Page 109 of Sinful Hearts

I swallow. “No problem.”

“Ugh, buzzkill,” Callie sighs. “But I need to get going anyway.”

“Same, actually,” Eilish nods. “Gotta get to class.” She turns to Callie. “You heading uptown? Castle’s downstairs. We can give you a ride.”

“Perfect, thanks.”

Neve clears her throat. “I actually have to go over some other contract stuff with Elsa.” She turns to eye me warily. “If you’ve got a sec?”

I nod stiffly. “M-hmm.”

“Great. See you both later.”

I manage a weak wave at Callie and Eilish. When they’re gone, I drag my eyes to Neve, mortified.

“I amsosorry—”

She shakes her head. “It’s your phone.I’msorry I pried.”

“Still. I’m sorry you saw…that.”

She snickers, chewing on her lip as she eyes me.

“So…you and Hades?”

“What?!” I sputter.

She sucks her teeth. “I saw the pic. I could tell.”

I stare at her, my face on fire. “You cantellbased off of….” I swallow. “That?” I croak.

“I mean, I’m married to his brother. Family resemblance, who knew.”

I keep staring at her, stunned. A second later she breaks, cracking up and grinning at me.

“I’mcompletelyjoking. I saw his contact name at the top of the screenshot.”

The air whooshes out of my lungs as I catch myself on the edge of my desk.

“Relax. I mean, I saw a quarter second of a dick and then I looked away. Believe me, I’ve retainednothing.”

I simmer, chewing on my lip. “Well, aside from the knowledge that I’m…yeah. With Hades.”

“Aside from that…yeah.” She grins at me. “I didnothave that on my Bingo card, not gonna lie.”

“Is saying ‘it’s complicated’ too cliche a phrase in this case?”

“I literally cannot imagine a more appropriate situation for its use.”

I smile. Neve does too, before her brow furrows.

“Is it…” she frowns, like she’s hunting for the right word.

“It’s not serious,” I blurt.

She chuckles. “That’s not what was I going to ask, and that’s none of my business anyway. No, I was trying to find a tactful way of asking if he was pressuring you into doing anything or being too…well,Hades.”

I shake my head. “He’s not.”

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