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“Mmm. Complicated.” She says the word as if tasting its flavor. “Is it the kind of complicated that’s tall, blonde, and furious?”
I tense. The temptation to look over my shoulder is almost overwhelming, but I somehow manage to resist. “She’s sending a lot of mixed messages.”
The old woman waggles her eyebrows. “The best way to get over an old lover is to get under a new one.” She nudges Nadia with her shoulder. “Get the lady a drink, Nadia. Let her pour out her woes.”
I most certainly will not be doing that to a stranger. Not when I know how brothels work when it comes to information. People say the damnedest things when they’re out of their mind with pleasure and enjoying the aftermath of a good orgasm. I’ve used it to my benefit a time or twelve. My father might not take me seriously, but several of his advisors have been happy with the information I’ve passed along from using that method with foreign dignitaries.
I’m not about to fall into that trap here.
But the only other option is to turn around and leave, and I won’t do that. Not when I can feel Maura glaring at me. “A drink sounds lovely.”
Nadia smiles with practiced ease and slips her arm into mine. “This way, love.”
I swear, I feel Maura follow us deeper into the room. Nadia leads me to a small table tucked back into an alcove. It’s not truly isolated, but it dampens the noise of the place and feels private. Somewhere close to the front, music starts, a slow sensual tune that makes my skin prickle. Or maybe that’s the fury of my ex bearing down on us.
“She’s very beautiful,” Nadia murmurs.
“Yes, she is.” I almost sit in the chair that would put my back to the room, but even I’m not coward enough to do that. Instead I perch on the seat next to Nadia. “You really don’t have to entertain me. This is likely going to devolve into a fight.”
She smiles sweetly. “This is The Bawdy Banquet, love. There are fights every hour on the hour, and usually for less reason. It’s part of our charm.”
Maura is having a hard time making her way through the tables toward us. I’m not certain if it’s intentional on the part of the people gathered or coincidence, but she has to stop every other step and maneuver around a drunk sailor or a giggling sex worker or, in one laughable case, a parrot that descends from somewhere to flap in her face.
I sigh. “She’s furious.”
“She’ll be a few minutes.” Nadia leans closer, her shoulder soft against mine. “Eloise was right, you know. Sometimes the best way to deal with a possessive ex is to…provoke…them.”
I give her a look. “Maura isn’t possessive.” Jealous in the way a child can be when someone picks up a toy they discarded, but possessiveness indicates a desire for keeping. Maura doesn’t feel that for me. She’s more than proven that at this point.
Nadia laughs, a musical sound that makes me lean closer despite myself. “You learn the look of possessiveness in my line of work. Your captain is rife with it.” She smiles slowly. “I’ll prove it to you. Lean closer.”
I obey without thinking, shifting until our faces are kissably close. Nadia cups my face with one hand, her mischievous smile still in place. “Don’t look now, but I think she may start flipping tables to get to us. A kiss may push her right over the edge.”
It seems to defy belief that she’s right, but I can hear Maura cursing halfway across the room. Shock steals through me. “She really is possessive.”
“Told you so.” Nadia strokes my cheek with her thumb. “Jealousy and possession can be a lovely spice if you’re in the mood for something more intimate.”
I almost take her up on it. I’m hurting and confused, and it feels like every time I turn around, Maura is there, adding to that confusion. She supposedly wants me safe, but she’ll happily send me back to my gilded cage in my father’s castle, and then beyond it to Edrines where I’ll be in active danger.
Still…it feels wrong to flaunt Nadia in front of her, no matter how beguiling the woman is. “I can’t do that to her.”
“You’re doing it to her right now.” But Nadia drops her hand, still smiling. “You really do love her, don’t you?”
It’s such a bold thing to say that I almost deny it on instinct. The words still in my throat. It’s the truth. I love Maura. I have since I was a kid. Her not wanting me doesn’t change that.
I expect Maura to appear in a rage, but when I finally look, she’s standing next to Eloise with her head bowed to be even with the older woman’s. What’s that about? I turn back to Nadia. “You seem nice.”
