flitted over my face. “You’ve been different. Reserved. You’re always the consummate professional at work, but you’ve been distantly professional since I refused to answer your question yesterday.”
Okay, it would be fair to say I’d been using my position as a sort of emotional shield to remind myself that our relationship was purely professional. I hadn’t really expected Dane to care, let alone mention it.
“I’m not upset,” I repeated. “I was annoyed with myself, not you. I should never have asked you to elaborate on what he said. It wasn’t my place to ask. I just … forgot that for a second. It won’t happen again.”
“Hmm.” Moments of silence ticked by. “I didn’t realize until last night just how much I don’t know about you, Vienna. You give people just enough information for them to assume they get the general picture.” He tilted his head. “You hold a lot inside, don’t you?”
“So do you.”
“Yes, we’re more similar than I ever would have thought.”
Um, I wouldn’t have described us as “similar,” given that—
Knuckles rapped on the door as someone sang, “Knock, knock.” It instantly swung open and Jen swanned inside, wearing a beaming smile that faltered when she caught sight of me. “Oh. I’m sorry. When I saw you weren’t at your desk, I thought you might be on your break or something,” she said to me. “I should have guessed you’d be in here.”
I didn’t realize I’d tensed until I felt the warm weight of Dane’s hand settle on my hip. That warmth seemed to seep into me and melt a little of my unease. She hadn’t come to o-Verve in the entire time that I’d worked there, so it was a surprise to see her.
She had his cell number, so what reason did she have to traipse all the way up here? It had to be important.
“I didn’t realize you were coming,” he said.
Jen looked at him. “I would have called you, but I figured that if I came here, I could kill two birds with one stone.” Her eyes slid back to me. “I want to apologize for my rudeness at the gala. It wasn’t me. I’m not that bitchy person. I just had an off-night.”
“Yeah, Dane told me you claimed it was petty jealousy,” I said.
Her lips parted in surprise. Apparently, she hadn’t expected him to tell me. She cleared her throat. “Yes. It was silly and immature and I’m sorry. It will not happen again.”
No, it wouldn’t, because I wouldn’t stand for it a second time. “Good to know. Apology accepted.” Sort of.
“What was the other reason you came?” asked Dane.
“Ah, well, I’m thinking of throwing a surprise birthday party for Kent this year, since it falls on a Saturday,” she replied. “Would you be able to make it?”
“It’s a few months away, so I’m not sure what my schedule looks like for that weekend. But Vienna could shuffle some things around for me if need be. She and I will be there.”
Her smile was somewhat brittle. “Excellent. I could use your help with the planning. You could spare me a few hours here and there, right?”
I almost gaped. She’d obviously never gotten a peek at his calendar. Or she expected him to happily cancel all kinds of meetings just for her.
“I don’t have enough free hours to give you,” he said. “Vienna’s planned events for me in the past. She can help you, if you really need it. But she’s as busy as I am, so she doesn’t have a lot of spare time either.”
Her smile dimmed, and she flicked a hand. “It’s fine. I can ask Hope to help. Thank you, though.” She shrugged. “Well, bye.” With that, she left.
Dane let his hand slip from my hip. “If she does go through with the party—and she probably won’t; Jen comes up with ideas all the time but rarely follows them through—she won’t manage to keep it a surprise from Kent. He’s a hard man to fool.”
Then the guy was much like Dane himself. Nothing got past him. I wondered if Kent handled shocks with the same ease as his brother. It still awed me how well Dane rolled with Simon’s switch of personality last night. He hadn’t even seemed spooked.
I wasn’t looking forward to the other Davenports meeting Simon. If one of his alters took the wheel, I doubted they’d all handle it with the same ease and sensitivity—especially Travis. If they made any taunting comment toward my father, I wouldn’t need to step