Page 129 of Glass Jawed
He smirks, hands raised. “Didn’t say a word.”
“Wait—your friend?” Navya continues, completely oblivious to the social cues flying past her. “From Canada?”
I nod stiffly, praying she finds someone her own age to annoy.
“How old is he?” she asks, staring openly at Lucian like she’s about to slide into his DMs with a thali in hand.
“He’sforty-five. Back off.” I snap.
Vikram’s eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously? He looks thirty.”
Kashvi scowls and nearly spits out her drink. “He’s thirty-two and off-limits, kid.”
Navya just hums, still watching Lucian like she’s sizing him up for a Tinder profile. “Thirty-two...” she repeats to herself, and I swear I can hear wedding bells in her head.
God help us all.
I’mtryingto rein in my jealousy. Really, I am. And I almost—almost—succeed.
Until Navya jumps up from her seat. And I know exactly where she’s headed.
I catch her movement from the corner of my eye—hips swaying like she’s auditioning for Victoria’s Secret—beelining straight for Lucian. My breathing picks up.
Advik’s hand lands on my thigh, a quiet anchor, but I barely register it as I turn.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Lucian, blissfully unaware of the looming disaster, is laughing at something my dad just said. Teeth out. Even his damnlaughis attractive.
And then Navya—Navya—walks up to him and places her hand on his shoulder like she’s known him since kindergarten.
I flinch. So does Lucian, though he does it in that smooth, graceful,damn-himway.
He looks up at her, politely startled... then his eyes find mine across the room.
Now—Navya is a gorgeous girl. But that’s just it. She’s agirl. Lucian is... a lot of things, but he’s not a cradle-snatcher. Twenty-fucking-one is too young for him. And she damn well looks less than eighteen.
I’m still recovering from the sheer audacity of this...childwhen my father says something to her. I watch her stiffen.
Lucian, still holding eye contact with me, bites his lower lip. Not in a sexy way—more like he’s trying not to laugh.
Navya returns a moment later, stomping like she just lost a bet. Her glare lands squarely on me.
“Why didn’t you tell me he’s yourboyfriend?” she huffs, dramatic as hell.
“Ididtell you he’s off-limits,” Kash mutters, rolling her eyes hard.
I sit there, stunned. Because Lucian? He didn’t say asingleword. That assumption? Purely from whatever the hell my dad said to her.
Fucking hell.Is that what my family thinks?
That Lucian is myboyfriend?
God, I’m going to need more whiskey.
??????
I find him alone in the courtyard.
