Page 55 of Velvet Chains
You’re acting weird. What happened?
I glanced up. He was still looking at Julian, as casual as ever, like he hadn’t just called me out in real time.
I typed back under the table.
Me:
Not here.
Another buzz, almost immediately.
Alek:
Ruby. Tell me. Right now.
I hesitated. My fingers hovered. I could lie; I could say I was just tired, that it was nothing. But Alek wasn’t Julian; he actuallynoticedwhen something was off with me, and I knew he wouldn’t leave it be until I came clean..
My stomach twisted. I typed anyway.
Me:
He came over.
A beat. Alek took a sip of his coffee, asked Valerie where she was from. Then he went back to typing on his phone.
Alek:
What the fuck does “came over” mean.
I swallowed hard. “That’s enough syrup, mi amor.”
“Mami!”
“It’s too sweet,” Julian said. “Your mom is right. You’re not going to be able to eat that.”
Rosie tugged at my sleeve. “Mami, look. Valerie made a pancake snowman.”
I forced a smile and shoved the phone facedown under my thigh.
Later.
I’d deal with Alek later.
Right now, I just had to get through brunch.
***
An hour later, when Rosie had consumed approximately half her body weight in whipped cream and Valerie had complimented every sparkly item she was wearing, we finally said polite goodbyes. Julian kissed Rosie’s head, told her he’d see her soon, and Valerie ruffled her hair before following him to their car.
Alek and I stood in the small parking lot while Rosie climbed into the backseat of my car, buckling herself in and immediately pulling out her tablet. I guessed the antitrust conversation had been just as exciting for her as it was for me–and now she needed to numb it with sweet, glowing electronics. .
"Mamiiiii," she called, her voice muffled through the glass. "Can I play games?"
"Yes, amor, go ahead," I said automatically.
When I turned back, Alek was standingright there. He had a smile plastered on his face as he looked at Rosie, but it dropped when I shut the door and she got distracted by the tablet.
And his voice? That was worse.
