“I’m, Nova and this is, Rhys,” she introduced both of them with a smile.
“Her husband,” Rhys added good-naturedly.
“Yeah, my husband,” Nova reiterated with a playful roll of her eyes.
I hadn’t noticed it before but now that he mentioned they were married, the ring on her finger became impossible to miss. It was a unique stone with a matching band that seemed to fit her despite me not knowing the girl at all.
“And I’m sure you can guess who I am,” a sing-song voice carried from the far side of the room.
Maisie Barron. She was the spitting image of her mother with her father’s eyes. I was starting to feel sorry for Gemma. Her genes had almost won this round. The two of us hadn’t ever spoken to one another before, but it was clear she knew more about me than I did her.
They all did.
Standing in a room full of people who were well aware that the ones who raised me were trash-ass humans wasn’t exactly comforting. This was clearly a tight-knit family and Evie and Marcus had hurt one of their own. I couldn’t wrap my head around them being so accepting of me. It was suspicious.
“Are we done with the grand entrance now?” Ricciardo asked. “Can we eat?”
“Dinner is hours away. Do you plan on inhaling the hors d'oeuvres again? You always act like you’re going to keel over from starvation,” Nova joked.
“I just might.”
Gemma nudged Zacharias, who then turned towards me and his son. “Let’s move this to the patio until it’s time for dinner. It’s a beautiful day and Gem keeps asking to go out.”
The last part of his statement stood out to me like a blazing red flag. I got the feeling it wasn’t as innocent as it sounded. Gemma seemed happy with the suggestion, though. I couldn’t determine if it was genuine or an act. If it was the latter the woman needed an academy award pronto.
There were murmurs of agreement, and then the entire room began to do as he not so directly ordered. If it prolonged having to eat I was all for it. Food was the very last thing on my mind right now and that was telling.
I loved to eat no matter the situation, but this one had my stomach advising against it. I let Judas respond for the both of us, still trying to catch myself up to speed with what the hell was happening. All I wanted to do was make it through this without my brain exploding.
The day flew by with a surprising amount of fluidity.
If it weren’t for me waiting for the other metaphorical shoe to drop and not catching each of Judas’ family studying me at some point or another, I may have even enjoyed it.
Nova was the only one who didn’t stare at me openly like some kind of predator waiting to strike. She was also the only other person here that could be considered an outsider.
However, I did notice a thing or two myself while nibbling on light finger foods.
The main thing that stood out to me had more to do with Gemma herself than the Barrons in general. I’d determined she was one of the happiest women I’d ever met. I also noted that whenever someone would speak to her, they made sure to make eye contact or kindly get her attention.
Zacharias seemed to help navigate the majority of her conversations, but you’d have to be paying close attention to them like I had been to notice their dynamic.
It began to click for me after a few instances of this happening and was confirmed when Maisie started to sign.
I tied it together with why she’d claimed not to have known what her husband said in the foyer when he was standing right behind her. The realization gave me a few things to consider later on.
Right now, I was thinking I would escape this entire ordeal without being blindsided for once. Sitting there in an elaborate dining room, I had somewhat begun to relax.
The family had done nothing but include me in their conversations all day long as if I’d always been coming around. They only asked me basic questions, never delving too deep into the personal. Judas for all his faults hadn’t left my side once. He seemed to know each time I was starting to feel uncomfortable and was quick to put an end to whatever was causing it.
No one batted an eye at his need to safeguard me. I hated to admit I liked having him as a sentry, but I did. Being protected by Judas wasn’t anything new. It was always him I needed to be protected from. He and myself. When it came to this thing between us, I was as dangerous as he was.
I glanced across the table and caught Gemma’s eye.