Page 63 of Higher Demon

“You’ve got a lot to think about, so I’m going to let you go,” he says. “Just one more thing: You’re worried that a relationship with this guy is going to destroy your life and tear apart your family, right?”

“Basically.” And so much more.

“And initially, it’s going to cause waves—not gonna lie about that. But have you stopped to think that it might ultimately fix the problems between your families? Or whoever else they hate on his side.”

I blink. “Uh…”

“Matt loves you. You guys are brothers in everything but blood. I’d bet everything I own on him being mad but eventually getting over it. Maybe I’m looking at this through rose-colored glasses, but is there even the tiniest chance that everyone involved loves you enough to deal with it, long-term?”

“I…” Crap. “Maybe.” If I can get my family on board… I already knew we’d need to stay secret from the Collective for a while. A long while, sure, but not necessarily forever.

“Just think about it. Hey, bring him up to LA to meet us. I’ll get Charlie to pull some strings and find us a reservation at a swanky restaurant.”

I grin. Marc in a trendy LA restaurant, with a crowd of wannabes to snark about? “He’d love that. He’s kind of a clotheshorse—he and Charlie have that in common.”

“God save us all,” Liam mutters, then laughs, and we say our goodbyes. I slide down off the couch to the floor and lie there, staring up at the ceiling. It’s a trick Kieran taught me after he and Connor hooked up. Ceilings are usually blank and white, and if you stare at the nothingness of them for long enough, your mind begins to float.

Liam didn’t know enough of the details to be able to give truly helpful advice, but he’s got one thing right: I need to talk to Marc before I do anything else. No point in blowing up my life if he’s not that into me.

My inner self scoffs. He’s into me. I know it, bone-deep.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been lying there, staring into nothing, when I hear the front door open and close and footsteps down the hall. They come back a moment later, and I can practically sense Matt in the doorway.

“Not going to work today?” he asks at last, breaking the silence.

Fuck. Work. “I’ll go this afternoon.” My hours at the archive are pretty flexible, as long as I show that I’m making progress on the work.

He steps over my legs and sits on the floor next to me. “Something on your mind?”

“I’m fucking Marc.” The words pour from me, and I sit up sharply. That wasn’t planned.

Matt doesn’t look surprised, though. “Yeah.”

“Youknew?” God-fucking-dammit. Marc said Matt suspected something, and I hate admitting he was right.

“You’re not as subtle as you think. I know you better than anyone, dude. Did you think I wouldn’t guess?”

“You’re not mad?”

“Furious. I seriously thought about kidnapping you and locking you up until you saw sense.”

I snort. Checks out. “What changed your mind?”

“I figured it was just sex and you’d get tired of it eventually.” He looks me in the eye. “If it was more than that, you’d talk to me about it.”

It’s hard not to look away, and I swallow. “Yeah.”

“So… more than sex, huh?”

“I haven’t talked to him about it yet.”

“But you have feelings.”

“When did you get smart?” The joke falls flat, and I sigh. “Yeah.”

We sit in silence for a little while.

“Hey, Matty?”

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