Page 132 of Seeking Shadows

Zane’s expression softens. I watch him melt like butter, and it’s… cute.

“They’d be idiotsnotto want you in their family.”

I grin. “I think I’m just his favorite in-law. Which isn’tthathard, since Seth and Ceci don’t make it easy.”

“His favorite, huh?”

“Are you jealous?”

“Yes.”

“Serious?”

“You’retoolovable for my taste. And to be fair, everyone would be jealous of Pietro. He’s hot.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Youreallythink so?”

He shrugs. “Objectively.”

“I see him more as a wounded puppy, you know? Not exactly attractive. He’s nice, just… not my type. And even if he weren’t my sister’s husband, I wouldn’t see him like that.”

“But you think Audrey is hot. And she’s somehow involved with your brother.”

“Whodoesn’tthink Audrey is hot?”

“I can’t see her that way. It’s weird when you’ve watched someone grow up.”

“Fair. I’d probably feel the same way if I had people in my life for that.”

He gives me a look. “Heavy, Mia.”

“Thispartyis heavy. I’m bored. Let’s compare beautiful people. No one care about us here.”

Zane watches me for a moment, his head tilting slightly, before his lips curve into something just shy of a smirk. “Not enjoying our engagement party?” he teases.

I scoff, taking another sip of champagne. “Oh, absolutely. There’s nothing I love more than celebrating my commitment to a man I actually like… surrounded by people I want to kill.” I flick my eyes over the windows, wrinkling my nose. “If I ever get a real engagement party, I’d at least like to know the guests. But it’s not like I have much of a choice, do I?”

Something flickers across Zane’s expression—something unreadable, but it fades as quickly as it appears. He steps closer, plucking the glass from my fingers, setting it aside. “You think too much,” he murmurs, voice dipping lower, more deliberate.

“Someone has to,” I say, arching a brow, but my pulse betrays me, skipping slightly as he closes the space between us.

Zane hums, his gaze dropping briefly to my lips before trailing lower. “Yeah?” His fingers skim down my arm, featherlight, enough to make me shiver. “Then let’s give you something else to think about.”

Before I can fire back, his hands move fast—gripping my waist, steering me backward until my back meets the wall. The impact is gentle, but the way he crowds into my space is anything but.

My breath hitches.

Zane pins me there, his body flush against mine, his palms bracing the wall on either side of my head.

His scent—clean, sharp, something distinctly him—fills my lungs, and my mouth goes dry.

“Still thinking about killing people?” His voice is a murmur, low and laced with something far more dangerous than any mobster in this room.

I swallow. “Mm. Jury’s still out.”

He chuckles, a rough sound that sends a shiver straight down my spine. His nose brushes against my temple, his lips a whisper away from my skin.

“Then I guess I’ll have to work harder to distract you.”

---