We all head towards a man wearing a tailored black tuxedo. With his black hair and eyes, it’s like he’s cut from the darkness. He appears to be in his early thirties.
“Mr Steel. It’s an honour.” He offers his hand.
Dad shakes it. “It’s an honour to be here, Your Grace.”
“Tristan is fine.” He smiles.
Wait. He’s the Tristan Rhodes? I don’t know why I expected someone in his sixties with a bald head and a fat belly.
“These are my children, Elsa, Knox, and Teal.”
We shake hands with Tristan. How does one greet a duke, anyway? It’s the first time I’ve met one.
“This is my cousin Aaron Rhodes…” Tristan drifts off when he searches on either side of him but finds no one. “Or was. He’s probably playing the invisibility game.”
I like this Aaron Rhodes. Can I play the invisibility game with him?
“It’s fine.” Dad chuckles. “We can meet him later.”
“No, please. We have a lot to talk about.” Tristan smiles at us. It’s both welcoming and formulaic.
He communicates so much with a mere smile. It’s like he’s saying, ‘Yes, welcome to my house, but I’ll rip your heart out if you break anything.’
“Do you mind if I steal your father for a while?” he asks us.
The three of us shake our heads in sync.
“Make yourselves at home.” And with that, he disappears with Dad in the crowd.
“Okay, time to raid the food.” Knox rubs his hands together. “Be right back.” He takes two steps then stops. “Scratch that. I won’t be right back.”
He strides in the direction of the reception area as fast as he can without running.
Teal and I are left alone together.
Awkward.
I was never one for small talk, so I stay silent. If I say anything it’ll sound awkward and ruin the mood. My relationship with Teal is already like walking on thin ice. I don’t want to ruin it furthermore.
“This is so stupid.” She sighs and retrieves her phone from her bra. “They had a show on the Cold War on National Geographic tonight.”
“You’re interested in the Cold War?” I ask carefully.
“Sure.” She scrolls through her phone. “Wars are fun.”
“Fun?”
“Uh…” she trails off. “I mean they’re interesting. There’s so much knowledge and human stupidity.”
“How about ancient wars?”
“Like Napoleon? Roman?”
“I was thinking Asian? Chinese? I’m a fan of The Art of War by Sun Tzu.”
“Oh, that. It’s cool.”
“You read it?” I gasp.