Parker’s point of view
When Trixie and I reenter the ballroom, I expect awkward glances, maybe Elias sharpening a dagger in the corner, glaring at me. Instead, I get cheering.
Actual cheering.
“Finally,” Sonia crows, raising her glass. “I was starting to think you two ran away to start a farm.”
“Or a brothel,” Michael adds, deadpan, swirling his whiskey like a nobleman.
Theo lifts his drink too. “Welcome back to civilization, mate. You look—what’s the word? Ah. Ruined.”
Trixie smacks my chest lightly, cheeks flushed with laughter. “I am ruined. In the best possible way.”
I swear Elias chokes on thin air.
But to my surprise, he doesn’t come at me with death threats or try to peel me like an orange. Instead, he mutters, “Good. ‘Bout time one of you two grew some balls.”
I blink at him. “Did… you just approve of me?”
Elias scowls. “No. Don’t push it.”
But there’s the tiniest twitch at the corner of his mouth. He’s fighting a smile.
Trixie grins like she just won the lottery.
