I wish to admit.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to admit them?”
Damn my lips for flapping without consulting my brain. This wasn’t exactly the talk I had hoped for. She’d said she wanted to talk, and I should have just asked her what she wanted rather than try to probe her feelings.
But it was frighteningly easy to talk to Galanthia. Conversation flowed like a river. There were bodies of water between us waiting to be explored, underwater caves and coral beds decorated with colors unseen above the surface.
