Heaven And Hell novel Chapter 104

"I believe it's weird that the meat seemed to have only targeted my ancient relatives, and not everyone in this room."

I grinned. "You have a point."

"My grandmother and aunt," he continued conversationally, "are cold, calculating women with a flair for the dramatics. Or at least my grandmother. My aunt, on the other hand, couldn't be a thespian to save her life. Shakespeare would have flung his play sheets over his head and stormed off in quite a fit, but I'm sure Aunt Marge would bark at him like a general."

I stared at him, unblinking. This was the first time he seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, and he even joked!

It wasn't hard to imagine Lady Cutting doing that. She seemed like the type of woman who would probably make Napoleon Bonaparte quake in his boots, if he were still alive today.

"Did you just move here from America?"

"Um, no..." I scratched the back of my ear. "I'm actually here for the summer. My parents are in Bali for their anniversary, but I'll be back in time to prepare for college."

He took his time eating his potatoes for a bit as he thought about what I'd said. Tell me if I waswrong, but he looked as if he was trying to process the explanation I'd told him -- like he couldn't believe it at first, but relented in the end. My eye twitched.

"So do you have a girlfriend?" I blurted out, breaking the silence. At the narrowed look he gave me, I wanted the floors to open up and swallow me whole! Blubbering away, I backtracked and covered my messy tracks of idiocy with,"Or don't answer! It's okay. I mean, why would anyone even ask you that --" My eyes grew impossibly round at my words "-- I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way. I'm sure lots of girls think you're incredibly hot, which you totally are, and --" I groaned and actually laid my head on the side of my plate like a defeated unicorn. Maybe I should've banged my head to think about something else, or fling myself out the window, where a whole battalion of sheep would probably chew me alive. This was embarrassing.

I slowly lifted my head up and covered my face with my hands, but I saw amusement in Colton's expression, and a rare smile playing at his lips. "I'm sorry. I'm an idiot."

"On the contrary," he began, "you were rather candid, so that means you were honest with me. Thanks -- now my ego has sprung." His pale eyes shimmered. "But to answer your question, no, I don't have a girlfriend. Are you certain you have a boyfriend, though?"

I scowled, thanking him silently for switching topics. But this one still embarrassed me. "Of course I do!" I scoffed. "I told you."

"Looks to me like you don't."

"Find anything interesting?" Colton asked patiently, holding still for me. I jumped a bit from my seat and coughed. That seemed to entertain him.

Clearly, he knew the power he had over females.

"I'd like to pick up my necklace now," I said hastily, avoiding his eyes as I sipped my water. "If you don't mind."

He chuckled. It seemed odd to hear him that way. He'd struck me as a person who didn't seem to laugh or smile much; it made me want to know why but I knew the light in his brilliant eyes would die and then he'd be all snarly again. So I cleared my throat and got up when he pulled my chair back for me, and led me out of the room.

Uriah was just walking into the hallway when we got out, and the embarrassed look I got versus his boss's glinted smirk made him seem surprised -- but that faded away and he smiled and nodded to both Colton and I.

"I'm sure your cat misses you," Colton murmured, leading me into the hi-tech kitchen with a monochromatic, minimalistic design, a marble island, and Sub-Zero equipment. There were a few servants doing some bit of last minute work, but they greeted us kindly and went back. Colton called one woman by the oven.