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Even if she did attend the gala, our agreement ended today, as did her reason to speak to me.
If she were anyone else, I’d gladly say goodbye and never look back. But the truth was, I wasn’t at risk of falling in love with Layana; I was already falling hard.
It had started before we even met, when I would catch glimpses of her at Eterni-Tea. I hadn’t relished our squabbles along the way as she clearly did, but I appreciated what they’d done for us. Her brazen attacks had let me know exactly how she felt. She never tiptoed around issues as most people did with me.
She was direct. She was a force of nature. She wasn’t easy. She made me suffer. But she was undeniably what I needed.
When she inevitably abandoned me at the end of the gala, or perhaps before, it would be over.
My throat tightened at the thought.
“—abducted by aliens. Probably a little anal probing, too, if you know what I mean.”
I shot my attention to Jasper, who was leaning his elbows on his knees and waggling his brows suggestively at me.
“What?”
“You got that glazed look in your eyes.” He grinned at me.
“I….”
“It’s all right,” he said. “Seems like you’re not just nervous about tonight. What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing,” I said, automatically.
“All right, you can lie to me. But you should talk to someone about it, because if you don’t, you’re going to give yourself an ulcer.”
Maybe he was right, but that didn’t make it easier for me to open up.
“Is Esme coming as your second security blanket tonight?” he asked.
“She’s not in the states,” I said.
“Oh.” His expression shifted. He rose to his feet and stretched.
I checked my phone and kept pacing, waiting for Layana to arrive, or for her to send a message that she wouldn’t come.
Eventually I caught a flash of lights in the window.
“The car is here.” I went to check, and sure enough, Wallace’s Escalade was coming down the driveway.
But was Layana inside?
Jasper clapped a hand in the center of my back. “Let’s go get you that award.”
We stepped outside. I maintained as much of a composed exterior as possible, steeling myself for the possibility that she wasn’t here.
“Good evening, Gremlin.” Wallace opened the back door of the Escalade. “Jasper, what a pleasant surprise.”
“It’s been a minute,” Jasper gave Wallace a fist bump. “I had no idea you were Gabe’s driver. How’s life, man?”
“Can’t complain. Technically I’ve been Gremlin’s driver for a long time, but he almost never lets me actually drive him. He did let me design the interior myself though. You’ll have to let me know what you think.”
“You know I will.”
I ignored them and climbed into the back.
Layana was inside. My heart fluttered and relief washed over me. She was actually here.
