Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames #2)(39)
He pointed at a clipboard hanging by the gate. “Sign in. You can stay for twenty minutes. You must sign out when you leave.” He leaned forward so his nose was an inch from Valmont’s. “If you don’t sign out, I’ll have to track you down, and that will annoy me.”
“Understood.” Valmont grabbed the clipboard and signed.
Bryn took his hand and led him back the way she’d come. “This is a nice surprise.”
“I hadn’t heard from you, so I wanted to check in.”
“Things have been crazy around here.” Since it was a nice night, she led him to the steps on the side of the dining hall. “Mind if we sit here?”
“Is there a reason you don’t want to take me to your dorm?”
“No.” She squeezed his hand. “It’s a nice night and I spent all day in classes.”
He released her hand and put his arm around her shoulders. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice grew thick. “Rhianna isn’t.”
“The sweet blonde from the dance? What happened?”
Bryn leaned into him for comfort and relayed the story of Rhianna’s injuries.
“I thought your medics could heal anything.”
“I guess not.” She blinked to hold back tears. “Now Jaxon’s father could void their marriage contract.”
Valmont’s muscles tensed. “That’s wrong.”
“I agree.” She sniffed. “That’s all the sucky news I have. What’s new with you?”
“I have acquired a roommate.” He chuckled. “My grandfather forgot his wedding anniversary. Until he can figure a way to get back into my grandmother’s good graces, he’s living with me. The man snores like a chain saw.”
“If you want any rest you’ll have to help him apologize.”
“He’s been leaving roses and chocolate on her doorstep every morning for a week.”
“That’s nice.”
“My grandmother doesn’t think so. She gives him the evil eye any time he tries to speak to her. Give me a female’s perspective. What else should he do?”
“I’m not sure.” Then it hit her. “Has he apologized in person, or is he just leaving gifts?”
“I don’t know.”
“Romantic gestures are good,” Bryn said, “but sometimes a girl needs to hear the words.”
“Speaking from personal experience, are we?” He arched a brow.
She gave a small shrug. “Maybe.”
“Has the spiky-haired nitwit apologized?”
“No, but he was next to me when the theater building was attacked. He chose to protect me over Nola.”
Valmont kicked at a pebble on the steps. “Then what happened?”
“Nothing, and it’s driving me crazy. I thought he’d find me and apologize, but he hasn’t.”
“So he’d be upset if you died, but he doesn’t want to be seen with you in public.”
Bryn elbowed Valmont in the ribs. “Don’t spare my feelings.”
“Believe it or not, I’m trying to keep you from being hurt again. Just because he doesn’t want you dead, doesn’t mean he’s boyfriend material. If he came to you right now and apologized, what would you do?”
The question caught her off guard. “I don’t know. If he’d come to me the day after the dance, I would’ve taken him back. He didn’t check on me after the first attack, but he tried to keep me safe during the second one.”
“If you hadn’t been next to him during the second attack, do you think he would’ve checked on you afterward?”
Acid churned in her stomach. “I don’t know.”
“There you are.” The Red dragon with the clipboard stalked toward them.
“Sorry. Has it been twenty minutes?”
“Yes.” The guard thrust the clipboard at Valmont. “Sign and go.”
The knight didn’t seem concerned. He leaned back on his elbows. “You’re early. It’s been fifteen minutes by my watch.”
The Red’s jaw muscle twitched.
This could turn ugly. “Valmont, why don’t I walk you back to the gate?”
“Fine.” Valmont stood and signed the paper on the clipboard. She grabbed her knight’s hand and pulled him along.
“If that guard’s temper is anything like my father’s, you don’t want to mess with him.”
He leaned in and whispered. “It’s my cosmic duty to mess with people. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
“Please don’t bait the guards. They are large and angry.”
“Fine.”
At the gate, he pulled her hand to his lips for a quick kiss. She waved good-bye as he drove off in his red convertible.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning in the buffet line, Bryn piled her plate high with pancakes. The Blue male behind her raised a brow.
“Food makes me feel better,” she said. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not as long as there’s enough for the rest of us.”
She considered nabbing the entire platter of pancakes just to piss him off, but common sense won out.