War of Hearts

Well, that wasn’t exactly accurate. A balding, middle-aged man caught my eye as I looked around. After a second of eye contact, his genial expression melted, and he paled. He quickly looked away.

I glanced up to find Marco scowling at the man. His face was harder than I’d ever seen it, the harsh lines of his square jaw set and his cold eyes narrowed.

He must have felt my gaze on him, because he blinked once and looked back at me. The fierce expression was gone in an instant. He didn’t smile at me, but he wasn’t scowling, either. I realized that the neutral expression he usually wore must be his default. I’d thought he was trying to be intimidating when his face was carefully blank. But I’d just seen his actual intimidating expression, and the neutral one was practically a silly grin in comparison.

I fiddled with my napkin in my lap to hide my trembling fingers beneath the table. Marco was even scarier than I’d imagined.

The server came by to take our order. Before I could look at the menu, Marco barked out a list of dishes that could probably feed five people.

“That’s a lot of food,” I remarked when the server left.

He shrugged. “I’m hungry. And this way, you can try some of everything.”

“Oh.” He still wasn’t smiling, but that seemed like a nice thing to say. Like he cared about whether or not I enjoyed my dinner. “Okay. Thanks.”

He tipped his head in a slight nod, acknowledging my response.

Joseph’s fingers laced with mine beneath the table, stopping me from picking at my napkin. My anxiety mostly melted away at his reassuring touch.

“Ashlyn was asking about the pool earlier,” Joseph told Marco. “Any progress on that?”

Marco’s granite jaw firmed, and his eyes narrowed on Joseph. I would have scooted away if he’d turned that glare on me, but Joseph didn’t seem affected. I supposed he was used to it.

“Well, keep me updated,” Joseph said when Marco didn’t deign to answer. “It’s really important to Ashlyn.”

Marco’s eyes riveted on me again, and I shifted in my seat. He wasn’t glaring anymore, but his gaze was… intense. I wanted to look away, but that strange sensation of being trapped by his stare alone kept me locked in place.

“Why 1997unicorn?” he asked.

I blinked. “What?” I said, a bit breathlessly. It was the last thing I’d expected him to say. I’d thought we were about to have an argument about the pool.

“Your password,” he prompted. “Why did you choose 1997unicorn? I’m assuming the university didn’t assign it to you.”

“Oh. Well.” I shifted again. Joseph’s fingers firmed on mine, grounding me. “That’s the year I was born. And I guess I just, um, I like unicorns?” The last came out as a question.

The corners of his mouth curved again. “What do you like about them?”

“What?” I was acting like a total idiot who couldn’t carry a conversation, but this entire line of questioning was baffling. Why would Marco care about my interest in unicorns, of all things?

“You heard me,” he said, his voice coming out in a rich, deep tone I’d never heard from him before. It was much warmer than anything he’d ever said, but somehow more… powerful.

“Well, they’re beautiful.” The words tumbled out of my mouth. “And, I don’t know, magical. I just like the idea of them, I guess. I used to love the movie The Last Unicorn growing up. I’d watch it all the time.”

He grinned. He actually grinned. And it wasn’t the scary, sharply amused smile I’d seen him wear once before. This was a genuine smile, and it reached his eyes. They crinkled at the corners, and warmth actually eclipsed the hard, cold light that usually reflected off them.

I’d never appreciated how ruggedly handsome Marco was. I’d been fully aware of his masculine physique, and I’d picked each of his harsh features apart in moments of fear. But when he smiled like this, he didn’t seem all that frightening. He was magnetic, compelling.

“I need the bathroom,” I said suddenly, almost surprising myself. Sitting so close to Marco was too… Well, I didn’t exactly feel uncomfortable around him right now. It was more… intense. Sitting close to Marco was intense.

“We’ll be right here, angel,” Joseph said, squeezing my hand one last time before releasing it.

I popped up out of my chair and hurried to the bathroom. Embarrassingly, I ended up getting a little lost looking for it. The brunette who’d showed us to our table directed me from the front of the restaurant back toward the kitchen. The ladies’ room was down a long hall to the left. Luckily, it was far out of sight from Joseph and Marco, so they hadn’t seen me wandering around like an idiot. I’d already made enough of a fool of myself, talking to Marco about unicorns.

And what the hell had all that been about? Why would Marco care about me liking unicorns? It was a silly, childish thing, and I was a little embarrassed by it. There was a reason I’d chosen it for my password; passwords were secret.

Even though I hadn’t particularly needed to go, I used the facilities and washed my hands. When I’d dried them, I lingered in front of the mirror for a minute longer, willing the pink blush to subside from my cheeks. My body was hot, flushed. It was cold outside, but I’d been far too overheated when surrounded by Joseph’s and Marco’s bulk.

Ice water, I told myself. I need ice water.