go to her less-than-formal ball.
“If nothing else, I look the part,” I murmured.
“You always did, miss.” He checked his watch. “He’ll be early. Too anxious, I think.”
Mr. Tom was right—Austin was nearly here, although a couple minutes didn’t really count as early.
A flutter of nervousness rolled through my belly, and I frowned when I realized it wasn’t mine. Looking myself over in the mirror, mostly just staring at the necklace, I felt Austin walking toward the door. Ivy House didn’t open it this time, waiting for Mr. Tom to launch into his formal butler shtick.
“Grab some condoms,” Ivy House said.
This surge of nervousness was all my own, my stomach flipping and then dropping, like I was in a free fall. I stood, frozen, feeling the front door open and knowing Mr. Tom was inviting Austin in, offering him a place in the sitting room and a beverage while he waited.
I would’ve usually ignored Ivy House. Rolled my eyes, even.
Tingles covered my body, my limbs shaking, and this time…
This time…
Hastening into the bathroom, I did just as she’d said, grabbing a couple, just in case, then stuffed them into my clutch and snapped it shut. He was a friend. He didn’t want to get involved. He wanted to keep his distance.
We’d made mistakes before…
Dabbing the sudden sheen of sweat from my forehead, I slipped the tissue into my clutch as well and slowly walked out of the room, composing myself. Mr. Tom was just leaving the front sitting room when I reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Would you like a drink here before you go?” he asked me. “Mr. Steele said it was your choice.”
“No, thanks.” I passed him, my back a little too stiff, and paused awkwardly at the door.
Nathanial, the new gargoyle, whose warm brown eyes were undermined by his near-permanent scowl, sat in the far corner, his ankle crossed over his knee and fingers clasped in his lap. He stared at Austin while Austin leafed through a furniture magazine, not bothered.
Austin looked up, eyes appreciative. He put the magazine aside and stood, his movements rippling with lethal grace. A black dress shirt with blue pinstripes hugged his muscular torso, showing off his girth and outlining his pecs. His biceps strained his sleeves and a black belt cinched around his trim hips. Dark blue jeans hugged his thighs, and his black shoes shone in the light. His rich cobalt eyes accented his rugged, incredibly handsome face.
“You look beautiful, Jacinta,” he said, his move toward me more of a swagger.
“Thanks,” I said, both hands on my clutch, held in front of me like a shield. “You do too.”
“Ready?”
“Yes. Yup.” I stepped toward the door and turned to the side, ready for him to lead the way.
Instead, he stopped right beside me, standing close, almost predatory in his intensity. A shiver ran over me, my body suddenly tight and loose all at the same time.
“I didn’t bring flowers this time,” he said, and I glanced at the blue orchid still standing proudly next to the front door, the gift he’d given me before our friend date.
“It is too early to be slipping, Mr. Steele,” Mr. Tom said, standing by the door.
A smile curled Austin’s lips. “But I did think of it. I’ll ask that you have patience.”
I frowned at him. “Sure, but I don’t need flowers.”
“Of course you do.” He nodded and turned, touching the small of my back. “Shall we?”
“Who did you want on detail, miss?” Mr. Tom asked.
“I will be accompanying you, miss, if acceptable.” Nathanial appeared in the sitting room doorway, in house sweats with his wings dusting his ankles, no small feat for a guy who was six-four.
“Yeah, sure,” I replied, knowing there was no point in telling them they didn’t need to come with two alpha shifters on scene. “Maybe Jasper, too, so there’s someone I’m connected with.”
“I’d like to go.” Hollace, the thunderbird, leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs, holding a book that rested against his thigh. “My liver is broken from trying to keep up with that Irishwoman at the bar last night. I need something peaceful to do, and this house keeps making the dolls knock on my door. It’s creepy.” He started down the stairs.
It turned out that as soon as I healed him (after I’d taken him down), and he got a little information about why I didn’t know his role, he lightened up significantly. He’d answered my summons, and that to him was a willingness to