Page 74 of The Moon & His Tides

Her answering smile was as bright as a wedge of moonlight. Slowly, she spun in a graceful pirouette, and something inside the cage of my ribs did the same.

When I picked up Adam and Savannah at NoMad, I was still thinking about the girl with the sunshine hair in a pool of moonlight spinning and spinning until I turned the corner and lost sight of her.

“Sebastian, darling,” Savannah’s sharp voice cut through my thoughts as I leaned against the car at the exit, waiting for them to emerge.

I jerked away from my lean against the Rolls and smiled at myduchessaas she moved gracefully toward me on sky-high heels. She had changed from her gown into a short, beaded number like something fromThe Great Gatsby,and Adam was in a similarly themed outfit of vest and dress shirt in different shades of green that made his eyes almost neon toned even in the dim light of the sodium lamps lining the street.

“Siete sensazionali,” I murmured because I’d lost some of my breath to those two golden-haired beauties walking towardme.

Savannah’s narrowed glare softened at the reverence in my tone, and her hand was gentle as she placed it in mine so I could lead her the last few steps to the car and open the door for her.

“You were somewhere else,” she accused lightly.

I helped her get settled and closed the door, taking the time to wonder how I should respond to that. When I walked to the other side, I passed Adam getting into the back seat. He gripped my forearm before I could move by and leaned in closer, breathing deeply.

“You smell of another woman,” he noted, eyes flaring with surprise as he leaned back.

My pulse hopped straight into a sprint like a rabbit pursued by a predator through the brush.

I swallowed thickly and turned away from him to get into the driver’s seat.

There was nothing wrong with spending the evening with Linnea. She was only sixteen, but even then, she was closer to myage thanbothof the Meyerses. It was only fair that I should be allowed to have friends outside of their marriage.

When I closed the door and buckled up, looking into the rearview mirror to pull out of the parking space safely, Adam and Savannah were both watching me.

“Well?” Savannah asked, acid dripping from the one word.

“Well what,duchessa?”

“Don’t sweet-talk me, Sebastian. Were you with another woman tonight? Adam said you smell like perfume. And don’t try to pass it off as mine. I certainly don’t wear something as childish ascoconut.”

I rolled my eyes, but by the sound of Adam’s low grumble in the back seat, that was not an acceptable response.

“I don’t know why we’re talking about my night when you two were the ones at the star-studded party. Tell me, was Clooney there?”

“Sebastian,” Adam warned.

It was a command more than anything, and it affected me better than Savannah’s peevishness.

I sighed. “You’re both being very jealous. I spent the evening with a female friend. We went to the cinema and shared a curry.”

The silence that followed my statement was sticky as a web cast between the front and back seats, ensnaring me in tacky fibres.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware it went against the rules for me to make friends,” I said slowly, so dry the words scraped my throat coming out.

Savannah’s energy was a palpable thing, a vibration that cranked high enough to set my teeth on edge.

“Of course, you can have friends,” Adam soothed, but his tone was brittle. “We would never want to isolate you.”

“Your current response says otherwise.”

“I just encouraged you two days ago to catch that Kings United match with your old flatmates,” Adam argued.

“Who are men,” I quipped. “You know, I’m interested in you, right? Sexually. Yet you encouraged me to hang out with blokes, and you’re… what? Jealous that I spent the evening with Linnea? If you’re going to be possessive, at least be bipartisan about it.”

“Linnea Hildebrand?” Savannah asked, shock clearing the furrow between her brows.

“Linnea Kai,” I corrected.