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Then I hear footsteps behind me. Asher has stopped in the doorway at the end of the last hall, and he doesn’t know I’m watching as he lifts a hand to his collar and smooths it flat.
Our eyes meet through the reflection in the glass. “Jade.”
Something’s wrong. I can see it in the way those golden-black eyes flick over me before settling, but it doesn’t stop my pulse from quickening as he walks toward me. His suit is perfect. So is everything else, with black hair brushed back and a broad chest and arms filling the dark fabric. But his face has lost its color, and his jaw is so tight I can see it from here.
Then I notice the man three paces behind him in the corridor, hands loose at his sides, waiting without saying a word.
Asher turns his head. “Leave us.”
“Sir, I have orders.”
“Where’s your brother?” Asher asks me, cutting straight across whatever else the man was going to say.
“Outside with Ryven. He’s fine.” I take a step towards him. “Who’s that?”
“He’s with us now.”
“With us?”
Asher reaches for my sleeve, smoothing the cuff between his fingers. “He drives. That’s the whole job tonight. My father knows exactly how much I enjoy being driven, so he sent one anyway. Now go get your coat.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going home to change, then we’re going to Dad’s. He’s coming too.”
“Now?”
“Now. Come on, pet. We don’t have time for this.” He catches my wrist and starts walking.
I match his pace as he leads me back through the exhibition. “I take it he didn’t take the wedding very well?”
He almost laughs, but the smile doesn’t get anywhere near his face. “No. He didn’t.”
We reach the entrance, and when Asher bends to get my coat, his hand fumbles the fabric. His fingers don’t close properly the first time, and he catches it with the other hand before it hits the floor.
I see the way he immediately tries to hide it. “Give me your hand.”
“Jade—”
“Give it to me.”
His skin is hot, red marks crossing his knuckles and circling the base of his thumb as I close my fingers around his and turn his hand toward the light. This time, he doesn’t pull away. “What did he do to you?”
“Don’t worry about it.” His fingers shift against mine. “I’m sorry, pet. This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. I wanted to show you the museum first.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll come back.” I squeeze his hand, then let go. “Just the two of us.”
Ryven folds Onyx into the back of a car under the portico, with Seren holding the door. My brother spots us through the glass and lifts a hand. I lift mine back, then the door shuts, and they disappear into the traffic.
The second car is already waiting, with the man from the corridor standing at the open rear door. He isn't looking at Asher. He's looking at me, and he doesn't stop when I catch him at it.
He's dressed in a dark suit, his hands loose at his sides like someone trained to use them. Honestly, the guy gives me the chills. Asher reaches for the door, but the man stays exactly where he is.
"Get out of my fucking way."
For a beat, they size each other up before the man finally steps aside. "Of course, sir."
Asher opens the door for me as though nothing happened, but I understand something I've been getting wrong all afternoon.
