Page 233 of Sweet Nightmare

Too quickly.

My smile gets bigger. I hide it quickly, so no one sees it and face the room.

Across the table, Artemis sits with perfect posture, a tablet in front of her and an untouched coffee beside it. She looks completely unbothered. Which is bullshit.

I know it’s bullshit because every few minutes, her eyes flick toward me before she suddenly becomes fascinated by whatever’s on her screen.

I do the same thing.

Apparently, kissing her has destroyed both our abilities to behave like normal fucking adults.

And honestly?

I don’t mind.

Not when she’s looking at me like she’s just as incapable of controlling what’s looming between us.

“Won’t we freeze our tits off?” Mika whisper-yells.

Artemis closes her eyes.

“Lovely.”

I bite back a laugh. I know better than to laugh when Artemis looks seconds away from strangling the next person who says the wrong thing.

Someone clears their throat.

Zymon.

The fucker isn’t even trying to be subtle. He’s been staring at Stevie, Artemis’s tiny, fairy-like friend sitting across the table, since the meeting started.

And by staring, I mean watching her like the fucking Grim Reaper has found one particular soul he’d quite like to keep.

It’s almost hilarious.

Zymon looks like he could haunt someone’s nightmares for a living. Stevie, meanwhile, looks like she’d apologize to a chair for bumping into it.

She’s so tiny I’m pretty sure Mrs. Han could fit her in the spice cabinet.

The room falls silent when she suddenly places something on the table.

I lean forward and stare.

It’s a damn fish tank.

A pink, crystal-encrusted fish tank, covered in rhinestones and pearl stickers, with a tiny silver crown glued to one corner. The thing looks less like an aquarium and more like something a spoiled princess would demand for her royal pet.

The fish inside looks just as ridiculous.

“Oh, this is Eloise!” Stevie announces proudly.

Eloise?

She slides the aquarium toward Artemis, her freckled face glowing with excitement.

Artemis stares at the tank with an annoyed look on her face. “Why did you bring her?”

“Because she’s your baby!”