Zed swallowed the jealousy rising in his throat like acid. He was not okay. He didn’t recognize these uncomfortable, dark feelings in himself. He didn’t get jealous over women. He didn’t get threatened by other males. And he for damned sure didn’t suffer bouts of insecurity. Insecurity was for whiners. He was awesome, born of awesome, made of awesome. Fuck this shit.

“I’m fine, just got distracted,” Zed said. “Let’s get something to eat.”

“Sure, Jillian’s got seats over by your mom.”

Zed glanced toward Dani’s table with more than a little longing, then consigned himself to polite behavior and a good meal with people he loved. “So what’s the deal with that Mel guy?”

“Well, you know, Jillian doesn’t really keep up much with her family. But Mel, he was the one who introduced her to the whole world of the magique when she was a kid.”

“Really?” Zed laughed.

“You ever heard of the Loveland Frog? That’s Mel. Or at least, his family. Jillian grew up in Loveland and in high school, she set her mind to finding the mythical frogman. Took her about six months.”

“Well, hell, of course she did.” Zed guffawed, a loud, barking noise that had Dani scanning the crowd for him. She waved when she caught his eye. He waved back, a stupid happy grin on his face.

“Oh, we’re talking about that later,” said Bael.

“I plead the Fifth, man.”

“Anyway, Mel has connections in the magique world even Jillian didn’t know about. He’s been easing her way through her whole career, not making opportunities mind you, just helping her along. He was the one who got her a job with the League. He’s the closest thing to a true father that she’s got. When he realized she was going to be settling in a magique community long-term, he decided to move closer to her. He’s getting older, and he doesn’t want to lose his time with her.”

“And what do you think of that?” Zed asked.

“Whatever makes Jillian happy, makes me happy.”

Zed made a noise that sounded like a whip cracking.

Bael scoffs. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. But if I’m going to ask her to marry me, I need to talk to him first.”

“Married.” Zed settled back on his heels and stared at his friend. As much as he knew that Jillian was Bael’s mate, the idea of Bael getting married, it was so . . . adult and domestic. It made his neck itch in discomfort. Or that could be a mosquito, who knew. “Wow.”

“I spent about a month going through my horde, trying to find the perfect ring for her.”

“Did you swim through it like Scrooge McDuck?” Zed asked, smirking.

“I can’t believe Jillian told you about that,” Bael sighed.