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Ares shook his head. “You won’t need to commute. The place has seven bedrooms and several guest cottages. Plenty of room for everyone. Or the majority of us, anyway.”
I opened my mouth, intending to ask if he’d lost his mind, when the waiter returned and set a dish of warm Brambley apple crumble topped with vanilla ice cream in front of me. “What’s this?” I asked. “I didn’t order dessert.”
“I did,” said Ares. “Wren said it’s your favorite. Consider it a peace offering.”
“I’ve no appetite,” I said, pushing it in his direction.
“You hardly ate any of your dinner. Are you telling me you’re so stubborn you’ll let me eat your absolute favorite thing ever—according to your best friend?”
The heavenly aromas of warm apples and cinnamon wafted in my direction, and my stomach rumbled. “No,” I snapped, pulling the dish back and grabbing the spoon from his hand.
As I polished off the entire thing, I thought about what I hated more: the fact that he’d bested me or that he was so bloody handsome his nearness took my breath away?
“Where are Wren and Wilder?”I asked when enough time had passed that they should’ve long since returned to the table.
“They left,” Cayman responded.
“Theyleft?”
“Wilder said something about you berating him if you found out he picked up the tab, so they paid it on their way out. Plus, they’ve an hour’s drive.”
“You’re joking.” And I was well aware how long of a drive they had. It was almost as far as the distance between here and Shere, just more direct.
Cayman shook his head. “I’m not. Wren said she’d message you.”
I pulled out my mobile and checked. Sure enough, she’d sent a one-word text.Enjoy.Accompanying it was an apple emoji.
“Can I walk you across the street?” Ares asked when we stood and I picked up the bag the waiter had left containing my curry.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will be. Can I walk you anyway?”
I would’ve told him I’d asked Cayman, but he and Puck were already crossing the threshold of the front door. “Sure. Thanks,” I muttered.
It was a warm night by London standards. However, that wasn’t saying much. Plus, I really did need to use the loo, so I practically ran the distance between the pub and my building’s entrance.
“Whoa! Are you really in that big of a hurry to get away from me?”
“Sorry. The truth is I need to use the facilities. I’ll see you in the morning, yes?”
“I was hoping we could talk about the…misunderstanding.”
I was close to crossing my legs. “Can we do it tomorrow?”
Ares smirked.
“Seriously?” I dashed through the door when he didn’t respond, but he followed.
“I can wait.”
“What?” I asked, repeatedly jamming the lift’s call button.
“I said I can wait.”
“You want me to come back down?”
“You could invite me up instead.”
