Page 79 of Truth (Wicked Empire 2)

“Never mind; forget I asked,” I said.

“It’s okay. I’ve known him and the family for quite a while. I like Davit a lot. He is so nice,” Kayla said.

“Nice?” I asked, with one of my brows raised.

She nodded.

“He’s not not nice, I guess. But nice isn’t really the word I think of when I think of Davit, and honestly, it never has been,” I said, resisting the urge to talk about when he’d first found me, unsure of how much she knew. A lot, I suspected, given that Davit seemed to trust her, but I wouldn’t presume.

“Well, all things are relative. So compared to Elias, and their father…”

I laughed. “I haven’t met either, but I can imagine.”

Her eyes wide with surprise. “You haven’t met Elias?”

“Not as of yet,” I said, feeling a surge of nerves.

“Oh,” she said.

I laughed again. “You’re not filling me with confidence here, Kayla,” I said.

She shrugged. “Well, he’s less nice than Davit, but you don’t have anything to worry about,” she said.

“Yeah, Kayla. You’re really selling this,” I said.

She laughed again. “Ignore me. And don’t ask me about their father.”

I smiled brightly. “Deal.”

“So—”

“Maybe—”

We both cut off, and started laughing at the same time.

“We are two very capable adult women. I think we can navigate this meeting without it being too weird,” I said.

“I mean… I’m out of practice with social situations, but even before, I always had a habit of making things weird,” she said.

“Before” caught my attention, but I chose not to press.

Instead, I said, “No. I make things weird. Certified computer geek here,” I said.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Not as big as Davit, of course, but pretty geeky, so I have the awkward covered for us,” I said.

“It’s probably nothing compared to mine, so I guess we could say we have an abundance of awkwardness,” she said.

I let out a snort laugh, and she did too, telling me that she was being a good sport.

We went quiet, and I could see something on her face. “Um, do you like coffee?” she asked.

I scoffed. “Do I like coffee? Is water wet?”

She laughed. “In that case, what if we get out of here? I know a place that I think you’ll like,” she said.

“Well, don’t just sit there,” I said as I stood from the chair.

She laughed again, and after a quick conference with security, and a short, three-block walk, we were in a coffee kiosk.

Saying “in” was a bit of an overstatement. The place was so small there wasn’t really room to stand, so I stood off to the side. After a moment, Kayla returned with two steaming cups.

I’d held off on my daily coffee in hopes I could grab a cup with Kayla, but now I looked at her skeptically.

“It looks like a hole in the wall, but trust me,” she said.

I wrinkled my nose, but then the aroma of the coffee hit me, and I took a sip. Closed my eyes and groaned with pleasure.

I smiled brightly when I looked at her. “Kayla, I’m so excited that you’re my new best friend.”

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