Shiver

  As we dug into our meal, Sarah leaned in and whispered, “You guys going to the basement tonight?”

  “Depends how long this goes on for,” I whispered back. “I went last night.”

  “And?”

  “A movie theater.”

  She grinned. “We went Thursday night.”

  “And?”

  “A spa. I was a rather slutty masseuse who took advantage of a willing client. And we made good use of the hot tub.”

  I chuckled, all too able to imagine Sarah playing that part.

  Bastien leaned toward us. “What are you two whispering about?”

  “A spa, a masseuse, and a hot tub,” said Sarah.

  Eyes glimmering with heat, he flashed her a sensual smile. “That so?”

  Feeling a warm, strong hand gently squeeze my thigh, I turned to Blake with a raised brow. “Yes, dear?”

  His mouth twitched. “I think you have an admirer.” He gestured at the little boy sitting directly opposite me.

  It was only then that I noticed he was staring at me curiously. “You okay, Kyle?”

  He nodded. “Why are your eyes different colors?”

  Although he’d seen them before, he was apparently still surprised by them. Smiling, I opened my mouth to answer, but someone beat me to it.

  “You get that trait from your father, don’t you?” asked Tara with a polite interest that was completely false. “Maxwell Buchanan, I mean. Not Michael Bale.”

  Sarah growled quietly, and Bastien put his hand over hers.

  “Why were his eyes that way, though?” asked Kyle, brow furrowed.

  Deciding to just ignore Tara, I shrugged at him. “I don’t know. Weird, huh?”

  Kyle’s lips twisted. “I want mine to be different colors.”

  “Like one red, and one black?” I suggested.

  His eyes sparkled. “Ooh, yeah! It would freak people out.”

  “Oh, like the contact lenses you wore as a teen, Kensey?” Again, Tara was all politeness, but there was a mocking note in her voice.

  Kyle spoke before I could even think to answer her. “My dad has lenses—he doesn’t like wearing glasses.”

  “My lenses made my eyes look different,” I told him. “Scary, even.”

  He leaned closer, fascinated. “Like actors wear in horror movies?”

  “Exactly like that.”

  Sarah elbowed me gently. “You wore them well.”

  I grinned. “I do miss the lizard ones.”

  Sarah chuckled, her expression nostalgic. “They creeped out Mrs. Bannon so bad.”

  “Didn’t the school principal ask you not to wear them?” Emma scooped more mashed potato onto her plate. “My school was super strict—we couldn’t even wear pretty hair ties.”

  I sipped my water. “She did ask me not to, but she didn’t make a fuss when I ignored her.”

  “She liked you,” said Sarah. “Especially since you argued with the nun that was rude to all the teachers.”

  Blake turned to me, brow creased, eyes gleaming with amusement. “You argued with a nun?”

  “Not on purpose.” It really hadn’t been my fault.

  “She asked Kensey in what ways the bible ‘spoke’ to her,” Sarah explained. “Kensey said she didn’t want to answer because it would offend her, but Sister Margaret promised she wouldn’t be upset.”

  “But she got upset?” Adam prodded.

  Cutting into my chicken, I said, “I told her I believed in God but that I didn’t take the bible too literally, because I thought a lot of it could have been lost in translation or might even be metaphorical.” I shrugged. “She told me she’d pray for my doomed soul. That was nice of her.”

  “I heard you got into a lot of fights at school, Kensey,” Tara said ever so casually.

  I ground my teeth, reminding myself that the bitch wasn’t worth my time or attention.

  “How’s your apartment-hunt going, Kenz?” Sarah asked, as if Tara hadn’t spoken. And I understood that she’d raised the subject because it was a fast way to piss Tara off and hopefully shut her butt down.

  It was Blake who answered, hand rubbing my thigh beneath the table. “That’s over.”

  Tara perked up. “You found a place, Kensey? That’s great news.”

  Blake looked at her. “Kensey’s staying with me.”

  Tara’s grip on her fork flexed. “Permanently?”

  At his nod, Emma’s face lit up. “Good. I hated the thought of you all alone up there in that big apartment, Blake. Plus, Kensey makes much better coffee than you—this is good for your visitors, like me.”

  “Never thought I’d ever hear that you were living with someone,” Gage said to me. “It’s good that you’re out of that shithole, sweetness.”

  “Careful,” Blake said to him, voice low but threatening. “Be very, very careful.”

  Gage raised his hands in an apologetic gesture. “Old habits die hard.”

  Adam cleared his throat. “Maybe we could talk about something other than Kensey so she doesn’t develop a complex. Like how awesome I am. That’s always a fun subject.”

  And just like that, the tension was broken.

  Tara didn’t speak to me throughout the rest of the meal, which meant I got to enjoy my dessert in peace. Afterward, we all filed out onto the patio and seated ourselves on the rattan furniture. Blake sank into a chair and pulled me onto his lap.

  There was talking and laughing and sharing funny stories. I didn’t once look at Tara, so I wasn’t sure if she was paying me and Blake any attention or not. But when I was returning from using the downstairs restroom, she was waiting for me in the hall, eyes diamond hard.

  I sighed. “You really want to do this here, on Adam’s birthday?”

  “Blake said he told you about Liza Montgomery.”

  Apparently, she did want to do it here. “Just when I thought my opinion of you couldn’t get any lower…”

  “He had no right to—”

  “You don’t