Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
She paused in the foyer for a moment, her gaze tracing the wood on the stairs, the wallpaper next to it, and the worn rug along the center of the steps.
“The house does talk.” Nessa poised her pen over the notepad. “To Jessie.”
Naomi spared her a glance before continuing into the next sitting room.
“Those are apparently worth something.” Nessa pointed out odd lamps, but Naomi still had her head tilted back, wandering close to the walls and taking in all of the paintings.
“It’s like a moment out of time,” she said again. “Many of these I have never seen or heard about. That doesn’t make them any less enjoyable, of course. A couple, though…”
“The Ivy House heirs were a really big deal back in the day,” Sebastian said, giving her a wide berth. “The books say they were invited to dine by kings and queens. Fawned over by powerful magical players. Showered with gifts by prospective suitors…”
“Is the heir no longer a…big…deal?” She drew out the last word, finally going to the lamps Nessa had mentioned earlier.
“Not yet.”
“And you are going to elevate her to that status? That is why you are being meticulous about documenting her worth?”
Nessa went to give Sebastian a look again, because wow this lady was intense, but he didn’t notice. He’d straightened up, his hands at his sides, his brow creased.
“I am going to do everything in my power to try, yes,” he said, his tone defiant. “And yes, that is exactly why I am being meticulous.”
“These lamps are themselves a work of art. They’ll need a certain kind of style to shine, but it is worth showing them off. Everything else can go.” Naomi eyed Sebastian before she crossed into the next room, speaking to him over her shoulder. “As a past alpha, I understand why someone might wish to show off a pack’s success, using material goods to do so. But such posturing is on the level of cheap parlor tricks. The solidity of a leader is not in the…bling around their neck, but in their actions. In their people and the community.”
“I beg your pardon, Ms. Barazza, but you have no idea what you’re talking about. When I come here and root around in my friend’s things, it is because she is my friend. It is because I know exactly what I am doing and how best to help her, more than anyone else in this particular situation. Gargoyles expect that kind of posturing, and so do mages. I am the one who’ll keep her alive in the snake pit, not your grandson, and not her gargoyles. You might think you know better because you led a pack once, but with all due respect, when it comes to what she’s about to walk into, both in the near future and in the distant future, you don’t know dick.”
Nessa grimaced and stood very still. Sabby was, at his heart, a non-confrontational introvert. But when you threatened his family, he was every bit the alpha.
Naomi stopped…and then turned very slowly.
Menace pulsed out from around her and shone in her icy stare. But Sebastian didn’t buckle. His spine didn’t bend. He met her stare with one of his own, hard and cool and calm, the part of him most people only saw when he was in his Elliot Graves persona.
She nodded, just a curt jerk of her head, before turning for the next room.
Nessa followed like a little lamb, suddenly not sure which was worse—this house or Grandma Naomi. She’d never longed to see Mr. Tom so much in all her life.
EIGHT
Austin
Austin glanced down at his phone to check the time. They’d gotten a lot done, but the day had run long.
“This is never going to be done in time,” Jess said, standing in the middle of the tasting room downtown. She had her arms crossed over her chest, surveying the makeshift setup they’d agreed on. Niamh sat at a high table a little removed from the rest, drinking tea and eating a scone. “We’d have to rush it, and I don’t want that. If they ask, we can bring them in here, share our ideas, and leave it at that.”
“You’re right.” Jess knew exactly what she wanted for the tasting room, and Austin had every intention of making her vision a reality.
“We should go, though.” She took a step back, surveying the space with a critical eye. “Your grandma is at the house. We need to get to her.”
“No, no.” He waved her away, leaning against the wall by the door. “I’ll see her later tonight. I know for a fact she’ll enjoy interrogating Sebastian and Nessa. We’d just get in the way.”
Jess looked away left, then right, her hand on the wine bar. “We need more light. How hard would it be to put in a window?”