Page 3

3

Once again, I found myself in another bizarre situation.

Still, Damen’s house’s interior was much nicer than its frightening exterior, and I found myself alone with Damen as Miles left me to grab refreshments from the kitchen. I sat on a plush chaise in the middle of the grand parlor in silence while Damen slouched across from me in a high-backed chair.

Damen was, in a word, completely unexpected.

My host had ceased flirting, which was relieving, and had retrieved his discarded clipboard. He was currently using his crossed leg as a table while he wrote furiously over it. Before leaving me alone with Damen, Miles had also mentioned that one other person was present in the home, but he was currently busy in the library.

Because that was exactly what this place needed. A fancy library.

I’d never really envisioned Damen’s private residence, but if I had, it wouldn’t be this. The interior was warm and cozy, but fine, with a fashionable Victorian style to match the house’s time period. Even outside of the rich furniture, every room I’d passed so far and the current location had been decorated with obvious care. There was even a crystal chandelier and a roaring fire burning happily in the marble fireplace.

And, well, Finn was kind of a slob. I was always cleaning up his messes.

The atmosphere further soothed my fear of being chopped into pieces and buried in the woods. Or worse—eaten.

The only thing that discouraged my complete relaxation was that Damen Abernathy would occasionally look up from his notes and study me in the most peculiar way.

It was starting to get on my nerves.

When he did it again, I could no longer bite my tongue.

My voice broke through the silence. “Did I do something wrong?”

Damen jumped in his chair. It took a moment for his red face to return to his normal complexion, and he regained his composure enough to ask, “I beg your pardon?”

So, he was going to pretend? I didn’t like that. I couldn’t let our relationship start out this way. “I really am sorry to bother you. I know it was rude for me just to show up, but…”

“You’ve done nothing wrong.” Damen shrugged off my concerns. He removed his glasses and leaned back in the chair. He began to bounce his right foot on top of his left knee. “I’m just wondering why Finn kept you a secret.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again. I looked away. This really had been a bad idea. I’d never expected Finn to haven’t even told his family about me.

Maybe he was ashamed?

Even so, it hurt. My world was very small. Besides my parents and doctors, Finn had been my whole life. I hadn’t realized how little importance I held in his. This made the situation far worse than I’d imagined. He would be beyond upset that I’d gone behind his back.

He could never know.

“People tend to misunderstand his intentions, but Finn doesn’t do anything without a reason,” I told Damen, forcing cheerfulness into my voice.

“I know that—” Damen began.

But I cut him off before I could lose my courage. It was so hard to control my nerves—and, once shot, the filter between my mouth and brain blurred. “But about Finn… he doesn’t know I’m here. Please don’t tell him. It might make him angry.”

“Why would he get angry?” Damen’s gaze narrowed, and his voice turned hard.

I panicked and waved my hands. “Not like ‘angry’,” I said. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause more conflict. “That was a bad word. Worried . I’m not really good with strangers, and he’s anxious when I talk to people without him around. Finn is very protective, and sometimes it’s better not to let him know certain things.”

There. Now his brother could see that Finn was a good guy.

Damen was silent but didn’t appear to be convinced. However, his cynicism returned to intrigue. I never normally looked into people’s faces—only at their mouths—but something about his gaze held my attention.

I should have been nervous. Instead, a sense of familiarity swelled in my chest. My cheeks burned under his scrutiny. There was no way to deny that I was attracted to him.

I had no idea what might be going through his mind. Whatever it was, though, made him frown even more.

I was a crappy future sister-in-law.

The moment between us shattered as Miles opened the double doors and entered the room, pushing a silver cart. Another man followed him—probably the person who’d been hiding in the library.

The stranger was glaring at Miles, but as he spotted me, his mood shifted. Full lips quirked up, and my pulse skipped.

What were the odds of there being so many good-looking people in one place?

This was a really strange group.

I couldn’t stare at any of them. You were meant to forsake all others once you found your soulmate, and fidelity was my most valued trait. To avoid any semblance of improper thoughts, I might need to gouge out my eyes. Nowhere was safe to look.

But then the new guy spoke, and I realized the flaw with my plan. Heaven help me—his voice was as beautiful as his face.

“Hello, Bianca.” He seemed to float across the room before he stopped in front of me and kissed my knuckles. “It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Julian Kohler. I hope Damen was behaving himself. He tends to be a flirt.”

Damen made a strange sound I couldn’t decipher, and Miles stared wide-eyed at Julian even as he set out a fragile-looking tea set. I hardly had the capacity to feel self-conscious about their reactions because most of my attention was focused on the man in front of me.

He was taller and thinner than Damen and had the most striking blue eyes. His dark complexion was offset by a light-blue polo, but I could see the lines of lean muscle pushing against the long-sleeved shirt. Yet Julian’s most defining feature was his legs.

He was easily the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life. Where the others were rugged or seductive, this man was the embodiment of grace.

Though why was he claiming that Damen was a flirt? Because I was sure that they all were.

My eyes began to water, and I realized I’d been staring. Meanwhile, I hadn’t even responded to his introduction. Not that he’d said anything about that, though. Julian just held on to my hand and acted as though being stared at wordlessly was a normal experience for him.

“I’m sorry,” I squeaked out in horror. My cheeks heated again. I couldn’t believe I was being so rude. “It’s nice to meet you. And I’m sorry about intruding on your meeting tonight.”

“Hush.” He touched my hand as he sat beside me. “It’s all right. Damen’s meetings are boring anyway, so you’re bringing some excitement into an otherwise tedious evening.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. But thankfully, he didn’t care. Instead, he sunk back into his seat while Miles flitted about the room, offering me and everyone else cookies and tea.

“Speaking of—” Damen, who had regained his composure, leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. “—it’s time to get started. First thing first. Bianca, can you explain why Dr. Stephens sent you? Then we’ll take it from there.”