“I ordered the red curry that you like,” Connor told his father hopefully, who nodded in assent. That little nod was all Connor needed apparently, and he looked a little relieved at his father’s approval.
I picked at my steaming food, watching thinly veiled disgust the way Connor waited on Elias to begin eating before he did. Elias noticed me watching and raised an eyebrow. I cursed myself for catching his attention.
He was here either way though, and more talking was inevitable between the three of us.
“So how long have you two known each other exactly? I’m pleased that my son has shown himself to be responsible enough to have a relationship, though I’ll admit I’m a little confused at the timeline here…” And there was that calculating look in his eyes again. The one that implied that he suspected something of us—that he knew the truth about everything.
I balked, glancing at Connor quickly and trying not to look guilty. Every single detailed note in the crumpled list I had spent a whole night making floated away from me like smoke.
Connor cleared his throat, raising his chin. “I told you we met in the coffee shop, Dad,” he said, nodding a little at me. I nodded back, smiling in a way that I hoped was nostalgic.
“And just how long ago was that?” Elias asked, looking between us, and scooping a spoonful of rice into his mouth in a casual sort of way that was not casual at all. After a short moment of silence, Elias laughed once more, clapping Connor lightly on the back. “Oh now, I’m prying, aren’t I? I’m just happy that Connor has found someone.”
“I was really lucky to have met him when I did, I think,” I told him, stabbing my fork into my food without looking up. I hoped I sounded as casual as I tried. I wondered when Elias would leave, and I realized that I had no idea what to say to him. My thoughts were all over the place and I felt like everything I had known before was meaningless to me now. I couldn’t remember anything that I had written on my paper, my notes, and I was floundering for anything suitable to talk about with Elias Lennox. Elias was a different breed, a different sort of man than any I had talked to before.
I put my food aside on the coffee table and Connor did the same, knocking our plates together.
Elias stood up finally from the couch, and brushed off his clothes, smoothing them down pretentiously. He coughed into his handkerchief painfully and I felt a rush of relief that he was leaving.
“I have a few important meetings later today, so I should get going. It was so very nice to meet you, Sadie,” Elias told me, and I could see the sly look in his eye even as his words conveyed his faux-sincerity. I sat up straight, hands digging into the arms of my chair as I tried to think on my feet.
“Oh, and Sadie, my dear,” Elias called to me, and Connor and I stood from our seats, waiting. “I’ll see you at the wedding, I assume?”
The Wedding? What in the world was he talking about? I didn’t want to chance a look at Connor for help, though I knew he was just as caught off guard as I was. He must have known what his father meant by his question, but he didn’t say anything. I knew that Elias was trying to catch us off guard and he had successfully done it. I wasn’t about to let him win, though.
“You do know about the wedding this weekend, don’t you?” Elias asked airily, looking for all the world like he was just a confused, friendly old man. “I assumed you would be Connor’s date, instead of him taking that Jack Everly as his plus one. It was getting out of hand, those two.”
“Of course,” I said quickly, thinking on my feet as best as I could. I turned and walked into the kitchen while I talked, putting away my plate casually even though I needed it to distract me. It was easier to lie when I didn’t have to look at anyone. “I just forgot that it was this weekend. I’m excited to finally meet the bride and groom.”
“Really now, is that so?” Elias asked me, the edge of a smile on his pale face. I could see then that I had messed up and my heart dropped. His light eyes were amused for some reason, bright and eerie. “Laurel has always been Connor’s least favorite cousin. I can’t imagine he’s happy to be going to her wedding. I had to force him to attend, which is probably why he forgot to tell you about it.”
Damn it. He had just been trying to find a kink in my armor. I opened my mouth and then closed it again. I should have kept my mouth closed.