Page 210 of Halfblood Deceived

They were horrible buggers, but Zeydan loved them to pieces.

Love.

Oh, goddess.

A realization he’d been trying to ignore wiggled out of the box he’d been keeping it in.

His eyes slid to Gabby. He’d been in love with her decades ago. But what he’d felt for her hadn’t been half as intense as what he felt for Aella. He didn’t feel guilty about it because it was the same for Gabby. She had fallen in a different, burning, irreversible way for Lex.

The affection Zeydan and Gabby felt for each other had morphed into a different kind of love, almost filial, even before she met Lex.

“I think I’m in love with Aella,” Zeydan admitted aloud.

“I think the earth is round,” Gabby said, giving him an indulgent smile.

“I think the sun is a star,” Lex added.

Mari lifted an eyebrow. “I think Andreas is a grumpy arsehole.”

“I think the Earth’s atmosphere is composed of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, and 0.1 percent other gasses,” Evan said. He earned himself a collective look. He shrugged. “What? I thought we were all sharing scientifically proven facts. Andreas is indeed a grumpy arsehole, after all.”

Andreas gave a mock disdainful look at both Evan and Mari. “I think you can both go fuck yourselves.”

“See? More evidence,” Evan quipped.

Luce grinned at Zeydan. “I think Uncle Evan is a total nerd.”

Zeydan huffed, trying not to think about the heat crawling up his neck. He should have seen that coming.

Andreas gave Zeydan an almost disgusted frown. “Couldn’t you have kept it to yourself a little longer?”

Something shifted uncomfortably in Zeydan’s gut.

“Dad, you are being rude,” Luce scolded her father before Zeydan could say something that involved the word ‘fuck’ repeatedly.

“He’s just angry about losing the bet,” Gabby advised.

Zeydan knew he was going to regret asking. “What bet?”

Lex flashed him a wicked grin. “The one we’ve had since you carried Aella into the kitchen months ago, of course. We all bet on how long it would take you to realize you were gone for her.”

Zeydan resisted the impulse to groan into his hands.

Evan grinned. “It was quite obvious you’d fallen head over heels for her since that day, mate.”

Lex nodded. “But since you aren’t particularly in contact with your emotions, we knew it would take you a while to come to the logical conclusion.”

Gabby sighed, placing her chin on her interlocked fingers. “The way you look at her is very sweet.”

Zeydan was not blushing. He tugged at his T-shirt collar, feeling as if the soft fabric were choking him.

“It is the same look Uncle Lex gives Aunt Gabby,” Luce added with a smile.

Evan placed a hand against his forehead with an air of drama. “Swoon-worthy.”

Mari wrinkled her nose with faux disdain, but her lips twitched upwards. “Teeth rotting.”

Andreas scoffed. “Stupid and fucking dangerous.”

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