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A thick awkwardness hangs in the air, but my oldest friend kindly eases it, turning to Jeslyn with a slight bow. “I was keeping your lovely sister hostage, my Ra'a.”
Finley rips her attention awayfrom me. “Seriously, what is with the nicknames?”
“Oh, pay no attention to him,” Jeslyn waves away Jethro’s comment. She turns her head and notices me for the first time. “Oh, Cyrus, good. Midas was just looking for you. I think he wants to go over everything before we leave tomorrow.”
“Good idea.” I move to excuse myself, stepping around Jeslyn, but she takes my hand, dropping her voice. “It’s good to have you back, Cy. I know you needed time after everything, but… we’re glad you’re home. Thank you for doing this for us.”
“It’s my duty.” I give her hand a quick squeeze. “And honor.”
This—my role here while my brother is away—is what I need to focus on. Not Finley.
At least not for another two weeks.
Chapter 4
Finley
Iwatch as Cyruswalks away, unable to keep my eyes from drifting to his ass. The man is an enigma. Hot and cold. But, oh, so fine. I thought he wanted to murder me when he first saw me, but after that little encounter… maybe he’d be more up for sex than I thought.
“Yoo-hoo, earth to Finley.” Jess waves her hand in front of my face.
“Sorry.” I snap back to attention. “I keep zoning out. Jet lag, you know?”
“Riiiight.” Her arm loops around mine, and she steers me toward the food table. “Anything you want to tell me, because I’m pretty sure you were just checking out my brother-in-law’s backside.”
“Backside? Really, Jess?”
“Don’t deflect.”
“I’m not. I have no problem admitting the man has a nice ass.” The cream puffs call to me and I pop one in my mouth and continue talking around the bite. “Don’t worry, though, I’m not interested.” Even if my pussy doesn’t seem to agree.
Midas walks up to us, carrying a glass of water he holds out for Jess. “Here.” He studies her for a minute, then adds, “Go sit.”
The firmness in his words makes me study my sister more closely. There are circles under her eyes and she’s paler than normal. It’s still weird to see her knocked up and waddling like a penguin. They both assure me it’s not twins, but the massive size of her belly is even more alarming if it’s only one kid in there. That’s gotta be one big baby.
“You really should get off your feet,” I echo her husband’s concern.
“I’ll rest after I introduce you to all the guests.” She turns to her husband. “And shouldn’t you be talking to Cyrus?”
Midas gives his wife a rare smile. “I’ll talk to him later. Right now, I’m taking care of my wife.”
Jess raises her eyebrows in challenge. “And I’m taking care of my sister.”
“I’m an adult, Jess.” I wave a meatball on a toothpick at her. “I can fend for myself. I did it in a foreign country for three fucking years.”
“Language,” Jess says automatically, and I laugh.
“No way, mom. I can cuss as much as I want now.”
“Sorry. Old habits.” Her smile is soft as she pulls me into a hug. “I’ve really missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
“Well then, let me show you off. I want you to know who to call if you need anything while I’m gone.”
“You’re forgetting my best friend still lives here.”
“How is Sora?” Jess’s voice drops and her forehead wrinkles in concern. The last time I was in New York, it was to pack up Sora’s things after she divorced her husband. She lost most of her friends and even her parents in the divorce. They all had too much of a religious stick up their asses to support her. It was messy.
