Pia Does Hollywood (Elder Races, #8.6)(19)

Oh, screw it.

She looked at Tatiana. “Eva is a friend of mine. If I were at home, I would invite her to join us too. Would that be acceptable to you?”

The other woman’s eyebrows rose, but despite the tensions just a few moments ago, she replied easily enough, “I have relationships like that as well. As you might remember from your aborted dinner party, my Captain Shane is one of them. As long as you count her in your inner circle and you give her access to privileged information, she can join us.”

That was better. Feeling more comfortable, she smiled and nodded to Eva, who pulled out a chair opposite Bailey and sat.

“Thank you,” Pia said to Tatiana, while she glanced down with a frown at her phone. It was unlike Dragos to take this long to text her back. What was his unexpected issue? It didn’t have anything to do with Liam, did it?

The server set place settings and food on the table. Bailey said, “Eva and I double-checked all the recipes to make sure everything was vegan.”

That brought Pia’s attention up from her phone. She glanced again at all the dishes. There were scones, fresh strawberries, a pot of something that looked like cream but Pia’s nose told her was coconut cream, not dairy, little round containers that looked like avocado mousse with pretty flecks of orange zest, some kind of berry crumble, and a complex savory salad with tossed greens, olives, and other vegetables.

Usually Pia could eat one or two dishes out of an entire meal’s spread, but the Light Fae had ensured that she could eat everything on this table. It was a kindness she hadn’t expected.

“This was really thoughtful of you,” she told them. “Thank you.”

“It was no trouble,” Tatiana replied. “I often choose to eat vegan meals.” As they helped themselves from each dish family-style, the Queen added, “I’m afraid I don’t have much time I can spare for you. That was one of the reasons why I suggested the Malibu beach house. Over the last few days, a situation has developed that is consuming a great deal of my attention and resources.”

Pia and Eva exchanged a glance. Pia asked, “You said that was one of the reasons behind the invitation to enjoy the beach house. What were the other reasons?”

This time, it was Tatiana and Bailey’s turn to exchange glances. She had time to note that Bailey’s expression had turned closed and unrevealing. Then Tatiana gave her a direct look. The Queen’s gaze had turned grim.

Tatiana said, “Your safety. If you insist on being here this week, the Malibu house is the best place for your protection.”

Carefully, Eva put down her fork. Her demeanor changed from relaxed to sharp and poised. She asked, “Are you saying that you don’t feel safe in your own home?”

“That is a possibility, yes,” Tatiana replied. The Queen looked perfectly calm and composed as she scooped a tiny spoonful of avocado mousse out of a cup. “Naturally we’re doing everything we can to counteract that.”

Oh Lord, Pia muttered in Eva’s head. It looks like my travel curse is alive and working fine. I can’t wait to hear what Dragos has to say about it.

Just then, her phone coughed out a polite-sounding ping. Murmuring an apology, she checked the screen.

It was a text from Dragos. Damn right something’s wrong. I’ll be there as fast as I can.

Whatever his situation had been, it seemed to be over with. Telepathically, she accused, How do you know something’s wrong? You haven’t been relaxing or fishing at all, have you?

He didn’t respond.

She was getting practiced at refraining from rolling her eyes in public. Setting her phone aside, she said, “Again, my apologies for letting the phone interrupt us. Dragos is on his way. He says he’ll be here as soon as he can.”

“In that case, there is no point in going over everything twice,” Tatiana said. “We should finish our meals while we can.”

With that ominous-sounding statement, the Queen calmly speared an olive on her fork and ate it.





Chapter Six





After a second’s hesitation, Pia followed suit. Between her new life as Dragos’s mate and having a small child, at least for several months, in the household, she had learned to eat heartily when she could.

The quality of the food was excellent, of course, and her constant appetite ensured that she cleaned her plate.

The conversation could have turned stilted, but it didn’t. Tatiana plied her with questions about her daily life and asked after Liam. Part of Pia found the chitchat rather bizarre. Clearly something was wrong enough to require Tatiana’s attention, but the Queen behaved as though there was nothing more urgent than discussing school choices for children.

“Your son sounds remarkable,” Tatiana said. “And how unusual that he has grown so much, so fast.”

“Yes, he’s remarkable in every way,” Pia replied. “And while his magical nature has made him unique, the important thing is, he’s a really good person. I don’t just love him, I respect him.”

When Tatiana met her gaze, her expression had turned warm and sympathetic. “I understand. I have always felt that way about my daughters too.”

For the first time since arriving, Pia felt like she had made a real connection with the Queen. Any sense of achievement she might have felt at that was overshadowed by concern for Dragos.