Page 33 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family
“You’d be surprised how many people make their places look like they don’t belong to them. Yours does.”
She hesitated and shrugged, drinking her water. “I like it to feel like home.”
I watched her as she leaned against the counter across from me. The tension in her shoulders was now gone.
She’s comfortable with me in her space…
“What did I miss?”
She narrowed her eyes at me, setting the water down. “Not much. Just work, work, and more work and dealing with a certain someone not sending me unsolicited food deliveries which meant starving for a few days.”
I chuckled. “I’ll make up for it.”
She smiled but didn’t argue.
I watched her for a moment, then asked, “And outside of work?”
She hesitated, then shrugged. “Not much. Caught up with my girl Rachelle, had dinner with her one night, did some planning for an event. Umm, that’s about it.”
I took in the details she didn’t say. The way she avoided my eyes when she mentioned the dinner. The way she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, like she wasn’t sure if she should say something else.
I pushed off the counter and stepped closer. “You hesitated.”
Her brows pulled together. “No, I didn’t.”
I lifted a brow. “You did. Say what’s on your mind?”
She shifted her weight and crossed her arms again. “It’s nothing.”
“Baylyn.”
She sighed, frustrated but not enough to shut me out completely. “It’s stupid. I just… when I saw another article about the guy from the event it messed with my head a little.”
I stayed quiet, letting her talk.
“He was an asshole. They keep trying to make it seem like he was some great guy but he wasn’t. I caught myself thinking that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that you did what you did.”
She grimaced, like the thought made her uncomfortable. “And then I felt weird for thinking that.”
“Why?”
“Because normal people don’t think like that.”
“I disagree.”
Her frown deepened. “Of course, you do.”
I chuckled. “People like to act like they’re on some moral higher ground but we all have dark thoughts. Some people just aren’t honest about it and don’t act on them.”
She stayed quiet, considering my words. Then, after a pause, she sighed. “What about you?”
I lifted a brow. “What about me?”
She studied me carefully. “What have you been up to? Acting on those dark thoughts?”
She tipped her chin and waited. She was asking what kept me from her all week but battling with whether or not she truly wanted the answer.
“Do you really want to know?” I asked.
