Page 68 of Fake Fae-Ancée

"You’re engaged tohim? Are you completely crazy now?" was the bottom line.

"It's not like I have to ask your permission for anything," I had retorted pointedly. But my Half-Daemon friend wasn’t having any of it.

"We're coming over. Tonight. And if that bastard only dares to look at you weird…"

I sighed as Claudio told me all the unpleasant things he would do to my alleged fiancé for another twenty minutes before we ended the call. Apparently I had too many overprotective men with giant egos in my life.

Anyway, the doorbell rang around six, and all at once Kalinin's minimalistic living room was taken over by my friends — and with the food they had brought.

"What the hell is this?" asked Kalinin as Charly hefted a huge casserole onto the kitchen counter, pulling off crackling aluminum foil.

"Vegan meatball casserole. This was his idea," she said, beaming and pointing her pink manicured thumb behind her. Claudio loomed there like a storm-cloud, arms crossed, oozing darkness, his death stare fixed on Kalinin.

Kalinin met the daemonic stare with a deadpan expression. "Smells horrible."

"That's your fiancée's favorite dish!" Claudio bit out, grabbing the casserole and stomping to the kitchen to find the stove.

I watched the repartee with mixed feelings, sitting on the couch next to Lily and Gabriel, who were just being served drinks. If Bates was in some way disgruntled that my friends had annexed his dinner plans, he didn’t let on.

It was almost like being back home and I felt a perpetual pang of homesickness during dinner — that was far less fancy than anything Bates had served so far during my stay here. But that casserole was indeed my favorite.

"So, how did you guys meet, anyway?" Lily asked just when I put the first bite into my mouth.

"What?" I sputtered. "What? Who?"

Lily smiled. "You and Yuri of course?" She aimed her most amiable smile at my fake fiancé who was sitting next to me like this was all totally normal and we were really a couple, not two people who hated each other and apparently made out occasionally. (Oh gawd, why had I done that again?)

"Oh yes, I’m dying to hear this story," Charly beamed, holding onto her wineglass. "You met in the army, right? Not the most romantic place of all time."

Claudio snorted which I chose to ignore.

"That’s correct," Yuri said.

"And is it true that she broke your nose?" I shot Lily a glare but she just smiled amiably, radiating with that darn pregnancy glow of hers.

"She did."

Heat shot into my cheeks and Charly and Lily giggled. Gabriel sipped at his wine. Claudio brooded over his plate, scowling at Kalinin. What was it with those two? They had never liked each other, but this level of antagonism was new.

"That’s not such a great start," Lily said, beaming at Kalinin.

"That’s true. But I did save her out of a predicament, some time later," he said, and I wanted to strangle him for even talking, for even being here, for making me feel the way he did.

"What predicament?" Charly asked. "Oh, was that one time Kai got lost in the restriction zone? Gabe told me about it."

"Did he?" I said feebly.

"Yeah, but she didn’t get lost," Yuri said. "When out on patrol, some of our comrades ambushed her, threw her into a pit and left her there."

Shocked silence fell on the table. My mouth went dry with mortification.

"That’s awful!" Lily exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.

"It wasn’t that bad," I croaked.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad, actually," Gabe said darkly, swirling his wine. "Claudio and I weren’t at the base that day. Yuri here hijacked a car and sped out into the restricted zone after nightfall to get her.“

"You saved her?" Lily beamed at him again. "That’s so romantic!"

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