Page 36
A warm hand settled on her shoulder, and Pearl looked up.
“Then just give it time. There’s no rush - if he means it, he’ll give you all the time you need, and the test of time will prove all.”
Pearl had liked Oliver from the moment Pru had brought him home to their flat and said she’d finally found a man who wasn’t entirely useless, but Pearl wasn’t sure she’d ever been more grateful to have him as a friend than in this moment. “Thanks for being candid. I know I can always talk to Pru, but she’s already made up her mind about Corvus, and sometimes, I just need a more neutral party.”
Oliver’s hand flew to his chest in mock offense. “Are you saying my wife tends to have strong opinions that she attempts to wrestle onto everyone else?”
Walking up at that precise moment, Pru narrowed her eyes at both of them. “Who am I wrestling?”
Oliver winked at Pearl. “No one, love.”
Wrapping her arms around Oliver, Pru gave him a soft smile. “That’s what I thought.”
Pearl smiled at the two of them. “You picked a good one, ya know, Pru.”
Kissing Oliver on the cheek as she zoomed off somewhere else, Pru threw a “Duh” behind her as she left.
Oliver chuckled as he and Pearl continued cooking in easy silence.
Hannah was still under the hilarious delusion that Oscar was going to be surprised by this party even though she’d told him to cancel on his rugby league suspiciously close to his birthday. Oscar had done so without complaint, and Pearl appreciated how sweetly he pretended to be surprised when he walked in the door. Most of Oscar’s rugby team was there as well because they’d actually cancelled their game at Hannah’s request, and Pearl wasn’t sure,…no she was absolutely sure, her home had never had so many well-muscled men within its walls. Hannah kept trying to throw them in her direction in thinly veiled attempts to matchmake. Oscar wasn’t magical, and he had taken to Hannah’s revelation of a magical side of the world with more ease than Pearl would ever have thought possible. Pearl’s family had always insisted she only date magical folks, but she’d been toying with the idea of expanding beyond those restraints for some time. This seemed as good a time as any to try it out. It certainly wasn’t that she was trying to get Corvus out of her brain. Maybe if she told herself that enough times, she’d start believing it.
As one of the giant men was explaining the finer points of rugby to her, she heard the doorbell ring, excused herself from this mind-numbingly boring conversation, and tried to weave her way to her front door without much success. Pearl saw Hannah beat her to it, and the surprise on her face that morphed into a look of mischief filled Pearl with dread. She’d assumed it was another party goer, but Hannah’s face implied otherwise, and when a tall, beautiful man with white-blonde hair stepped into her home holding what she assumed was a very expensive bottle of wine, her suspicions were confirmed. She walked up just in time to hear Corvus say. “Oh, I didn’t realize this was such a large party - perhaps I should come back another time.”
Hannah didn’t miss a beat. “Nonsense. This is my party that I’m throwing at Pearl’s house. You are more than welcome. It’s my husband Oscar’s birthday! Come, come! I’ll introduce you to everyone.” And she proceeded to thrust Evelyn into his arms as she snatched the bottle of wine. It was her newest way to test out men, and she made judgments accordingly. When Pru, Oliver, Sofia, Pearl, and Aashvi had gone to visit Hannah at the hospital after Evelyn was born, she had immediately passed the baby to Oliver. Sofia, Aashvi, and Pearl complained loudly until Hannah told them that men needed more practice holding babies, and they’d get their turn.
