Page 17 of His Scarlette Obsession
I don’t need to turn around to know who it is. The entire atmosphere of the bakery shifts, conversations dropping towhispers, heads turning toward the door. Even the sunlight streaming through the windows seems to dim in deference.
The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and my skin prickles with awareness.
Lykan.
I turn slowly in my chair, and there he is, framed in the doorway like he’s stepped out of a fashion magazine. He’s wearing this simple black button-down with the sleeves rolled up to reveal powerful forearms, and he’s matched it with dark jeans that somehowlookexpensive, just because he’s the one wearing them.
He looks both completely out of place and like he owns everything his gaze touches.
Including me.
His eyes find mine immediately, and for a second, there’s something almost like relief in them. Then his gaze shifts to Vaughn, and I swear the temperature in the bakery drops ten degrees.
I stand up so quickly my chair nearly topples over. “Sheikh Qahiri,” I say, my voice higher than normal.
The entire bakery goes silent. Every head turns. Every conversation freezes mid-sentence.
Lykan’s lips curve into a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Hello,habibti.”
I have no idea what that means, but it sounds sweet. And forbidden.
He starts to move, and I bite back a nervous laugh at the way the crowd instinctively parts for him, like prey animals sensing a wolf in their midst.
Which he is, technically.
“I hope I am not interrupting something?”
His tone is deceptively light, but the way he curves an arm around my waist when he reaches me speaks volumes.
I mean, I may be a relationship virgin—well, okay, I’m a virgin ineveryway—but even I know when someone’s staking a claim, and so I shake my head right away, just to make it clear that there is no cause for trouble.
“We were just catching up,” I say brightly, “and I was just telling Vaughn about the good news.” I look at Vaughn, willing him to understand what I’m saying without words.Just say the words, Vaughn. Wish us well. Just say it so this stops being awkward! Just say con-gra-tu-
“I just remembered a previous engagement,” Vaughn says curtly. “See you around, Scar.”
And before I realize what he’s doing, Vaughn’s already kissed my cheek, and I can feel Lykan stiffening next to me as Vaughn walks away.
What in the world...
I don’t understand.
Could Vaughn really be...jealous?
Clap. Clap. Clap.
“Alright now, show’s over, back to your seats everyone.”
Grandma Jackie’s words yank me out of my thoughts, and when I turn my gaze to Lykan—
Uh...oh.
He’s glaring at me like I’ve just confessed to treason, and he’s now deciding what’s the best way to punish me.
“Now...” Grandma Jackie raises a brow. “What’s this I hear about an engagement between the two of you?”
Thirty minutes later, and I’m still in complete shock at how my grandmother is acting like my sudden engagement and whirlwind romance is as normal as someone coming in to order one of her famous pancakes for breakfast, with the way she and Lykan are talking oh-so-comfortably about how the two of us supposedly fell in love.
“She caught my attention from the first day.”
