Page 68 of The Scandal You Started
“She’s pissed,” Rayna muttered after a moment.
“Yeah,” Erin agreed. “Butforyou, not at you. I guess she really liked Dominic.”
Rayna huffed. “She did. It was odd how well they got on.”
While Erin hadn’t yet met Dominic, Kelly had when they’d visited her at her café near Fronis Museum. Despite how protective of River Kelly was, the fact that Dominic had threatened to unalive her fiancé hadn’t seemed to matter once they’d started chatting.
Erin grinned. “Well, that’s better than when I introduced her to Quilla. Kelly would’ve strangled her if Zack hadn’t stepped between them.”
Quilla was Erin and Zack’s new Study who’d arrived not long after Dominic had.
“That bad, huh?”
Erin nodded. “Oh, yeah. Not that I blame Kelly.” Erin threw a quick glance over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “She’s the biggest entitled bitch ever. You’d think she was a princess and not some head councillor’s daughter. Even Zack is losing his patience with her, and he’s such a sweetheart. I can’t wait for the next two and a half months to be over.”
“And here I thought Dominic was driving me round the bend.”
Erin chuckled before silence fell between them. They stared at each other, unmoving.
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to get involved with him,” Erin then said gently. “There’s a lot to lose for something that won’t last longer than a few months. But…” Her ruby-red eyes twinkled with optimism. “Don’t you wonder why Monty and Victor let you be Dominic’s Guardian even though they knew how he felt about you?”
Shehadthought about it. But not deeply, because it didn’t require a deep answer.
“They expected me to still be able to maintain a Study-Guardian relationship with him. That’s it. There’s no other reason.” Erin opened her mouth to argue, but Rayna continued. “It’s just attraction. It will fade, and then Dominic will realise I was right. There’s no point risking so much for so little.”
“I wouldn’t sound so sure about that if I were you,” Erin said with a smile. “You’re cynical, which is why you’re underestimating your own feelings. But I’d like to remind you, you already find him attractive even though you know you’re not supposed to.”
Rayna was struck speechless by that unnecessary truth.
Her best friend’s expression turned sympathetic. “We have very different views on love and relationships—I know that. But sometimes, Rayna, feelings happen, and there’s nothing wrong with just…enjoying them while they last, rather than exhausting yourself trying to fight them. Even privately. It doesn’t mean you’d be any less good at your job, or any less who you are.”
Rayna swallowed stiffly as her nerves rattled from the inside out.
Erin gave a small shrug. “I hope Jake gives you the answer you’re looking for. But if you ask me…I think you already know what it is.”
Chapter 21
Rayna
Rayna held her upper arm as she strolled with Jake by her side from his car to the house she shared with George in a comfortable silence at the end of their date.
The early June night sky was bright with a full moon, the air was warm but not heavy or sticky, and the mood was light.
She couldn’t fault anything about it. Not the weather. Not Jake. Not the hours of fun they’d had eating and chatting and laughing until their stomachs hurt. And yet…
They came to a silently agreed stop by the shallow wall that outlined a raised flowerbed in one corner of the driveway, close to a streetlight. They faced each other.
Jake gave her a small, boyish smile as he pushed his hands into his jeans’ pockets, and Rayna found herself catching his contagious contentment.
“Thank you for dinner. I had a lot of fun,” she said.
“Thank you for agreeing to let me take you out. You made the night fun.”
Her smile widened. “You planned it, so don’t give me all the credit. I just showed up on time.”
“Yeah, but the fact you showed up at all? And on time?” His grin turned crooked. “That was honestly the highlight of the night for me.”
She chuckled softly and rolled her eyes. Jake’s smile widened, and he swayed on his feet. He glanced at her with twinkling green eyes. She stared back. His smile waned, and she felt hers fade along with his.
