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“Well, at least we’ll all be there for the party. And we’ve got time to get you replacement dresses, because you are not wearing those.” Stella shoots a look at the heap of floral fabric. I’m surprised it doesn’t go up in flames from the pure hatred in her eyes.

“Mum will kill me if I don’t—”

“What did you say about your mom only minutes ago?” Stella asks, staring at me with encouraging eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Okay. Give me more cider and let’s order replacements. If she’s going to lose her shit at me, I might as well look hot as fuck doing it.”

“Amen to that.” Stella raises her bottle of cider in salute before downing half of it in the most unladylike way I think I’ve ever seen.

A massive smile spreads across my face as I watch her.

Being ripped away from Daemon and our little sanctuary might still be eating at me, but being here with my girls helps soften the blow that he’s left without even a word or a message about our time together.

“Grab your iPad, Cal. Let’s get shopping,” she demands, falling down onto my sofa.

“Why are all the blinds shut?” Emmie asks. “It’s like… a perfect spring day outside.”

“Huh,” Stella mutters. “I’m surprised the princess of darkness even noticed the sun rose this morning.”

“Fuck you. I saw it. It was shining off Theo’s abs as he walked past the window in our bedroom naked, teasing me with my favourite plaything.”

“Em—” I start to warn, but she quickly cuts me off.

“What? You said thirty minutes. It’s been—” She glances at her phone.

“Exactly. As much as I appreciate the company, I don’t need… that.”

“You need to get laid,” Emmie sings behind her bottle. “Who’s coming to this dull-as-fuck party Saturday night? Any potential suitors for our Cirillo princess?”

Images of Daemon from our week away flicker through my mind. Watching him emerge from the sea with water running over his muscles, him smiling down at me, the way he held me as he taught me how to aim my gun.

Shit.

“In your minds or my parents’?”

“Ours, obviously. No parent would be planning the sort of thing we want for you.”

“Then none, because any boys that bad would be too terrified of the wrath of my father and brother.”

“Still think it should be Alex,” Stella mutters. “He’d show you a—”

“Does he know I’m back?”

“No idea. He hasn’t really been about. Think he’s been at Stefanos’s place.”

“Seriously, what is the deal with that?” Emmie asks. “He’s got his own flat, his own freedom, yet he keeps running home to daddy. Why?”

“Does it matter?” I ask, in the hope of steering the conversation away from either of the Deimos twins.

The second Alex learns that the two of us are home, I have no doubt that he’ll turn up for a visit, and quite frankly, that’s something I’m happy to put off for as long as possible.

They both stare at me, their eyes narrowing.

“What’s wrong?” Stella asks, obviously reading something in my expression that I wasn’t willing to talk about.

“N-nothing.”

“Has something happened with Alex?”