Page 39 of The Duplicity of Thieves

“It’s true. A guy like that has women fall all over him, but when you went off with his friends, he was clearly jealous,” Bella says.

I consider her words. When he was sitting in his chair, and I was talking to Minos and Hermes, he was glaring at us. The swift exit when I came back paired with the things he said at The Alibi, might mean he’s into me. If I admit it though, I’ll start to feel things I shouldn’t. I’m just something he hasn’t conquered, and I’m not something to be had.

“Well,” I say carefully. “He did take me to get food.”

“So you didn’t go home?” Vivian is going to lose her shit. “I love this reinvented Josie.”

I laugh at her excitement. It’s contagious. “No, we went to some dive bar.”

“And then!?”

“Then…he kissed me when I was leaving.”

“You are torturing me. I’m going to have a heart attack. Did he finger you in another alley or what?”

“No, nothing like that. He asked to see me again.”

She glares at me. Bella leans forward waiting for more.

“You said no,” Vivian realizes.

I rap my nails on the table, causing Bella to rub her temple. “Not exactly.”

“Don’t tell me you made another fucking deal?” I give her a sheepish grin, and she huffs in frustration. “You are ridiculous.”

“I told him if we run into each other again, he can take me on a date.”

Vivian feigns fainting into Bella’s shoulder. “I can’t take it, Bella. The romance.”

“It’s not romantic.”

“This shit would make Aphrodite swoon.”

“Do not meddle,” I warn her.

“I’ll go ahead and put you down for a plus one at the wedding.” She pretends to make a note on the napkin with an invisible pen.

“We won’t see each other again. I’ll go back to work soon, and things will get back to normal.”

“Excuse me ladies, I’m going to throw up in the bathroom.” Bella stands and rushes away. Vivian watches her, then turns to me with uneasiness.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Killian, does it?”

Her question is like tearing out a fresh stitch. Guilt that I had forgotten about seeps back in. Mere hours after my first encounter with Aedon, Killian had told me he loved me.

Since the night of his death, I’ve spoken very little of Killian. Out loud, anyways. There wasn’t really a point. It’s usually someone else bringing him up. He was there, and then he was gone. I knew he loved me for less than five minutes before his death. The only thing there was for me to truly mourn was our friendship. I shake my head no. Of course it hurts, but any reality of us was just a blip. It’s not something to let ruin the rest of my relationships. I can easily do that on my own if I want.

She reaches across the table and slips her hand into mine. “It’s okay to move on.”

“I appreciate your concern, Viv, but there’s nothing to move on from.”

“There is, and it’s okay to recognize it. Killian was your first love, but it doesn’t have to be your last.”

“You’re being ridiculous. Killian and I were hardly in love, and he couldn’t even say it to me until it was life or death. And I don’t even know Aedon,” I brush her off.

“It doesn’t have to be him, though you two would make a fine ass couple, but stop closing yourself off to the world.”

“I hear you.” I give her hand a squeeze. “Speaking of, have you heard anything about Stafford recently?”

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