Page 133 of My Pleasure

“No.” The order came from multiple people around the table. Zev sat back down looking disappointed.

Meryn slid over not only her platter of bacon, but also her afternoon cookies. “I like you.”

Zev brightened and took the bacon. “I like you too.”

Aiden clenched his fists. “Why is it always the violent ones?”

Daia tapped her pen on her pad of paper. “Karl doesn’t wear a necklace.”

“They’re invisible to everyone but humans,” Meryn added.

“Let’s not tip our hand,” Marshall said. “Daia is in place to do a lot of good. Until we have something concrete, let’s just keep things as even-keeled as possible.”

“Kiera, are you keeping your uncle’s house?”

“Hell no,” she replied. The thought of going back there made her feel ill.

Caiden smiled. “Technically, it belongs to the Goldenleafs. We are still in the process of recovering our ancestral homes.”

Meryn’s expression turned exalted as she began tapping on her phone.

Caiden, Darian, and Aiden began to look sick.

Kiera watched as Hunter frowned, then slid his bacon over for Meryn. He obviously didn’t like that she had given away her food.

Softie.

“Meryn, what are you doing?” Oron asked.

She put her phone down. “Nothing.”

Seconds later, Kendrick’s phone pinged. He looked down, then shot an irritated glare at Meryn, then answered. “Hey, Kincaid.”

“Why is Meryn texting me that the Goldenleaf house, needs an exorcism?!” Kincaid screeched. “I already said, I don’t want to be a Founding Family member. Why do I get the house with bleeding walls!?”

Caiden palmed his face. Aiden sat back with his eyes closed. Daia took a bite of her brownie, and Kendrick continued to stare at Meryn.

Meryn smiled back at him brightly. “He reminds me of Keelan.”

Kendrick blinked. “Did you torture him too?”

Meryn looked offended. “I would never.”

“Kendrick, Meryn, why do I get the haunted house?” Kincaid demanded.

Kiera watched them try to calm Kincaid down.

“We can burn it down,” Hunter suggested.

“No!” everyone replied at once.

She patted his arm. “Nice try, hun.”

He looked down at her. “You good?”

“Never better.”

And it was true. Despite everything, knowing that her future had him in it, meant she would never be alone again and that together, anything was possible.