Page 105 of It Starts With A No

“Anyway, I’m not talking about sex.” She couldn’t explain to him either. “Let’s just say we met because he needed my help.” She jabbed her fork into the creamy chicken, then glanced up at Oliver to make sure he was watching her. “Now he doesn’t need it anymore.”

“You think he’s making use of you?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she said after chewing and swallowing. “Mmm … I love the creamy chicken.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time Seth made use of you?”

“No. Not him.”

Oliver stepped closer. “You didn’t cook this food?”

“No, my Grandma Moretti sent it to me.”

“Is she an Eolenfeld?”

“No.”

Oliver nodded. “Why don’t you like to be associated with the Eolenfelds? Everyone else does.”

“There are many reasons.” Clary pursed her lips. “Have you ever had to pause and consider the motives of everyone around you? Are they only your friends because of your association with the Eolenfelds? Is that why your boyfriend seems so eager to meet your family every Christmas?”

“But you’re not related to the Eolenfelds, not directly.”

“Exactly.” She shrugged a shoulder. “But it doesn’t matter. Elton made that clear enough.”

“So your ex-boyfriends were all only with you because of your association?”

“I only had one, in college. I wasn’t even in the States, so I didn’t think anyone knew I was associated with Mr. E—Eolenfeld. Apparently, Mr. E made a call to the landlord to ask him to take care of me, so the son knew. He pretended he didn’t, and for three years, I thought he was the most caring and sweetest person. I thought …” She laughed and shook her head. “Turned out, he was just waiting for me to introduce him to Mr. Eolenfeld.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

“So you must’ve felt something was wrong.”

“There were red flags. He always seemed so enthusiastic about meeting my family. He’d try to guilt me into bringing him home over the holidays.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I knew Grandma Moretti would interrogate him, and I was trying to protect him from that. And …” She blew out a breath. “I guess after years of second-guessing the motives of everyone around me, I wanted to keep him free from anything related to the Eolenfelds. Then he ran out of patience.”

“He broke up with you.”

“He gave me the silent treatment.” Just as Seth was doing. “What’s the term now?” She held her index finger up. “He ghosted me. Then I found out that he’d had other girlfriends all along. There was an ongoing bet among him and his friends on when I would actually introduce him to Edward Eolenfeld.”

“I’m sorry.” Oliver leaned back against the kitchen counter. “But at least you know Seth isn’t with you because of that association.”

On the contrary, Oliver.

“Wait.” Oliver’s eyes slid to the side. “You said Seth needed your help, and you’re wondering if he’s making use of you.” He frowned. “So Seth went to you because he needed the Eolenfelds’ help? Or it’s something linked to them.”

Oh, no. She’d said too much.

Clary didn’t want to lie, so she just laughed and shot Oliver a pointed look. Then she jabbed her fork into the next slice of chicken. “This goes really well with the gnocchi, but I’ve already finished that.” She pushed the entire slice of chicken into her mouth and chewed on it.

“I’m sure you’re more than a friend to him,” Oliver continued. “He … He doesn’t like touching people.”

“He doesn’t like people touching him. I don’t think it’s a problem if he initiates it.”

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