Pearl looked on rather helplessly as Hannah dragged Corvus through the party. Trying to catch up, she kept getting waylaid by rugby men to the point where Pearl began to suspect that maybe Hannah hadn’t been trying to matchmake but rather use them as some form of quicksand to hold her in place while she traipsed all over her home with Corvus. Pearl caught snippets of conversation and saw pieces of introductions. Oliver gave Corvus a firm handshake and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Hannah. Hannah maintained a face of pure innocence and hurried Corvus along to Aashvi. Aashvi overcame her surprise quite well and complimented Corvus on his choice of hiring Pearl to cursebreak his library. Pearl thought she heard Corvus say, “It’s been a gift having her in my home that I don’t take lightly,” but that felt too self-congratulatory to be believed until she saw Aashvi give him a smile of approval. Hannah didn’t let them linger before ending the tour with Sofia who actually gasped, “It’s you!” when she turned around and found Corvus in front of her, much to Pearl’s chagrin. And the entire time, he held Evelyn like he’d held babies all his life. It made Pearl melt a bit at the sight of it. Pearl wasn’t even sure she wanted children, but seeing Evelyn’s tiny fist wrapped around one of Corvus’ long fingers made Pearl’s heart do an unexpected but not unpleasant flip.
It was at that moment that Pearl noticed Corvus begin craning his neck to look over the crowd until his eyes met hers. Turning back to her friends, he made his excuses and waded through the rugby men to reach her. Just before he did, Pearl felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Sofia. “He still looks at you the same way, amiga.” Giving her a wink, Sofia melted into the crowd, and Pearl turned to Corvus.
Expression a bit shy, he simply said, “Hi.” Corvus’ cheeks were flushed in an endearing way, and a rueful smile graced his lips. “I’m holding a baby in your home surrounded by a multitude of large, muscled men, and I’m not entirely sure how I got here.”
Pearl laughed outright. “I’m afraid that’s what happens when you get into Hannah’s orbit. What brings you to my humble abode?”
Confusion clouded his face. “Did you not know? I received an invitation to a small party at your home. My sincerest apologies, I made the apparently incorrect assumption that you were involved in the invitation, but I…”
Pearl waved her hands before he could continue. “We’ve both been caught up in Hannah’s machinations, I believe. I should have suspected some scheme when she asked for the party to be held here.”
“I’d better return this lovely child and be on my way then.”
But as he turned, Pearl caught his sleeve. “Corvus, I may not have invited you, but I’m glad you’re here. I want you to stay.”
Corvus’ smile in response was so bright, the sheer joy of it made Evelyn start to giggle. “I would like that. I would like that very much. I brought wine that was meant to be for you, but I’m not sure where it’s gotten to.” He paused to look around. Rubbing the left side of his chest in what Pearl assumed was a nervous tic based on the number of times she’d seen him do it over the last few months, he turned back to her and said. “Can you tell me about all the men who look like they could snap my femur without breaking a sweat?”
As Pearl laughed again, Hannah reappeared suddenly. “Glad to see you’re all enjoying the party!” She winked at Pearl, snatched Evelyn from Corvus, and wove through the crowd before they could reply.
“She’s rather terrifying,” Corvus commented as Hannah walked away.
Pearl leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. “You should see it when she and Pru team up.”
Corvus’ eyes twinkled as he looked at her. “I can only imagine.”
The party and the whispering had drawn them close together and in the din of the party, Pearl was caught by the joy on Corvus’ face. She’d forgotten how long his lashes were. Blonde as they were, it wasn’t until the twinkling lights from Hannah’s decorations hit them just right that the realization that she’d once known this struck her. It was a memory that had been lost to time before this moment jostled it to the forefront of her brain. Corvus’ breath was warm on her cheek, and his smile dropped away as he noticed her rapt attention. Pearl saw his pupils dilate as he looked at her, and it made her breath hitch as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. Somewhere in her brain, she knew she’d just told him she only wanted to be friends, but having him loom over her and almost kiss her the other night had broken open a dam she’d kept tightly shut, and she couldn’t seem to manage to close it anymore. She wondered what other memories would surface if she ran her fingers through his hair or maybe just maybe if she…
“And just what are you doing here?”
The moment shattered, and Pearl and Corvus reflexively moved away from each other in surprise. They turned to see Pru standing with her hands on her hips.
After clearing his throat, Corvus responded with a voice steadier than Pearl would have been able to manage in this moment as she attempted to catch her breath. “I was invited.”
