Page 35 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
He tilted his head. “Not out loud.”
Lily scoffed, adjusting her gloves again before brushing past him toward the sideboard. With every step she took, her heart did that strange little skip it always did when he was too close.
“Don’t be too self-absorbed. It wasn’t about you.”
That should have been the end of it. But of course, Magnus would never let her have the last word.
He followed after her and went to lean against the back of a nearby settee, folding his arms lazily across his chest. “So you told them? About the house?”
“I did.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “I thought it was time they knew.”
He didn’t react at first, but the silence that fell over the room stretched out too long to be casual. Something was definitely going on in that head of his.
“I see,” he uttered finally.
His voice was calm, but Lily caught the strain beneath it. She looked over her shoulder to find that his smile had dimmed, replaced by something more guarded.
“And what version of the tale did you give them?”
Lily turned to face him fully now and put her hands on her hips. “The truth.”
His eyebrows rose.
“Most of it,” she amended, lifting her chin. “I told them about the debts. About my father’s… poor decisions. And Nathan’s gambling habits.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “And me?”
“You,” she said slowly, wondering why he was so curious to know what she had told her friends about him. “I told them you won the house.” She shrugged. “That Nathan gambled it away, and you were the one who… acquired it.”
“And?” he asked, his voice quieter now.
“And nothing.”
He blinked, but she held his stare.
She knew exactly what he was thinking.
“You left out a rather interesting detail, don’t you think? The fact that your brother was gambling at my establishment?”
She gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I didn’t think that part was necessary.”
“Didn’t you?” His tone had sharpened slightly. “You’re remarkably selective with your truths.”
Her spine stiffened in response.
“Would you have preferred I revealed you own a gaming hell?” she asked, curious.
“I would have preferred honesty.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t believe him.
Honesty? The owner of a gambling hell was actually preaching that?
“If I had told them, Eveline would have gasped, Ava would have whispered something about scandal, and then they both wouldhave looked at me like I was drowning in sin. I don’t need their pity, and you don’t need their judgment.”
Magnus stared at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, he lowered his arms to his sides and took a step forward.
“You are sure that’s everything you told them?” He raised an eyebrow.
