56

Vivian's POV

“This movie is kind of cool.” Leonora twirled a short licorice rope in the air like a lasso.

After a few days of lounging by the pool and hanging around the house together, I had finally convinced Leonora that she wouldn’t die of boredom if we did one thing I liked.

“I told you. This movie is amazing,” I said.

She tore off a bite of licorice. “It’s hot in, like, an old-timey kind of way.”

No one had ever described *Roman Holiday* more succinctly. Leave it to teenagers to distill their wisdom down into easily consumable, TikTok-friendly bites.

“Minnie Peck is sexy,” I added.

“Zaddy vibes,” she agreed. “I’m into it.”

“Every woman is into it. Why do you think I named my cat Minnie?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Naming your cat after your Hollywood crush is high-key creepy, Vivian. Don’t tell anyone else that.”

“Too late. I already told your brother.”

“And he’s still into you. It’s a miracle. Actually,” she sat up, “the real miracle is that he let a cat into this house. Do you have any idea how long I begged for a pet?”

“Years. Until you took matters into your own hands and adopted a wild squirrel.” I smiled at the astonishment on her face. “Your brother told me.”

She grinned. “He talked about me on your date?”

“I don’t know if he told me that on our first date. It was a little later. After I was already living here.” I shrugged. “Maybe on our second date. If you can even call it that.”

I didn’t realize I was rambling until I looked over and saw Leonora staring at me, jaw open. “Hold on. Pause. You were living here before you’d even gone on two dates?”

I cursed silently. I was supposed to be hanging out with Leonora to get a better idea of what she was going through, yet here I was, blabbing about my own life. This was what happened when I didn’t have a friendly outlet.

“It’s complicated.” I waved it off. “You probably know what that’s like. Any ex-boyfriends you want to talk about? Current boyfriends?”

It was a lazy subject change, and Leonora didn’t fall for it. She swiveled in her seat so she was facing me. “What is the deal with you and Dorian, anyway? It’s so hard to read what’s happening with you two.”

She wasn’t wrong. I had been on a nonstop roller coaster since Dorian and I met.

“I think it would be better if you talked to Dorian about this. I don’t want to overstep and—”

“That will never happen. He doesn’t talk to me.” She slouched down in her seat, arms crossed. “Now, you won’t tell me anything, either. Cool.”

She had a point. I had been mining her for all the Delacroix family tea over the last couple of days without giving her anything in return. If I wanted her to trust me, I needed to trust her a little, too.

I winced. “Fine. I can tell you a little bit. Some of it.”

Leonora bounced back immediately, turning to face me, eyes wide and eager. “How did you meet?”

“It was a blind date.”

She gasped. “My brother was on a blind date?”

“Not exactly. I was there for a blind date, and I thought he was the man I was supposed to meet. Dorian decided not to tell me that I’d made a mistake. I didn’t find out until about halfway through the dinner when my real date showed up.”

“Oh my God, this could be a movie.” She rocked back, cackling. Then she got serious. “Also, you have to confirm that stuff before you sit down next time, Vivian. Blind dates are like rideshares. Get in the wrong car, and you could end up limbless on a beach.”

“Ew.”

“The hard reality of being a woman these days.” She shrugged and leaned closer. “So what happened next?”

I hesitated, unsure of how much I was or wasn’t supposed to tell Leonora about the looming threat outside the house. I didn’t even have the SparkNotes version of what was going on myself.

“Well, Adri called, and there was… something going on outside the restaurant, I guess. Dorian thought it might be dangerous.”

“Snipers?” Leonora asked, as casually as if she were asking if he kissed me goodnight.

“Er, no. I don’t think so.”

“You’re still living here, so whatever it was must have been bad.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s always something.”

Right. Leonora had been born into this world. This was normal for her.

I couldn’t quite wrap my head around that. I didn’t think the kind of life-and-death stakes Dorian lived with every day could ever be normal for me.

I probably wouldn’t be around long enough for them to become normal, anyway.

“Um… so, yeah. Then we left the restaurant and came here. For drinks.”

“Right. ‘Drinks.’” She gave me an over-the-top wink. “Got it.”

I blushed but carried on. “That’s really it. I’m still here, waiting for your brother to decide it’s safe for me to leave.”

“All of this because you made the mistake of sitting down at the wrong table.” She snorted. “It’s not quite limbless on a beach. But I bet you won’t do that again.”

“I don’t know… I mean, I’ll definitely be better about making sure I’m on a date with who I’m supposed to be with. But I don’t think sitting down at that table was a mistake.”

Her eyes went moony. “Do you think it was fate?”

I did a double-take. I wouldn’t have pegged Princess Scathing Sarcasm here for a romantic at heart. You learned something new every day.

“Maybe not fate. But not a mistake, either.” I bit back a smile. “I’m glad I got to know all of you. I wouldn’t trade that.”

Leonora let out a long “awwwww” and handed me a piece of licorice like a “Welcome to the Family” gift. “So, while you’ve been here meeting all of us, where do the people in your life think you are?”

“My family is scattered. They probably don’t even realize I’m missing.”

“They haven’t called?”

I shrugged. “I doubt it. They never do. But I’m not sure because Dorian took my phone as soon as I got here.”

“That bastard! What about your friends?”