The Assassins Kiss

Chapter 35

Ezra's POV

I finish helping Aurora clean up after dinner.

As I walk into the living room, I stop in my tracks.

Luca's heading toward the couch, and from the corner of my eye, I see Lily coming down the stairs. She spots him and immediately starts walking over.

"Oh, Luca, I was looking for you," she says, stopping him before he can sit. He turns to face her.

"Are you still busy?" she asks, head tilted.

He looks a little confused.

"You said you were earlier. I just wanted to ask you about something," she continues.

Huh. He actually listened when I told him to stay away from her. Shocking.

"I guess I'm not busy," he shrugs.

"Okay, good." She smiles. "So I was wondering if you were free tomorrow so we could go to the Eiffel Tower?"

"I can't," he says.

"Oh, that's okay. Maybe the weeke—"

"I don't want to go to the Eiffel Tower," he cuts her off.

She blinks. "You wanted to see it yesterday."

"Changed my mind." He brushes past her and walks off.

"Oh." Her voice is so quiet it barely exists.

And of course... now I feel like shit.

I walk over to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... why?" she replies, giving me the fakest smile I've ever seen.

"You sure?" I ask, eyeing her closely.

"I'm fine, mom. Why would I not be?" she snaps, brushing past me.

I pause. Then call after her, "Oh, wait."

She stops, turning back around.

"I'm going on a second date with Armando," I say casually.

"A second date?" Her brows lift.

I nod. "He wants to meet you. Do you want to come tomorrow?"

She stares at me for a long moment before finally looking down.

"Yeah... that could be fun," she says, but the words feel hollow.

"I know you want Luca—"

She cuts me off, fast. "What time tomorrow?"

"Uh... we haven't figured that out yet."

"Okay... um, goodnight." She turns and heads for the stairs.

"Goodnight? It's only six o'clock."

"Just a little tired, that's all," she mumbles with a shrug and disappears upstairs.

I head back into the kitchen.

I find Iris and Aurora sitting at the table, both scrolling through their phones.

"Has Lily been acting... strange to you?" I ask.

They both glance up immediately.

"I mean, last night she did have a little bit of an attitude," Iris says. "But like... when does she not?"

Aurora snorts. "True."

"She was giving Roman attitude too," Iris adds, tilting her head. "Which was weird."

"She did?" I ask, sitting down beside them.

"Yeah, when he brought up Armando," Iris says with a little smirk. "Poor guy. Give him a break."