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“Extremely.”
“I know you have other stuff on your mind, but…have you learned anything more about your fae heritage?”
“Not really. There’s a lot of lore, but the fae are incredibly reclusive, so the stories are impossible for me to verify.”
She lapsed into silence, and Eli didn’t push—a fact she appreciated. Just snuggling with him and looking at the stars, Iris felt like the luckiest person in the world.
All too soon, he stirred and touched her cheek. “You’re getting cold, even with the blanket. We should get home.”
Home.Hearing him use that word for Violet Gables brightened her mood even more.
“I’m all fueled up. Whatever comes next, I can take it.”
In quiet accord, they drove home in contemplative silence. Eli headed upstairs to take care of some business, and Iris decided to spoil him with a cup of hot tea. It was nothing compared tohissurprise, but she’d gotten to stay toasty warm in his arms while he leaned against the cold metal of the truck. He could probably use some warming up.
She came upstairs quietly and was about to knock on his door when she hesitated. Because she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Or rather, she didn’twantto. But she was standing outside Eli’s room and he was definitely saying, “Are you sure twenty-five grand is enough? I’m happy to pay twice that if you can perform the spell right away.”
He has…fifty grand?
Dazed and confused, she stumbled upstairs and set the tea cup on her work table with trembling hands, feeling shaky and queasy at the same time. Nothing made sense, and as she opened her laptop on automatic—because that was what she always did, checked on her shop—she found herself keying in the nameEli Reeseandpopular apps. To her astonishment, he popped up in a few feature articles, and he had a freaking Wiki page. Realization hit her like a fist in the gut.
He wasn’t somebody who needed to rent a room from her.Why the hell is he even here?The sense of betrayal hit her so hard that she almost threw up, quivering in reaction. God, he must’ve laughed at her pathetic efforts, trying to get her life together.How much money does he have anyway?
Fuck.
FUCK.
No damn wonder he was always offering to pay for shit. She felt like screaming or punching him or both. Her face felt hot with humiliation, and she fought back tears—rage, sorrow—so many emotions. Nothing about him made any sense whatsoever. She read more, learning facts he should have shared himself.
Her rage ballooned.
She had to nix whatever backdoor deal he’d arranged with Ethel and Mira’s coven. Like hell was she okay with Eli waltzing in like a big shot and just…taking over. With his bullshit secret rich guy entitlement. Hmm. Maybe that didn’t entirely make sense, but when Iris was this angry, making her thoughts flow in a straight line was freaking tough.
She stormed downstairs, ready to let him have a piece of her mind. But Eli was on another call, and this time, he was arguing with someone. “I don’t give a damn. I can’t leave right now, and that’s final.” A pause. “My answer would be the same even if it was ten million, Liz. Just tell AroTech there’s no deal. I’m needed here, understand?”
Those words eviscerated her. Iris took a breath, another.
Not only am I a failure, I’m dragging Eli down with me.
Her righteous indignation yielded to an emotion altogether more painful. She tiptoed back to her room and gave in to heartbreak.
Iris wept. For the future she’d imagined they were building together and for everything he’d hidden while pretending to be one of them. Eli didn’t belong on her island of misfit toys, and he never had. Even if she could forgive him for hiding such crucial information, there was no way she could picture herself beside somebody like him. A relationship between them would be too much like charity or pity or, hell, she didn’tknowwhat. Them being together made no sense at all.
He had opportunities she could never imagine. For him, there was no worry about making ends meet, no cutting corners. Insta models were probably whispering in his DMs, promising him the time of his life. Probably he could eat filet mignon every night, get the expensive wine with dinner, and follow it up with a vacation in France.
His dream vacation is in Veracruz? Yeah, right.
He must’ve been trying to seem relatable. That bastard.
The tears flowed down her cheeks until her eyes hurt and hercheeks felt sticky with the drying salt. Still, she tried to stay quiet. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her housemates, most of whom were wonderful humans. Of course, she didn’t have a bathroom up here or even a pack of wet wipes, so she’d have to sneak downstairs to try and hide the evidence of this crying jag.
But first, she called Fix-It Witches. The woman answered on the first ring. “Fix-It Witches, this is Clem. How can I help you?”
“Uh, yeah. This is Iris Collins. I’m not sure who’s been talking to Eli Reese, but he didn’t have my permission to go around me and pay for anything behind my back. At this point, I’m withdrawing my request for assistance from your coven, and I’d appreciate if you would pass the word along. I’m sorry for bothering you and wasting everyone’s time.”
“Wow. This is awkward. Eli did talk to my cousin, and we thought it was fine since he’s your boyfriend and everything. I’ll…let the others know.”
“Thank you again,” Iris said, fighting the urge to snort-laugh at the idea that Eli was her boyfriend.
