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“I didn’t say we should.” She maintained her calm expression. Ignoring the small sting from his rejection. “In fact, I think I’m going to flirt a bit with Arwin to see if I can get more information out of him.”
She withdrew from him, giving him her back. “And I didn’t say I would do anything about it, it was just to clear the air.”
She felt him watching her, as she walked to the other side of the room. The room suddenly didn’t feel as comfortable as it did before. She felt awkward.
“I’m going to go join the women in the baking class below, I’ll meet you here later to go to the dinner,” she said to get some space.
She didn’t wait for his answer and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind her. Pausing outside, she pressed her forehead against the door.
“Stupid, you’re so stupid,” she muttered to herself.
She wanted to clear the air.
She wasn’t usually this clumsy, what was happening to her? Oye didn’t ever trip over men. She used them and then tossed them aside, keeping her eyes on the prize. Feeling hurt over a man hadn’t happened to her since she’d lost her mother. Castian was the reason she couldn’t string two thoughts together coherently.
“That’s enough, Oye.”
She pushed off the door and made her way downstairs. Next time she felt the urge to blurt her feelings remind her to seal her own mouth shut. Mister Psycho definitely wasn’t the one she could play games with; he’d probably enjoy the sight of her crying over him. Well, that’s what she wanted to think. It made it easier to stop liking him, but by the time she’d reached the bottom she was thinking about him again and what if.
“I want you.”
He’d meant those words. Those brown nearly black eyes had looked into hers so intently it took her breath away. And no matter his reason for rejecting her he’d been honest in telling her how he felt.
Feeling comforted, she continued toward the kitchen to meet others to bake a cake. Another activity idea from Tabitha, she wondered if the women had spent too much time watching Hallmark movies.
When she arrived at the kitchen there was a servant who directed her to a table that had a free seat. When she saw who exactly was sitting there she wanted to run in the opposite direction. Jina, Raven and Tabitha were all there, a few others were also but no one she recognized.
Why couldn’t she get a break from them?
She hid her disappointment and waved back at Raven who called her over. She tried not to disturb the chef who was speaking in accented French at the front of the large kitchen. Reaching the table she took a seat across from a blonde-haired woman, with blue eyes and golden hair. Oye was briefly reminded of Tillon, she glanced at the other woman to her right and paused. She’d been wrong she recognized her; she was the one she’d seen fucking Jake in the stairwell. Oye quickly looked left.
Raven, who sat to her right, grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I didn’t think you’d come.”
Taken aback at the other woman’s openly friendly action, Oye said, “I changed my mind when I realized I was missing out on eating cake. You seem very excited.”
Raven offered her a sheepish smile, lowering her eyes.
“She likes baking,” Tabitha explained. “Her grandmother owns a bakery in Veil City, it’s called Wishing’s Bakery.”
“Oh, I think I’ve heard of it.” Oye said, as she took an apron from Jina who’d just walked over. She felt nervous when she saw the welcoming smile on her face. Jina finished handing out their aprons and took a seat next to Tabitha.
“Isn’t it more of a food chain,” she asked Raven as she put it on.
“My grandma didn’t really want it to become chain, but my granddad wanted to share her love of baking with everyone,” Raven explained; her eyes bright for the first time since Oye had seen her. “The two of them always argue but they love each other very much. I always wanted to emulate their relationship, and—”
Raven stopped talking abruptly, the happy look in her eyes dimming along with her smile. Oye felt bad as she watched the woman wilt right before her eyes. Raven was visibly unhappy with the idea of her upcoming nuptials. No one said anything for a minute.
Tabitha recovered first, motioning to the two seated across from her. “Oye, you haven’t met them yet, have you?”
“No, I haven’t,” Oye said, feigning curiosity.
Tabitha pointed directly across from her. “This is Grace, she’s Tillon’s sister.”
Grace offered her a soft smile turning her attention back to the list of ingredients in front of her. Tabitha continued. “And next to her is her best friend Bethany. She’s married to my brother Robert.”
Oye offered her a friendly smile, she wondered to herself if Robert knew his little brother was fucking his wife. She couldn’t get over just how messy the Ring of Syed really was.
“All right, everyone, attention this way,” the cook called from the front.
