Chapter 70
Gemma
“Claire!” Sibille says. “My sweet girl!”
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She turns to the women around us. “You know, Gemma only has an undergraduate degree, but my Claire has two Master’s degrees and she’s just been approved for a PhD program overseas at a prestigious design school in France.”
A PhD in French? I almost burst out laughing. Claire is too stupid to do basic math or string together two sentences in her first language.
I smile and start to speak rapid French, which I studied throughout high school and college. “Wow, Claire. I had no idea you spent so much time in Paris. Tell me, what was your favorite thing to see?”
Claire laughs nervously and I can tell she has no idea what I’m saying.
Several of the other ladies, however, clearly do speak the language. They look at Claire expectantly.
“What was your favorite regional cuisine?” I ask, still speaking French. “I know everyone loves the food in Paris, but I found that I preferred the simpler dishes from the countryside.”
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She laughs again and says, “Oui,” which just means “Yes,”
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“Oni?” I laugh and speak French again. “You don’t speak French at all, do you Claire? And you don’t have a degree in anything that your daddy didn’t pay for. In fact, you’re just a liar,”
“Oui,” Claire anys.
“Yes,” I repent in French. “You are a liar. Good to know.”
Now the ladies around me are laughing for a different reason. Sibille and Claire must be able to tell, because Claire blushes and Sibille looks enraged.
*****
Cassian
“Hey, Cassian, you did a great job on that flight today. I thought we were goners, but you landed the plane without even breaking
a sweat.”
I glance up at Reyna and give her a distracted smile. I’m busy making sure everything in the shipment is accounted for.
“It was an important trip.” I say.
The goods on that flight were worth millions. I wasn’t about to
let the plane go down and let my grandfather down. Not even for fog, turbulence, and a thunderstorm.
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Besides, if anything happens to me, my uncle Adrian becomes the acting Alpha of the Smokewind Pack, and I can’t allow that.
He’s an idiot, and he’ll squander everything both my grandfather and I worked so hard for.
For the millionth time, I curse the turf war that took my parents‘ lives. At least if I had them, I’d have someone in the family to rely on.
I think Reyna has left, but then I hear her clear her throat delicately and look up to see her still standing in the door.
“Something you need?” I ask, my tone a little clipped.
She smiles and says, “I thought we could celebrate by going to grab some dinner together.”
“Sure,” I say.
We’re leaving the warehouse when my phone pings. I look down and see a message from Adam, my assistant.
Sibille and Claire took Gemma to the party downtown.
I freeze and stare at my phone.
I heard the way my aunts talked to Gemma at the family dinner. This would be Gemma’s first outing since I’d announced her as
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my wife.
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I was planning on hosting something, myself. Making Gemma’s official entrance to my world casy.
I hadn’t counted on my toxic family taking that away from me so fast.
“What’s the problem?” Reyna asks. She’s come right back up to the step I’m on and she’s obviously staring at my screen and reading my texts.
When she does, I think I see a flash of jealousy in her eyes.
It’s not like her to be jealous… Is it?
“Sorry,” I say, turning the phone so she can’t see the screen. “Turns out I’m going to that underworld thing downtown tonight, after all.”
“Oh. I’ll go with you!” she says.
I look at her. “You said you were fine skipping it when I said I wasn’t going.”
She shrugs. “Yeah, but now that you are, I can catch up with a few of my contacts and strengthen our network.”
I nod. We get ready and head out. When we get there, I open the door for Reyna. I expect her to walk in at my side. Instead, she
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stumbles against me.
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“Damn,” she says helplessly. “These shoes. Can I lean on you?”
“Of course,” I say.
We go inside. At first, I can’t find Gemma anywhere.
Then I spot her in a knot of family matriarchs in a corner. I start to stride over, but Reyna holds me back.
“Wait! I think she’s insulting them. What is she thinking?”
I slow down and listen as we approach. At first, I think I might be having a stroke. I don’t understand anything she’s saying.
Then I realize she’s speaking French.
Holy shit. I didn’t know my wife spoke French!
So many things you don’t know… Zephyr grumbles.
Then she switches back to English, and I realize she’s dog walking my aunt and cousin. They try to insult her, but she insults them back, and ten times better.
“Cassian, listen to her!” Reyna says, horrified. “Doesn’t Gemma know she’s in public! She’s insulting members of your own family, and this is/her first time out as your wife. She’s going too far. You have to do something!”
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A grim smile crosses my lips. “Don’t worry. I know exactly what I’m going to do.”
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