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“Consider it an early birthday gift,” he says.

“My birthday isn’t until December,” I say.

“Yes, I’m aware. That’s why I said it’s anearlybirthday gift.”

“It better not be?—”

Out of my peripheral vision, I see a tall woman sauntering toward me. She’s wearing a red pendant, which tells me that she’s open to all levels of BDSM.

“She’s all yours for the night,” Alaric says.

I glare at him. “Seriously?”

“I just worry about you, okay? You’re so tightly wound, and I can tell it’s taking a toll on you.”

“Send her away.”

He sighs in defeat and shakes his head at the girl. She hesitates for a moment before walking away.

I take a slow sip of my drink.

“Besides, if I wanted a woman, I wouldn’t need your help getting one,” I say.

“Dude, be for real.” He scoffs. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even leave your house.”

“And I’m already starting to regret it,” I say, swirling my drink in the tumbler.

Heat crawls around my neck and stays there.

I feel Alaric watching me.

He’s my best friend, but he doesn’t know the half of it. He doesn’t know about the turmoil that exists inside me. He doesn’t know that in my head, the war never really ended. If anything, it’s worse than ever.

“I’m sorry, okay?” he says. “I just thought that it would help. I was on the phone with Helena earlier, and she told me about the nanny situation.”

I exhale slowly.

I don’t know why I thought leaving the house tonight would be a good idea. I thought some fresh air and a change of scenery would help, but I’m feeling more vexed than before.

“It’s complicated,” I say.

“I’m sure I can keep up,” he replies.

“Having a nanny means sharing the roof with a stranger. She’ll be a part of my life, whether I like it or not. And I simply can’t afford to have someone I don’t trust.”

“Trust is something that’s built over time, though,” Alaric counters.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Are you just going to lecture me all night? If so, I’ll just leave now.”

“It’s because of Harper, isn’t it?” he says.

The name makes my blood freeze. Harper was the previous nanny I hired for the kids.

I glance around our surroundings.

“I told you to never bring up her name again,” I snap.

“Right, sorry.”