Page 42 of Catalyst

He dipped the bread in the olive oil and vinegar mixture before placing it on his small white plate. Kane’s dark gaze pinned me, and I squirmed under the weight of his gaze.

“I’m not being weird! He is!” How was that even up for debate?

Kane smirked, running a finger around the rim of his glass. He’d ordered a beer, which made sense. He justfeltolder. But Jace?

“Jace loves reds… we just don’t keep them in the house much,” Kane said matter-of-factly. “Eat some bread. The baby’s hungry.”

He pointed to the basket, then to my stomach. I grabbed a piece of bread because I wanted to, and totally not because Kane told me to. It was still warm and soft, smelling like rosemary. I tore off a small corner and popped it into my mouth. The breadwas delicious, but it couldn’t distract me from the fact that Jace was sitting beside me with illegal wine.

I kept stealing glances at him, hoping he’d somehow explain without me having to ask outright. But Jace was perfectly content, smirking at me between bites of focaccia like he knew exactly how much he was messing with me.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“So… Jace,” I started slowly, drumming my fingers on the table as I searched for a discreet way to ask, before realizing there wasn’t one. “How old are you?”

“Calista!” Jace set his glass down with an exaggerated gasp. “Hasn’t anyone told you it’s rude to ask a lady her age?”

I parted my lips to remind Jace that he was, in fact, not a lady. But before I could, the server arrived with our food. The scent of garlic and cream wafted up from my bowl, causing me to salivate.

For a minute, I forgot all about Jace as I twirled thin strands of angel hair pasta around my fork. The sauce was creamy and salty, which was exactly what I hadn’t known I needed until now. I was fully content to eat in silence—until I noticed Kane staring at me.

“What?” I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“Nothing… You just look nice, that’s all.” He averted his gaze, focusing on his lasagna. “He, uh… Jace is twenty-five, by the way.”

I froze, my fork halfway to my mouth as I looked at Jace.

He shot me a sly look, taking another drink of his wine as if for emphasis. Was Kane messing with me? There was no way Jace was that old. Sure, he had a certain confidence that would make sense with age, but I’d just assumed that was his personality.

“How old did you think I was?” Jace asked, resting his chin on his hand.

“I don’t know—like nineteen? Maybe twenty? Definitely not old enough to be anadult-adult.” I put my fork down, trying to process this.

“What’s an adult-adult?” Kane chuckled.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I don’t know! Like, someone who’s old enough to have health insurance and a retirement fund?”

“Oh, well, I don’t have either of those,” Jace said, waving me off with a laugh before picking up his fork. “But Iamold enough to take care of a baby… hey, open your pretty little mouth for me.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “Why do you—”

Before I could finish, Jace shoved his fork into my mouth. Instantly, my tongue was assaulted by so much spice that my eyes watered. I choked down whatever the hell he’d just fed me and gulped my soda.

“What was that?” I asked, barely holding back a cough.

Jace shrugged, planting his hand on my stomach. “Relax, princess. A little heat never killed anyone.” He smirked as Sawyer thumped against his hand. “Little dude’s dad loved spicy food. Just seeing if he took after Sulien… and it looks like he does.”

The inferno in my mouth raged as I let out a hiccup.Oh my God, I was going to kill Jace.

“Kane, tell Jace that wasn’t funny,” I pleaded, desperately chugging my soda.

Kane shook his head, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

“You’re both the worst,” I groaned, although I wasn’t entirely sure I meant it. For the first time in a long time… I felt at home, which was impressive, considering I hadn’t even felt that way with my parents.

“That’s what you get for messing with villains.” Jace shrugged, taking a bite of his own pasta as if to prove it wasn’t that bad.

But just as I opened my mouth to tell Jace to fuck off, the surrounding air dropped by twenty degrees. Goosebumps prickled my arms as I fought off a shiver.

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