Page 28 of Sweet Venom

I looked at my mom, and for a second, I considered lying, but then I remembered I had never lied to her, and I wasn’t about to start now.

I swallowed the horrible brew again, my mouth still tasting like burned rubber and shit, and leaned back on my sofa. “Uh, the meeting was… fine,” I said, biting my lip. Azariel’s cocky grin flashed in my mind, and I felt my blood pressure rise a little.

Or are you afraid... How dare he? Please. I wasn’t afraid of him. Hurt by him? Yep. Disappointed? Absolutely. Annoyed? Oh, very much so. But afraid? Not a chance.

Mom narrowed her green eyes—same shade as mine. “What are you not telling me, Poe? My mother’s intuition tells me there’s more to this ‘fine’ story.”

Damn it.

Her mother’s intuition. Dad said it was something she made up, but I wasn’t so sure. She always knew way too much and knew when we hid things from her, even when we tried our best not to let it show.

I sighed. “Okay, it wasn’t fine. It just wasn’t great.”

“Was someone mean to you? Do I need to call your father?”

I smiled. Dad disliked Azariel enough as it was.

“I’m fine, Mom. Really.” I absentmindedly tapped the keyboard while I tried to think of something that wouldn’t make her worry. “Guess who the new CEO of Blackthorn Publishing is?”

“Who?”

“Azariel.”

She raised an eyebrow, but her face didn’t show shock. “Oh? That’s unexpected. And how did that go? I bet he was really happy to see you, baby.”

Unexpected? That was it?

I squinted at her. “You’re not shocked?”

She shrugged and leaned forward slightly. “No. That boy was crazy about you. Of course, he would infiltrate your world. I bet he was your number one fan—after your father and me, of course.”

Number one fan?

That boy? She surely meant that devil covered in ink and nice, expensive shoes.

And crazy about me?

He was crazy alright.

“You’re too damn nice, Mom,” I muttered, and took another sip of the rancid coffee. It was like acid on my tongue. I hated it, yet it left a sweeter taste than Azariel’s name on my tongue. “That boy you spoke of was a man now, and one without a heart.”

“Of course, he was walking around without a heart, sweetie. You were his heart,” Mom said seriously, and for a nanosecond my heart stopped before it started up again.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Nope.

I tried to ignore how Mom’s words caused a slight hope in my heart. No. Didn’t be foolish, Poe. Stayed strong.

No. I wasn’t going down that road.

“You’re wrong, Mom. That man didn’t know the meaning of love.”

Mom let out a soft chuckle. “Still holding a grudge, huh?”

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