Trista’s POV“Fabulous,” Lemone said, smacking his knee with his hand. “I’ll add you both to the list for the competition. Best of luck.” He beamed at Liam, but neglected to look my way. “Now, perhaps you could go and fetch us all a latte, Lucian? All this business talk has me craving some caffeine.”Lucian looked severely unimpressed, but he couldn’t refuse his boss. So he sulked out of the apartment, leaving us alone with Liam.The moment the door was shut, Lemone turned to Liam, a twinkle in his eye. “I hope you don’t mind, but there’s something personal I wanted to discuss with you. It’s about my daughter…”Clearly, Lemone had asked Lucian to fetch coffee as a ruse to get Liam alone. As a human, it would hardly be appropriate to discuss werewolf matters in front of him.Liam, however, wasn’t interested in discussing what ‘plans’ Lemone had up his sleeve for Liam and his daughter.“I’ll just stop you right there,” Liam interrupted. “I honestly don’t want to sound rude, so please do
“I don’t think that’s entirely true,” Liam said.Hey, this fool what's he up to! Is he going to stand up for Lucian in front of me and hazel?I shot him a look that said ‘shut up’! Hazel was in a pretty fragile state right now. I didn’t want Liam to cajole her.“Is that so?” Hazel asked slyly. “Go on then. Tell me your opinion.”“You were using him,” Liam said matter of factly. “To get ahead in the competition. And even if you WERE friends, he’s under no obligation to help you.”“I did no such thing,” Hazel said haughtily. “I only asked him about the competition FORMAT. I wasn’t using him at all, despite what HE thinks.” “Well, in any case, you don’t need him.” Liam glanced at me. “Trista can win this all on her own. She doesn’t need any one’s help to succeed. So you, my dear,” he glanced at Hazel in the rear view mirror, “were barking up the wrong tree, so to speak.”Hazel shot Liam a dirty look, which made Liam chuckle.Seeing them together like this, I realized how close Li
Trista’s POV“I believe in you.”He said it so matter of factly, so off-handidly. It was blunt. Blunt and honest. This had nothing to do with his feelings for me. He really thought I had talent. I could tell by the tone of his voice.I didn’t know what to say.“Look, I have something to confess,” he smiled. “I saw some of your sketches. You left them behind when you left the pack.”Left? That wasn’t the word I would use. I was exiled. But I didn’t interrupt. I let him keep going.“I didn’t mean to invade your privacy or anything,” he explained. “But I couldn’t help it. There were a couple sketchbooks full of designs and drawings. Trista, I knew as soon as I saw them that you are really, REALLY talented.”A thought hit me then.OMG!My drawings? In a sketchbook? That I’d left behind? My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I remembered some of those drawings.There were sketches of Liam in there! Drawings I’d done right after we got married. Portraits. Intimate ones.I slunk down into m
Liam’s POVHe was cute, the little boy. Huge grin, brown, tousled hair.So that was Trista’s son?I didn’t get a good look at him, though. Trista whispered something to the boy and then pushed him back through the door. She and Hazel side-eyed each other. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Trista seemed a bit nervous.A bit stressed, even.Maybe she was afraid I wouldn’t like the kid?That was silly though. I loved kids.“He’s a handsome young lad,” I commented. “What’s his name?”Trista completely ignored my question though. Instead she said, in a rushed ramble:“They were supposed to be out for the afternoon but they came home early. I’m sure they’ve completely destroyed the apartment. Isn’t that right, Hazel?”Hazel nodded quickly. “Yes. They’re little terrors! Naughty naughty naughty!”They both laughed, an awkward, forced, high-pitch laugh.I narrowed my eyes.They were acting strange, these two. But why?“That’s okay. I know what kids are like. I don’t mind a mess.” I went to push
Liam’s POV“Yes,” I said. “Then I want you to go directly to my safe. Take all the gemstones, Jules. Package them up carefully, and YOU, send them to me here, in Milan.”“ALL of them?!” Jules was shocked. His yelling made my eardrums hurt a bit. “But that’s your mother’s private collection, Mr. Stonewood. She spent years collecting those gems from auctions all over the world! I thought she wanted to use them for the next Luna’s Crown!”“Nevermind any of that,” I snapped. This was none of his business. “Just do as I say and package them up. I expect them to be here by tomorrow morning.”Trista had less than three days until they closed entries to the competition. That wasn’t much time.Jules agreed to both my requests and we hung up.I felt a little disoriented after the phone call. It wasn’t like me to make such quick, brash decisions. I was acting strangely and I knew it. My behavior was unusual. Was it guilt driving me to behave this way?I’d always considered myself a no-nonsense s
Trista’ POV“Billy,” I said, grabbing him by the shoulders and kneeling down to eye level. “What were you doing, coming all the way down here like this on your own?”We were safely inside the building now, out of Liam’s sight. But my heart was hammering in my chest. Liam wasn’t supposed to see Billy! What if he got suspicious? Recognized him as his son?“I told you,” Billy said in a small voice. “I heard you and I snucked out.”“It’s snuck out, not snucked. And you can’t do that, Billy,” I said.“It’s okay, Trista,” Hazel said, tossing me a reassuring look. I stood up. “He didn’t recognize him,” she whispered. “And he was too far away for Liam to pick up his scent.” I nodded.Hazel was probably right. But I was still worried. Billy was the spitting image of Liam. It wouldn’t be hard for Liam to put two and two together. “Who was that man?” Billy asked, cocking his head to the side.“Oh, just a friend of Aunty Hazel’s,” I told Billy.This sucked. I hated lying to Billy. I hated
Trista’s POV“Pasta?” I asked, leaving the window and heading to the cupboard. “How’s that for dinner?”Hazel knew I was changing the subject. But she didn’t prod any further. “Pasta sounds perfect. We ARE in Italy, after all.I set some water on the stove to boil.“So,” Hazel said, also leaving the window. “Three days to prepare your entry for the competition? Is that enough time, Tris?”I sighed. “I sure hope so,” I said. But deep down, I honestly didn’t know. I had yet to see the raw materials that Liam was giving me. I had no idea what sort of shape they were in. And they needed to be delivered all the way here, to Milan. What if they were held up for some reason.Three days was really tight. And it was a lot of pressure, since both Liam and Hazel had done a lot for me already. If I didn’t make the deadline, all their efforts would be in vain.That was the last thing I wanted.Just then, I had an idea.“Hazel, where’s the wedding gift I gave you?”“It’s damaged, remember? That a
Trista’s POVI woke up bright and early the next morning. The sun was streaming through my window. Hazel and I were planning to go and check out the studio first thing that day since I hadn’t been there in a while. I sauntered out of the bedroom and yawned. Hazel was already flipping pancakes for the kids.“Coffee?” she asked, handing me a steaming mug of cappuccino before I even answered. I smiled gratefully. But we were both surprised to hear a knock on the door.“Who could that be this early in the morning?” I asked as I went to answer the door.“Beats me,” Hazel shrugged.I opened the door to find Jules – a very disheveled and tired Jules holding a small safe.“Trista?” he asked. I wrapped my housecoat tightly around me. “I’m not sure if I have the right address.” He was clearly perplexed. Liam had tasked Jules with delivering the precious gemstones in person but Jules hadn’t expected I’d be the recipient.“You’re in the right place,” I smiled brightly. Poor Jules. There were dark