Everland(37)

Mikey tugs at my shirtsleeve. “Can I go with Gabs and Justice? I want to see the map room, too.”

“Go ahead,” I tell Mikey, giving him a reassuring nudge.

Pete pulls something out of his coat pocket and hands it to my brother. “Here, take this.”

Mikey takes the object: a red hard candy. “Wow, thanks a lot. I can’t remember when I had candy last.”

“The Lost City is your home now. We are your new family,” Pete says, kneeling to Mikey’s eye level. He juts a hand out and shakes Mikey’s tiny one.

Mikey drops Pete’s hand and throws both of his arms around his neck. “Thanks, Pete!”

My chest swells at the exchange, and for the first time in a year, I really believe my brother will be safe. Perhaps safer than when he was in my care.

Pete hands a candy to the other two boys. Justice unwraps his with enthusiasm and pops the green ball in his mouth. Gabs sniffs his own yellow candy and holds it out to Mikey.

“Trade?” Gabs asks.

“Sure!” Mikey says, swapping treats with him.

“Pete says too much sugar makes me hyper. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but lemon isn’t my favorite flavor anyhow. It’s sour and makes me pucker like this.” Gabs’s eyes cross as he puckers his lips. “My big sister used to tell me if I made this face and someone hit me in the back of the head it’d be permanent. I just can’t take that risk.”

The boys’ voices fade in the pinging of tools and whirring of machines.

I smile at the boys’ exchange. It is heartwarming to see Mikey with a friend. I spin toward Pete. His goggles reflect my grin, a mirror of his own smile. I slip the spectacles off his head. “You, dear sir, can be awfully sweet when you want to be,” I say.

He grabs for the goggles but misses as I hold them out of reach. “I’d give those back if I were you, Immune,” he says teasingly.

“Not until you stop calling me Immune,” I say, twirling the goggles on a finger.

“What should I call you?” he asks. “You still haven’t picked a Lost Girl name.”

“What’s wrong with just calling me Gwen?”

“It doesn’t suit you,” he says. “Gwen seems like the name of a proper English woman, one who wears hoopskirts, carries a parasol, and is on the arm of a gentleman.”

“And I don’t seem ‘proper’ to you?” I say, poking a finger into his chest.

“Hardly,” Pete says with a snort.

I pretend to be offended. “Oh, really?”

“Of course not. Have you looked in the mirror?” he asks.

Taken aback by the insult, I suck in my bottom lip and pretend to be interested in his goggles. What was I thinking? Of course I don’t appear proper to him. I can only guess how disheveled I appear. By instinct, I reach to comb my fingers through my hair, hoping that it isn’t sticking out in every direction.

“Aww, Gwen, I didn’t mean it like it sounded,” he says, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “I just meant that you’re not all weak and damsel-in-distress-like.”

The ache of the insult slips away, but it still takes me a moment to lift my eyes to his. I’m terrified that he’s covering up, making something up to placate me, and I know it’s his stunning eyes that will give it away. He reaches for me and tilts my chin up so that I have nowhere to look but into those eyes.

“Gwen, it’s your strength and determination that set you apart. You are by no means a frail Englishwoman,” he says, his gaze unwavering.

I instantly feel better and wrap my arms around his neck. He smells of sweat mingled with fresh rain.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t be here without your help. Thank you, for everything,” I whisper. My heart slams against my ribs. I wonder if he can hear it.

“Don’t mention it,” he says.

Just as I pull away, my ponytail is violently yanked. I am ripped from Pete’s embrace and stumble backward, almost losing my balance. Turning to see who my assailant is, I am shocked to see Bella glaring at me.

“Bella, what’d you do that for?” Pete says, sounding surprised.

Bella folds her arms and tilts her head to the side. “Really? You two can thank me later for saving you from doing the kissy face in front of all of these kids.”

Snickers erupt around me as the Lost Boys stare, having paused from their duties to watch us. Heat prickles my cheeks, neck, and ears. I hide my eyes behind a trembling hand. I wasn’t being kissy face with him—or was I? I’m not sure. Aside from his good looks, there’s nothing about him I’d be remotely attracted to.

“Back to work!” Pete hollers. The kids continue to giggle as they pull their goggles over their eyes, pick up their tools, and return to their duties.

Silently, I berate myself and wrap my arms around my body tightly. I wish I could wind back the clocks and wipe this embarrassing moment from my thoughts.

“And you,” Pete says, spinning toward Bella, “what’s up with attacking Gwen?”

She shrugs. “I wasn’t attacking her; I was trying to get her attention,” she says in an innocent tone. She bats her long, dark lashes.

“Next time, a ‘hey, Gwen’ will suffice,” Pete says.

“Fine,” Bella says in a snarky tone while rolling her eyes.