Page 33 of Monstrous Travels as Wicked as Sin

They ate, they laughed, they talked about anything but the awful day that awaited them, then Percy finally climbed out of bed to address the pile of mail Leo had forwarded from his Paris office, which had sat waiting on a side table for a good twenty-four hours before Percy had bothered to look at it.

With the teacup and saucer balanced gracefully in one hand, Percy began sorting through the tower of letters. He made a quick assessment of business and personal, throwing the former to the side in a messy heap, then, one by one, he commenced scanning hand-written return addresses in the ‘personal’ pile. “From Aubrey,” he began.

Joe smiled. Aubrey was a lovely woman, and one of Percy’s most recent, though closest, friends. A woman firmly attached to, and in a relationship with, Percy’s brother’s god-sister. She didn’t have a crush on Percy at all. Joe liked her a lot.

Percy threw down another letter. “Aubrey again.”

Joe knit his brow slightly.

“Aubrey,” said Percy with the third, adding a smug smirk.

“Is something wrong?” It had only been a month or two since last they’d met. Not long for such an accumulation of correspondence.

“She wants my soup recipe,” Percy drawled. “And I’m not going to give it to her.”

“She’s written you three letters in as many weeks about soup?”

Percy nodded sharply. “She thinks I’m being unreasonable, but she wants to cook soupe à l'oignon in spring.” He scoffed loudly at the thought.

Joe squinted. “And you won’t let her… because?”

With an even harsher squint directed right back at him, “It’s a winter soup. That’s disgusting, Joe.”

“Isn’t it up to her when she eats soup?”

“Aubrey,” Percy narrated as the next letter fell into the pile. “Not if it’s my soup.”

“Just give it to her—” Joe sighed out, only to be cut off by a loud exclamation.

“Aha! Look, one from Evelyn.” Percy ripped open his brother’s letter, an envelope stuffed full of several pages fully covered in elegant handwriting, then, “Oh.”

“Mmm?” Joe raised his handsome eyebrows.

He received lightly pursed lips and a side-eye in response. “It’s mostly for you.”

With a smile spreading across his face that he was hopeless to hide, “Really?”

“Mmm. Really.” There was a slightly joking but slightly miffed grimace as Percy threw the letter down on Joe’s excessively beautiful abdomen, stretched back in the bed with the sheet barely covering him as he was. Percy leaned down and kissed him. He kissed him again. He kissed him once more and went back to his letters.

One last envelope remained, which Percy flipped over to read the return address on. His face fell, and he shoved the letter into his pocket without a word. Catching Joe’s eyes on him, there was an attempt at a smile, quickly shut down by a mixture of whatever was going on in his head and slight embarrassment.

“Who’s that one from?” asked Joe.

“Only…” The slightest pause, as though he considered saying something else. “Only Anna.”

“Ah.”

Percy’s tea was placed down and forgotten. He turned his back on Joe, and he crammed himself secretively into the window seat without another word.

Joe hated the immediate physical reaction he had, but his heart already beat a little harder in his chest, and his stomach felt as though he’d just eaten six bricks for brunch. In hisdiscomfort, he pulled the sheet higher and placed his own tea down, but Percy turned his head to look back within a few seconds.

“Did you want to come?” He waited there, slightly anxious-looking. “To the window seat?”

“No,” Joe lied.

“Mmm.” Percy returned to his letter.

It was none of Joe’s business. None of his business at all. Whatever was between Percy and Anna was between them, and it was complicated. Very complicated. And Percy had a right to his secrets and his old relationships. Even if she was someone he had probably been in love with. Even if he was with Joe now…

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