~~PEYTON~~
Odin's intense gaze was enough to burn away the chaos of the cabin, the noise of Quinn, everything. He doesn't just see me; he analyzes me. For a moment, that easy, detached shrug he’d given during the divorce doesn't seem so real anymore.
He crosses his arms, the set of his jaw, the tightness in his shoulders... he was pretending. He was always pretending.
“Peyton,” his voice is flat. “What are you doing here?”
"She’s my date," Axel cut in. "Do you have a problem with that?" he adds with an easy smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Oh," Odin replies, the sound dry as dust. He didn’t drop his gaze from mine, making it clear he wasn't fooled, or worse, that he was humoring his brother.
Then, from her seat, Natalie gave another long sigh that was a performance in itself.
