Page 29 of Tempting Fate

For a second, the grin I give him feels real. “See you in the morning, Em.”

I don’t bother attending Vince’s class the next day, instead spending the morning with Nick—who is too whiny and hungover to go play football—and Em. Nick gives me sympathetic looks until Em leaves the room and I tell him to get his shit together.

Cecile lets me in when I arrive at Kieran and Lucien’s flat that evening. It’s where we always have Sunday lunch, even if the space is increasingly cramped, what with all the members they’re adding to their pack. She hovers as I kick my shoes off by the door.

“You all right?” I ask.

“I was going to ask you the same question. After last night…”

I give her a quelling look. I really don’t want to talk about it in this room full of busybodies. Vince and Dax are already here, helping to set the table, and Drew’s two mates, Adam and Sam, are moving furniture out of the way.

“Later,” I mutter.

Later ends up being well after dinner. Fewer people turned up than I thought would be present, and Kieran and Vince get into chatting about the gym after we’ve eaten, which leaves me, Cecile, Adam, and Drew cleaning up in the kitchen.

We all try telling Drew to sit down—he cooked everything, after all—but he stays stubbornly where he is and we’re not about to move him.

I mean, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

“Well?” Cecile asks as she hands me a plate to put away. “Talk to me.”

“I said later.”

“They’re all busy.” She sweeps a hand in the direction of the table, which Sam is taking apart. They do seem distracted, and she’s not going to give in until I tell her something.

“Patch asked Em out on a date.”

“What?” Cecile almost drops the plate she’s holding, but I hurriedly catch it before Adam can leap across the kitchen. For a vampire, he can be pretty clumsy.

“He asked him out,” I say with a shrug. “I told Em to go for it.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Because it’d be cruel to do anything else?” I fire back at her. “Patch doesn’t want—And anything with Em would be a bad idea. Besides…”

“Besides, what?” Adam asks. Drew is at least pretending not to listen in, hands in the soapy sink water, but when I look up at him, his eyes slide quickly away.

“I’m pretty sure they’re mates,” I whisper.

Drew drops a fork with a clatter, which has Sam whipping around from the living room. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Adam replies quickly. I fight the urge to swear. I really shouldn’t have talked about this here. No way Adam and Drew will keep this from Sam—I don’t expect them to. But then Kieran will surely find out, being as he’s the alpha, Sam his second, and Vince and Dax kind of know anyway.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

“I thought, maybe,” Cecile replies quietly. She grabs some cutlery, drying it without really looking at it. “I’m sorry, Jamie.”

“It’s okay,” I say. If I keep saying it, it really will be. “Better that he knew right away, isn’t it? They won’t have to go through all the same shit as those two.”

I jerk my chin in Vince and Dax’s direction, and Adam huffs in amusement. Drew is still half-watching me, though. I don’t know what he’s thinking. I don’t want to ask.

Cecile’s voice is faint. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Better to know right away.”

“Right.” I take the cutlery she offers me and drop it into the little dividers in the drawer. “Let’s hope it all works out for them.”