Lucas let the silence hang until Mia shifted uncomfortably in her chair and Lucius looked down at his cufflinks. Only then did he lean forward, elbows on his knees, green eyes cool and sharp.
"Enough," he said quietly. "This stops now. Mia, you don’t get to sprint into my office every ti he looks at you sideways. Lucius, you don’t get to ambush her with marriage proposals like so deranged acquisitions officer. You’re both making crazy."
Mia opened her mouth, but Lucas held up a hand. "No. My turn."
He reached over to the low table, pulled a legal pad toward him and uncapped a pen with a click that sounded ominous. "Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m drafting a contract. Not a marriage contract, not a rger, a truce."
Lucius raised an eyebrow. "A truce?"
"A contract for civility, because I’ve surrounded myself with insane people," Lucas said, already writing. "Mia agrees to stop running and hiding behind every ti you appear. You," he jabbed the pen at Lucius without looking up, "agree to stop pressing her like a madman. In return, Mia will actually try, emphasis on try, to go on three normal dates with you."
"I don’t like it..." Mia said, still half-hidden behind Lucas’s shoulder.
Lucas didn’t even glance up from the page. "You don’t have to like it," he said, pen scratching across the pad. "You just have to stop treating like a human riot shield every ti you two make eye contact."
Mia bristled. "That’s not fair..."
"It’s exactly fair," Lucas cut in, finally looking at her. His green eyes had lost all softness. "You ca to because you wanted a choice. Fine. Here’s a choice: three dates, no pressure, no entourages, and if after that you still want nothing to do with him, I’ll back you to the hilt. But you stop running and he stops chasing like a lunatic in the anti."
Lucius’s mouth twitched at that description, but he didn’t argue.
"But he is already planning how to use it to his advantage," Mia said, eyeing Lucius like a cat watching a snake.
Lucas didn’t blink. "That’s why we’re writing it down," he said, sliding the pen across the table toward her. "There are no hidden clauses. No loopholes. Three dates with only the two of you. If he violates it, he’s done. If you vanish after the first date, you’re done. The only advantage either of you gets is the chance to behave like adults."
Lucius inclined his head a fraction, blue eyes steady. "I’ll abide by the contract," he said quietly. "I’m not that shaless."
Mia hesitated, glancing from Lucius’s face to the sheet of paper under Lucas’s hand. "And if I still say no?"
Lucas’s mouth curved into a thin, savage smile. "Then you still say no. And he’ll back off. I’ll make sure of it."
That made her blink. She stared at the pen for a mont longer, then reached out and took it. "Three dates," she muttered. "Fine."
"Good," Lucius echoed, his voice softer now. "And I wait."
Lucas leaned back, folding his arms. "Good. Sign, both of you. And for the love of everything, stop treating my sitting room like a courtroom while you’re at it."
They signed. Lucas slid the paper into a folder, snapped it shut, and looked at them over the top edge. "There. Now if either of you breaks the truce, I get to throw you into the ornantal lake and claim diplomatic immunity."
Trevor’s laugh rumbled from the doorway. "Still savage," he murmured.
Lucas exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Savage enough to want lunch without refereeing another round of this nonsense. Go. Date. Behave."
They both stood at the sa ti, like schoolchildren dismissed from detention. Mia smoothed her skirt with jerky hands; Lucius buttoned his jacket with the sa deliberate calm he used in council etings. Neither looked at the other.
Windstone appeared in the doorway just in ti to intercept them, silver tray balanced in one hand. "Shall I show our...contract signatories to the door?" he asked mildly.
"Please," Lucas said, waving them off without opening his eyes.
Windstone ushered them out with the efficiency of a man clearing a stage. The door closed behind them, leaving only Trevor and Lucas in the sitting room.
Trevor crossed to him, cedar a quiet undertone. "You’re terrifying when you’re in administrator mode," he said, setting a fresh mug of coffee in front of him.
Lucas dropped his forehead into his hand, the platinum band flashing once in the afternoon light. "I’m exhausted."
"I know," Trevor murmured, brushing a thumb over his brow. "But you’ve just defused a small war without throwing anyone into the lake. That’s progress."
Lucas snorted softly, sitting back in his chair. "For now. If they show up here again before the contract’s over, I’m moving to the south wing."
Trevor’s mouth curved, cedar warm around his words. "You won’t last a day down there. The south wing doesn’t have your coffee machine or your wardrobe."
"I’ll improvise," Lucas muttered, eyes closing. "Build a fort out of pillows. Bar the door."
Trevor laughed quietly and tipped Lucas’s chin up with two fingers until green eyes t violet. "Or," he said, "you can stay here and let keep intercepting them. That’s what you married for."
Lucas gave a tired smile. "No, I married you because you’re as blunt as a rock."
Trevor’s mouth curved into a slow grin. "A rock, hm? I’ll take it. Better than being compared to Benjamin’s cashre."
"Cashre at least behaves," Lucas muttered, but the edge of a laugh slipped into his voice. He leaned his forehead briefly against Trevor’s collarbone. "You’re the only person I can’t scare off."
"That’s because you never scared in the first place," Trevor said softly. His thumb brushed the corner of Lucas’s mouth. "You can throw contracts, sarcasm, or ornantal lakes at , and I’ll still be here."
Lucas huffed out a breath that was almost a laugh. "Lucky ."
"Lucky us," Trevor corrected. He straightened, giving Lucas’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Co on, rock or not, I’m still making you eat sothing before you draft a peace treaty for dessert."
Lucas let himself be guided out of the chair, muttering under his breath, but the platinum band on his finger flashed once in the afternoon light, and the tension in his shoulders finally eased.
Reviews
All reviews (0)