“I don’t think so. I just got here. Had a driving lesson with Mom.”
“Ugh. How’s that going?” Rayne asks.
“Fabulous.”
The smells of garlic and lemongrass hit us as soon as we open the door, and I’m glad Kat picked Thai food for Owen’s going-away party. Griffon’s over in the corner talking on his phone, but as soon as he sees me, he hangs up and walks over to give me a kiss. “I missed you,” he says, squeezing my hand.
“Me too,” I say. I feel a pang of guilt about Drew. I’ll tell him, I promise myself. When the time is right. I’ve got nothing to hide.
He pulls me over to the side so no one can hear. “Listen, I can’t stay long. I’ve got some business things to deal with that just came up.”
“Business?” I lean toward him. “Sekhem?”
“Yes,” he says, glancing around. “Remember the break-in at our fuel cell lab in Switzerland?”
I nod. “Back when we first met.”
“Right. Well, they’ve decided to abandon that lab and merge the operation with one in Silicon Valley. A couple of the people I work with are coming in tonight to start setting it up.”
“So that means you don’t have to go away this summer?” I know it’s selfish, but that’s the one thing that’s been hanging over our heads—the fact that he could get called away to help at the laboratory in Europe at any second.
“Nope,” he says, his face brightening. “Just to San Jose. I’ll be a little busier here, but it’s so much better for everyone.”
“Much better,” I agree. I look over his shoulder and notice that everyone’s already gone from the lobby and disappeared into the dining room. As we get settled in our chairs, Kat sits so close to Owen that she’s practically in his lap, but that bothers me less than it usually would. They really have spent almost every minute together that he’s been here, and I know how she must feel now that he’s leaving. I sip the sweet orange creaminess of my Thai iced tea, feeling the caffeine surge through my body, and try not to worry about everything else in my life.
Rayne splits her spring roll in half to let the steam escape as we pass the appetizers around. “Hey, I saw Veronique again today,” she says. Her tone is casual, but I can tell by her face that she’s testing me.
I stop mid-sip and watch the orange tea crawl back down the straw. “What? Where?”
“At the café. She came in right after me. We talked a little bit while we were waiting for our drinks.” She takes a bite of the still-steaming roll. “She’s pretty cool. Is there any way you could give her another chance?”
Griffon leans forward, his eyes full of concern. “What did you say about Veronique?”
Rayne looks back at me. “You didn’t tell him?”
I’m trapped. I put one hand on Griffon’s arm, but he doesn’t move. “We ran into Veronique last week on the street. It was no big deal—she just wanted to apologize, but I told her I never wanted to see her again.”
He shakes his head slowly, but I don’t know if he’s angry at Veronique or me. “Excuse us for a second,” he says, getting up and throwing his napkin on the table. I follow him out to the empty hallway by the kitchen, anger trailing behind him like a plume of smoke.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demands when we’re alone. “You know how dangerous Veronique is.” Griffon’s eyes are flashing, and I instantly wish I could take it all back.
“I didn’t want you to worry,” I say as calmly as I can. “You told me yourself that there wasn’t anything the”—I’m about to say Sekhem, but I swallow the word; there are still too many people around to talk freely—“they could really do about it. She’s free to go wherever she wants.”
Griffon’s eyes seem to get darker. “Sometimes not all of us agree with their rules.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. I grab his hand and he doesn’t pull away, which I take as a good sign. “I just knew you’d try to deal with it, and I didn’t want any trouble. I guess I was hoping she’d go away.”
He seems to soften a little bit. “How can I make you understand how dangerous rogues are?” he says. “They have no laws, no morals—they do exactly what they want, when they want, without any thought for anyone else, Akhet or Khem.”
I squeeze his hand. “I don’t think Veronique is at that level just yet.”
Griffon squeezes my hand back and I know I’m forgiven. “Not yet. But she still can’t be trusted. You have to promise me—no more hiding. If anything like this happens again, you have to tell me, okay?”
I look into his face and see the sincerity in his eyes. I swallow hard. I have to tell him about Drew. “There is one—”
“Kat wants to know if you guys are coming back,” Rayne interrupts. “She says she has an announcement.” She looks from me to Griffon and I know she’s trying to gauge the severity of this particular argument.
“Kat loves to make everything dramatic,” I say.
Griffon looks back at me. “What were you going to say?”
I shake my head. “It was nothing.” After all, Drew doesn’t exactly count as a dangerous rogue Akhet. “Let’s go back.”
Griffon turns to Rayne. “Listen, Veronique is dangerous. If you see her again, call one of us. Right away.”
She holds up her hands. “Okay, okay. I will.”
Kat taps the edge of her knife on her water glass as we slide back into our seats. “Right, whatever you two are pissing about, shut up. I have some news.” She giggles at Owen as he kisses her playfully on the neck. Whatever her big announcement is going to be, they take a break for a quick make-out session.
Tired of watching the two of them paw at each other, I glance outside. Despite the fact that it’s dinner time, the sidewalk is packed with people dodging each other as they rush to their destinations. Most people are carrying shopping bags or takeout as they hurry by, but then I notice one person in the crowd who’s not moving at all. Across the street, Drew is leaning against a telephone pole, motionless, looking like he’s in the middle of a photo shoot. Our eyes meet and I feel instantly, inexplicably guilty. His expression is calm but expectant, as if he’s biding his time, just waiting for something to happen.
“Are you kidding? No way! That’s awesome!” The table erupts in loud exclamations and I know I’ve missed something big.
“What?” I ask, confused. Kat’s eyes are shining like she just scored a big discount at her favorite shoe store.
“Isn’t that romantic?” Rayne says excitedly. “Oh my God, can you imagine the stories they can tell to their kids?”
“What? You’re pregnant?” I stare at Kat, wondering how she managed to keep all this from me.
Kat reaches over and smacks me on the head while everyone else laughs. “I’m not pregnant! Do you listen to anything? I’m going to go live with Owen. In London.” As she talks, Owen sits there with a grin so wide it looks like his face is going to break open.
“When?” My mind feels like it’s full of confusing information. I look over at Griffon, but his shrug tells me he didn’t know anything about it.
“Next week,” she says. “I couldn’t get a flight back with him, so I’m meeting Owen there. Plus, that’ll give me a chance to wrap up things with Francesca.”
“But what about the Fashion Institute? Mom and Dad already paid for the first semester and everything. They’re going to kill you.”
“It’s just a deposit. I’ll pay them back once I get a job. And I’m looking into the London College of Fashion and the Royal College of Art. Anything I can do here, I can do there.”
“Except me,” Owen says. “You can only do me there.”
Kat nudges him, but there’s a smile on her face. I’m guessing Owen, with his accent, is the only person alive who could get away with a comment like that. “Stop.”