Page 123

I knocked a warning knee against hers under the table and earned myself a giggle. The sweet, silvery sound reverberated through me.

In the end, we settled on Pictionary. Ayana and I ended up on the same team as her mother, her brother, and her nephew. After an hour and a half of heated competition, the other team squeaked out a narrow win.

Normally, I’d take the loss as further evidence I should avoid team activities. I could only rely on myself to win.

But I liked the Kidanes, and I’d enjoyed watching Ayana celebrate each point with a little dance so much that losing didn’t seem like that big a deal.

“Thanks for indulging them,” she said after her siblings left and her parents turned in for the night. We lingered in the living room, the lamps casting a warm amber glow over the scene. “They’re super into game night.”

“It was more fun than reviewing security briefs,” I said.

“But not better than bingo.”

“What is your obsession with bingo?”

“Um, I’m not the obsessed one.” Ayana huffed. “You’re the one who plays at senior centers.”

“And you’re the one who keeps bringing it up.”

“Only because you refuse to confirm or deny whether you were joking about playing.”

“If I was, you’d feel pretty silly for ragging on me about it, wouldn’t you?”

“You—” She pressed her lips together. Their tiny quiver detracted from her stern expression, but her tone was lofty when she said, “You know what, it’s too late for me to argue with you about this. Good night.”

My own lips curved. “Good night, Ayana.”

The set of her mouth softened. It was so late that no sounds disturbed the night, but I could see her pulse fluttering at the base of her throat.

She pushed a braid behind her ear. Opened her mouth. Closed it.

The next beat of silence lasted just long enough for me to picture pulling her close and slanting my mouth over hers. I was full from dinner, but I could drink in the sweetness of her kiss forever and never be sated.

It was a fucked-up thought, considering she was still engaged to Jordan, and he was still in the hospital. But my desires were dark and selfish, and I never claimed otherwise.

Her lips parted like she could hear my obsessive thoughts. For a split second, I thought she would kiss me first.

Then she blinked and gave a small shake of her head. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said, a little too huskily.

She disappeared up the stairs. I waited until she turned the corner before I released a long, slow breath.

I glanced around the living room. Shadow was curled up asleep on the couch. The Pictionary box remained on the table, its scattered pieces waiting to be collected come morning.

Tonight had been my first taste of normal since my brother died. The Kidanes weren’t my family, but they reminded me of what I missed most: warmth. Belonging. The simple pleasure of life.

I took in the quiet scene for one more moment before I turned off the light and went upstairs.

CHAPTER33

Ayana

My mother was right. A weekend at home, surrounded by family, was just what the doctor ordered.

The next morning, after my first restful night’s sleep in a week, I joined Aaron and my parents at their restaurant while Vuk met up with his security team for a debrief.

I used to help out in the kitchen after school, and I quickly settled back into the comforting rhythm of putting in orders and packing to go bags. The mundane tasks were so far removed from the fashion world and threat of assassins that they were almost therapeutic.

“I told you, you don’t need to do this,” my mother said. “You should be relaxing. Go to a spa. Go shopping. Have fun.”