Give Me (Wyrd and Fae #1)(4)

There were two drinks on the cocktail table, his familiar scotch rocks, half gone, and a glass of white wine.

“Pinot grigio, right?” Greg finished his drink in one gulp. He caught the server’s eye and raised his empty glass.

“My favorite.” Lilith sat down and sipped the cold wine. It was very good, but she thought wistfully of the champagne Jenna Sarumen was having downstairs. Never mind. Jenna’s fiancé couldn’t possibly be as handsome or smart or thoughtful as Greg. Greg probably meant to order champagne at dinner.

“Lily, I need to tell you something, and there’s no good way to do it.” He took an envelope out of his suit jacket and played with it nervously, shuffling it back and forth between his hands.

“You can tell me anything, sweetie. You know that.”

“Oh, god.”

The server brought another round, and Greg put down the envelope and drained the scotch.

Lilith swallowed hard. “What is it, Greg? You’re scaring me.”

“Lily, you’re a wonderful woman.”

Her heart felt like it was going to compress to the size of a walnut. You’re a wonderful woman could only be followed by one word: but.

“But there’s someone else. I’ve fallen in love with…someone else. We’re going to be married.”

She couldn’t breathe. A sledgehammer must have slammed into her chest. She stared at Greg’s glass, the melting ice, the condensed moisture on the cocktail table. Something obstructed her vision, something white waving in front of her face.

The envelope.

“This is for you.” Greg spread her clinched fingers apart and put the envelope in her hand. “Take it.”

She could not care less about the envelope, but she tore it open just to give her hands something to do. The man she loved, the man she’d given her heart to…what was he saying to her? He ran his fingers through his hair. So uncomfortable, and still so gorgeous. “When?”

“What? Oh, today. I moved out of the apartment while you were at work. I thought it would be easier.”

“When did you betray me? When did you get tired of living off me?”

“I feel terrible, Lily. But I owe it to my family to marry well. My father…”

“Your family?” But he loved her! Her hands shook. In the pit of her stomach, apart from the shock, hot anger bubbled, contained in a tiny bead of light. “Your family abandoned you. I put you through law school. I supported you these last three years. Slept with you. Loved you. What do you owe me?”

“I’m so sorry.”

She stared at the paper in her hands. A check for fifty thousand dollars made out to Lilith Evergreen. Remittance advice: repayment, 3 yrs rm + board.

“Remittance advice?” She scoffed. “You’re definitely a lawyer now. What is this?”

“My trust fund has been released.” He spread his hands and laughed like a surprised spoiled kid. “The prodigal son is welcomed home.”

What joy! A miracle. He had no idea how betrayed she felt, how angry. The bead of hot light in her gut grew to the size of a golf ball.

“But Lily, I didn’t want you to…I wanted to make things right.”

A jumble of thoughts assaulted her. Marry well. Trust fund. Great gods, he was rich all this time. What other lies had he told her? She reached for more wine, and her ring caught her eye. The simple gold band. Love everlasting. She struggled to pull it off, but it was stuck. The golf ball of rage increased to hardball size.

“Tell me something, Greg. Why did you bother giving me this?” She held the back of her hand up to his face.

“I…I don’t know. It was weird. Jenna was in a hurry to get to St. James Church. We’d just passed an antique dealer’s stall on the Piccadilly side.”

“Jenna. You were with Jenna Sarumen in London—looking at churches.”

“She likes Wren’s architecture.” His face went red. Jenna…the champagne! Greg was going to marry the boss’s daughter. The hardball in Lilith’s stomach became a basketball. Her solar plexus and lungs pulsated with raging light.

“I saw something shiny out of the corner of my eye,” Greg said, “and a voice in my head said for Lily. I knew it meant you. I made Jenna wait while I bought it.”

So proud. As if he’d done a noble thing.

“Go away.” It was hard to draw enough breath to speak. “And take your guilt money.” Lilith threw the check at him. She forced herself to breathe deeply to calm the fury about to burst out of her.

The check landed in Greg’s lap. He picked it up with a faint smile. The little dimple in his cheek, the one that had always been so endearing, taunted her. “Jenna wanted me to give this to you.”

Bastard.

A gleam lit his eyes. He loved to win. Lilith saw that now. He loved winning more than anything. More than anybody. “I knew you would refuse.”

Bastard, bastard, bastard. She lost it. The raging ball of light exploded inside her. Was this what a ruptured appendix felt like?

“Give me that.” Lilith snatched the check away as a loud crunching sound filled the bar. A crack spread across the width of the picture window, and Greg jumped out of his chair.

“What the—?” He gaped at Lilith as if she’d caused the crack.