Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 1083

They found a cozy local bistro, the kind of place where the menu made no attempt at international flair. Tegan ordered enough to feed an army—a silent gesture of gratitude that Finley couldn't possibly miss.

Finley took in the dizzying array of dishes filling the table. "There’s no way we can finish all this," he said, dubious.

"We’ll just box up whatever’s left for later. I’ll take it home for dinner tonight," Tegan said with an easy shrug.

Finley blinked in surprise. "Wait, you ordered dinner now, too?"

"Yeah. I’m not going out again tonight. I’ll just reheat these later," Tegan replied, as if this was the most natural arrangement in the world. She spoke so nonchalantly that it was obvious she did this kind of thing all the time.

Finley frowned. "So... leftovers for dinner?"

"It’s just leftovers, Finley. It won't kill me., I do this all the time." If she was being honest, even day-old leftovers never bothered her, despite everyone insisting it wasn’t healthy. She always felt perfectly fine.

Finley let out a skeptical hiss. "You were raised as a Horner and you’re living on microwave scraps?"

What kind of household was the Horner family, anyway?

At the mention of the family name, Tegan’s fingers tightened around her knife and fork. A fleeting tension passed through her, but she quickly flashed a bright, practiced smile. "I didn’t actually grow up in the Horner house," she said calmly.

It was true—she’d moved out ages ago. She never quite managed to get along with Leslie, and there was only so much of Leslie’s mind games she could put up with. Eventually, she’d simply left. Most people assumed Uriah had pampered her by letting her move out, but in reality, it had been her own decision.

Tegan made an effort to appear nonchalant, hiding the old loneliness beneath a mask of easy confidence. But Finley still caught a frail note of sadness beneath her words. He tactfully let the subject drop.

Instead, his tone cooled as he shifted the topic. "So, what’s the plan with Leslie?"

Leslie. Yesterday, Stella’s people had shown up, and Skye Yoder had been there, too. Skye had been livid—she'd joined forces with Stella’s crew, delivering a fierce beating and extracting the truth with ruthless efficiency.

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