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Malachi let hisshe would hear the tone of his thoughts even if she couldn’t understand theh He si their hands brush casually on the uneven sidewalk

"What kind of food does this restaurant serve?" she asked, obviously trying to ignore hi with soood There is a lamb dish I think you would like"

"I love lamb," Rhys said "Quite the delicious fluffy aniave him a mock scowl "Do you dine on kitten, too?"

"Only if they’re prepared with the right sauce, love"

The two joked all the way to the restaurant Malachi tried not to let it bother him, but they had obviously become familiar over the past week It wasn’t that he didn’t want Ava to like Rhys He was one of Malachi’s closest friends, after all But he also knew the look on Rhys’s face, and it was one he hadn’t seen in two hundred years The Irin was infatuated with the woether

He really was an idiot He could only hope that his gut feeling was correct, that Ava didn’t feel for Rhys the same way she felt for hied the air between her and Malachi When Ava gave Rhys’s shoulder a friendly jab, Malachi tried to hide his sht, but Malachi nodded to a waiter he recognized and they were shown to a private balcony looking out over the town Low lights and candles flickered It was an un that he hoped would impress her

It did

"Oh! This is so beautiful Look at that view!" Ava’s eyes glittered with delight as the waiter held her chair for her Rhys gave hi was private enough that he knew they didn’t have to worry about being overheard, which let hi about Irin history in the region

"You were born near here, weren’t you?" Ava asked hied a lot over the years

He s here with e more, of course Cappadocia can almost feel like a time capsule I was born west of here It’s still a very rural area The village where I was born in is no longer there"

Malachi thought he saw a troubled look filter across her face He wondered if she was thinking about the Rending

"I have many happy memories fro to ease her row up"

Rhys distracted her with a joke about Malachi, and within moments, the troubled look left her face He would have been resentful if he wasn’t so grateful

Malachi watched thes It was clear she liked Rhys, but Malachi was still convinced that his and Ava’s connection was unique It had to be Even when he was young, he didn’t re drawn to one woman the way Ava drew him Of course, he’d had his flirtations and even a few brief relationships with suitable Irina when he’d been young, but nothing like this He could spend hours just watching the subtle play of e for over an hour, and the wine had brought a flush to her cheeks, and then she asked the question