100% That Witch - Celia Kyle Page 0,37

some little pink sheep and they bounced around asking me to count them. Or did I dream that part? I dunno.”

When she brought her eyes up to fully meet Aurora’s, she felt a deep, dragging exhaustion that had nothing to do with lack of sleep. She was literally tired in her heart and soul.

“Tiff, I’m so sorry.” Aurora stroked her shoulder comfortingly.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not, because you’re not. I wish I had gotten a chance to call you my sister.”

Tiffany’s eyes closed against another wave of tears, but this one wasn’t a rushing flood like the others. It was a slow, lapping tide she could pretend to ignore.

“Yeah, me, too.”

“I really am sorry.” Aurora gave Tiffany another pat on the shoulder before bustling back to the counter to find some coffee. “But it might be for the best.”

“Everyone has been telling me that,” Tiffany said darkly.

“Maybe it’s true. You two didn’t seem very compatible.”

“Everyone says that, too,” Tiffany said in a rush of frustration. “But how does anyone really know the answer to that? I didn’t get close enough to him to find out.”

Aurora sat at the table, staring at her coffee without saying anything, letting Tiffany talk without any judgment. Still, she couldn’t forget the family connection. Badmouthing Rhys, as much as she wanted to, wasn’t an option.

“Are you angry with him?” Aurora asked, reading her mind.

Tiffany felt her face twist as an affirmative answer surged up her throat, but it wasn’t real. It was just an emotional reaction, not her true feelings.

“I’m angry,” she sniffed. “Maybe more with myself than him. If I’m being honest with myself, he never led me on.”

“He did go on a date with you. Didn’t he?” Aurora took a sip of her coffee, looking at Tiffany with sympathy.

“I might have been the only one who thought it was a date,” Tiffany admitted painfully. “I was besotted with him. My emotions clearly made me see things that weren’t there. He didn’t give me any signals. He didn’t take advantage of me.” She sniffed again, rubbing her nose.

“So you’re angry with yourself for pushing so hard when he obviously didn’t feel the same?”

“I think so.” Tiffany chuckled at the ridiculousness of her behavior. “And I have to admit, I’m a little irked with him for not falling to the floor in a puddle of lust at the sight of the outfit I wore on our date.”

Aurora laughed softly. “I didn’t see it, but it must have been pretty impressive!”

“Oh, it was. Even if he didn’t like me that way, would an appreciative glance have been too much to ask for? Maybe even a good, lusty ogle?”

They grinned at each other, and Tiffany felt her chest loosen a bit. If she couldn’t hold anything against Rhys, she couldn’t stay angry with herself either. Part of her was desperate to slip back into that comfortable place where she could fantasize about him and how great they would be together, but she was beginning to accept that none of it had been real.

Then something occurred to her that forced dread—and a bit of insanity—through her veins. “Is he seeing someone else?”

Aurora’s smile slipped away into pity again. “I really don’t know, Tiff. I don’t think so, but I don’t know. Does it matter?”

Tiffany shook her head. “I suppose it doesn’t, but it feels like it matters.”

Misery stalked her. She resisted it stubbornly, knowing it wouldn’t take much to slide back into its depths. Only one thing pulled her out of it, and even though it might end up being just as disappointing—if not more so—she had nothing else to hold on to.

“Is there anything else going on that you could distract yourself with?” Aurora asked.

Tiffany almost groaned aloud. My studies. My work. So many things I really should be doing instead.

“There is this one thing...”

“Oh?” Aurora smiled, encouraging her.

“I think I... felt something during my last tutoring session. With Nero.”

“Who?”

“He was at the going-away party?”

“The big guy? He’s your tutor?”

“Yeah. He’s really made a difference in my studies. Things seem much easier to understand when he explains them.”

“That’s great, but did you seriously just say you have feelings for him?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“You’re going to have to explain all this to me. I don’t know the guy.”

“Well, here’s the thing,” Tiffany gathered her courage. She had come this far. She might as well go all the way. “He’s Nathan’s Beloved.”

“What? Nathan has a Beloved?” Aurora cried.

“Apparently. I mean, he broke it off with Ryan, then Nero showed up…”

“Why