Page 146 of Nyx

"Do you need anything, hon?" she asks, her eyes scanning me.

"I'm fine," I say, tangling my fingers together in my lap and trying to divert all of my fear into my palms so I can lay it down when no one is watching me.

She gives a sadder smile as if she can read me like an open book, but she doesn't call me out on the lie.

She simply holds her hand out, curling her fingers to urge me to take it when I can do nothing but stare at it.

"You're not," she argues. "But you will be. Come on. Help me in the kitchen."

I take her hand, feeling just as special as Gigi must feel to have her as a mom when she curls my arm around hers and guides me to the kitchen.

"Those kids are great until they get hungry," she says as we step into the kitchen. "They turn into little monsters if they aren't fed at regular intervals."

I smile softly at her words because each one is wrapped in love and devotion.

"We're going to make finger sandwiches, fresh fruit, veggies, and they can have ice cream for dessert," Emmalyn says. "Where are your strengths with that?"

"I can cut up fruit and veggies," I offer, feeling grateful to be given a task that will help me take my mind off my current situation.

"Perfect. Let me get the peanut butter," she says. "Fruit and veggies are in the fridge."

"Peanut butter sandwiches?" I ask as I head to the fridge.

"Peanut butter for the celery sticks because Amelia would die if she had to eat a piece of celery without it," Emmalyn says as she opens one of the cabinets. "There's also veggie dip in there and fruit dip. Can you grab the sliced cheese and deli meats for me?"

"Sure," I tell her, working on getting everything we need out and placing it on the counter.

She busies herself by getting me bowls to put the chopped fruit and vegetables in, along with a knife and cutting board, before grabbing bread and trays for her sandwiches.

"How long have you lived here?" I ask.

"On the property?" she asks.

"Oh, you don't live at the clubhouse?"

She shakes her head. "Kincaid and I have a house out back, but we've been together over thirty years."

She pauses a moment, her eyes directed upward as if she's remembering the first time she stepped on this property.

"It seems like a lifetime ago. It's almost impossible to remember the time in my life before Cerberus."

"You seem very happy."

"I am," she assures me as she opens a loaf of bread, pulling the entire thing out of the package. "My life before Diego was full of pain and heartache."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I say.

"Thank you," she says. "But I think everything that happens in our lives brings us to the exact place we were always meant to end up. If it weren't for my abusive ex-husband, I wouldn't be here."

I pause, my knife hovering above the bunch of celery. "I didn't want to make assumptions."

She gives me another smile as if her past trauma has no power over her any longer, and I can only hope to be so strong one day.

"How did you two meet?" I ask as I start to cut up the celery.

"In a bar," she says with a quick laugh. "I was a waitress. He was in town to help his cousin."

"Fate," I whisper.