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Kevin slips the card into his pocket. “I’ll do that. But I’ve taken up enough of your time. Laila—” He bends down for a logistically awkward hug since Arsen refuses to remove his arm from my waist. “—it was great to see you. Congrats again, you two.”
The moment Kevin is gone, I whip around. “What was that?”
“Which part?” he asks, pushing his chair back to its original location, far away from mine.
The arm around my waist. The kiss on the cheek. The performance that never, even for a second, felt like a performance.
“Giving Kevin your card,” I say instead. “My father is not your problem.”
“Laila,” he says, locking eyes with me even though there’s no one around to witness it, “anything that affects you is my problem.”
34
ARSEN
“What are you doing here?” Gedeon has his shoes kicked up on my coffee table and a cookie Polina baked wedged halfway in his mouth.
“In case you’ve forgotten, this is my house.” I knock his feet off the table. “Where’s Dominik? He was supposed to bring Kira over today.”
I glance through the front window, but the driveway is still empty. No cars have appeared in the twenty seconds since I last checked.
Laila isn’t going to see Tyler anymore. And as platonic as things seemed with Kevin, I’m not going to let her water the soil of that particular friendship. So, unless I want Laila to keep texting with Gedeon through meetings—which I don’t—getting her connected to some of the women in my world seems like the right move.
Luckily, Dominic said Kira has been hounding him for months to finally introduce her to Laila. Win-win.
“Oooh,” Gedeon sing-songs, looking smug enough to burst. “I see.”
“I doubt it,” I mutter. “Why are you here on a Saturday?”
“I was invited, as a matter of fact.” He’s having a little too much fun imparting that piece of information. “Laila wanted a buffer in case she doesn’t hit it off with Kira.”
“And she chose you?”
Gedeon just grins. “Some people find me charming.”
I want to punch the smile off Gedeon’s face. Before things can trend towards violence, Laila slides into the room in fuzzy white slippers and a daisy yellow sundress. There are diamond-shaped cutouts over her ribs, and I’m torn between wishing they were larger and wanting to tug my t-shirt over her head to cover her from the world.
“Are they here yet?” Laila scans the driveway the same way I just did, stretching onto her toes. “I feel like I’m going on a first date.”
“And that’s what you’re planning to wear?” Gedeon winces playfully.
“Shut up, Ged.” She whirls around to smack him on the arm, but her mouth falls open when she sees me. “Arsen. What are you doing here?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? This is my fucking house.”
Before Laila can say anything, Polina sticks her head in. “They’re here.”
A panicked yelp squeezes out of Laila’s throat, and Polina pats her on the arm. “You have nothing to be nervous about. Kira’s wonderful just like you. You two will get along great.”
I’m not even sure Laila hears her. She’s busy chewing on her bottom lip, casting nervous glances in the direction of her “buffer.”
“Gedeon,” I bark, “there was an anomaly with the security systems this morning. Go check on it.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
He barely hides an eyeroll, but shoves to his feet. He squeezes Laila’s shoulder as he passes. “I won’t be long.”
