King of Pride (Kings of Sin #2) by Ana Huang

Of course he did. I told him about this bar when we were dating, which made him bringing her here all the more distressing.

“Oh.” I fought a sharp pang at the sound of his name. I imagined them discussing date options on the phone, and the pang grew worse. “Well, you two make a cute couple.”

I would’ve been embarrassed about my blatant fishing for information if I didn’t feel so sick.

Clarissa dried her hands and opened her clutch. “Thank you. Kai is quite handsome, but…” She retrieved a sleek black lipstick tube. “Between you and me, he’s a bit boring.”

Indignation flushed hot beneath my skin. I’d accused him of the same thing a lifetime ago, before I really knew him, but hearing her say it in her haughty accent made me see red. “He’s not boring. He’s introverted. There’s a difference.”

“Maybe.” Clarissa’s lip color went on smooth and muted, its neutral shade a contrast to my brick-red stain. “He only talks about books and work. It gets tiring.”

You didn’t seem tired when you were laughing with him earlier.

“There’s nothing wrong with talking about books.” I yanked a paper towel from the dispenser and wiped my already dry hands. I needed something to do or I’d scream. “Reading is his hobby, and he’s busy. He helps run a multibillion-dollar company. Of course he’s going to—” I broke off at Clarissa’s laugh. “What’s so funny?” I demanded.

“You should see how red you’re turning.” Her eyes twinkled. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not funny, but Kai has been so miserable over you that it’s nice to see you haven’t dismissed him completely.”

I hated how my heart skipped a beat at her words. I didn’t want him to be miserable, but if he was and she was admitting it, then that meant…

“We’re not on a date,” Clarissa added, accurately reading my silence. “We’re here as friends. He wanted to thank me for agreeing to our staged date after the National Star photos. In fact…” She dropped her lipstick back in her bag. “We were discussing how much better we are as friends.”

My anger drained away, replaced by relief and a hint of doubt. “So you’re not interested in him at all?”

Clarissa shook her head. “Kai and I grew up next to each other,” she said. “Our parents have pushed for us to be together since we were children. To them, it’s a business arrangement. An alliance between two old, powerful British Chinese families in a world where there aren’t many like us. But we were never close friends, and we didn’t talk for years before I moved here.”

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “I admit I was curious about him at first. He’s handsome, successful, and a decent person, which is exceedingly rare for someone with his wealth and status. But I realized that while he may look perfect on paper, the chemistry simply isn’t there. Not like…like it should be.” A delicate blush colored her cheeks.

“Oh,” I said again. For a writer, my ability to find the right words was distressingly low. “Well, that makes sense, but you didn’t have to tell me all of that.” I’m so glad you did. “It doesn’t matter.” If I say it enough times, it’ll be true. “Kai and I aren’t…we’re not together anymore. Obviously.” Because I always fuck up the good things in my life.

I rummaged through my makeup bag, searching for nothing in particular. The adrenaline of running into Clarissa faded, and a crushing pressure returned to my chest.

She and Kai weren’t on a date, but that didn’t erase the reasons why we couldn’t be together. It just meant I had more time before he started dating someone else for real.

“If it didn’t matter, you wouldn’t have gotten so upset when I called him boring,” Clarissa said gently. She snapped her bag closed and faced me head-on. “You still care about him.”

“I never said I didn’t. That’s not why…” I trailed off, distracted by the flash of white around her wrist. It was a necklace wrapped up to be a bracelet, and it looked wildly out of place with her elegant outfit. It was also made of something suspiciously familiar.

Puka shells.

A memory from Christmasbirthdaynewyearpalooza slammed into me.

Where’s your necklace?

I, uh, lost it.

Clarissa was the director of artist relations at the Saxon Gallery—the same gallery that’d hosted Felix’s exhibition in December.

My eyes snapped up to hers. Her wide eyes and stricken expression was all the confirmation I needed.

Another thick silence between us.

A minute ago, I’d been worried about Kai and Clarissa. Now I found out she’s with my brother?

What in the ever-loving hell is going on tonight? Maybe I wasn’t actually at the bar. Maybe I passed out at the coffee shop and was having the most vivid dream of my life.

This time, Clarissa was the one who broke the silence. “Please don’t tell anyone yet.” She twisted the bracelet again, her blush deepening. “My family still thinks I’m interested in Kai, and I don’t…”

“I won’t tell anyone.” I, of all people, knew what it was like to keep a relationship secret.

She gave me a grateful smile. We’d crossed paths a few times before tonight, but she seemed more relaxed compared to our previous encounters. It was probably Felix’s influence; he could make even a clam open up.