“Aw!” Solana’s face breaks into the biggest smile as she comes rushing to the puppy. “Oh my goodness, aren’t you the cutest thing ever! Georgie is going to love you!” She picks the puppy up, hugs her tight, and Kali licks her face, and it fucking pisses me off.

“What was your text about?”

She straightens, holding on to Kali. “Judge, you do not strike me as a puppy-loving kind of guy honestly. Don’t take that the wrong way.”

Does she hear the rattle in my chest? If so, she clearly has a poor sense of danger. Because she just smiles wider.

“What the fuck did you mean?”

“Let me take the puppy outside. I think she needs to use the facilities,” Madame Dubois says, slinking over to take the dog. These people are going to fucking kill me.

“You should get some sleep, Judge. You really look like hell,” Solana says once we’re alone and she’s moved behind the counter to put some things away in the display case. “I do have something for that.”

I inhale deeply. “You are testing me.”

“What?”

“What. Was. Your. Fucking. Text. About?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “What I said. I thought it was pretty self-explanatory.”

I grip the counter and count to ten. “Do a better job of explaining.”

“Clifton Phillips is an old flame of hers, am I right?”

“Clifton fucking Phillips? A flame? I don’t think so.”

“I mean, he’s cute, I guess,” she wavers. “If you like that type. Although I guess you worked the brooding, domineering asshole type out of her system.”

“When did you meet him? Was he invited to one of your little events the three of you have?”

There’s that grin again. “No, I met him here. He tracked Mercedes down. Romantic, am I right?”

I feel my brain rattle against my skull.

“And then he proposed to her! Right here in my shop!” She sighs with a big smile on her face, but something is off.

“He did what?”

“It was something to see, that’s for sure.”

Madame Dubois returns, and Kali’s nails click on the floor as she returns not to me but to Solana.

“What did she say?”

Solana picks Kali up and cocks her head at me. “You don’t look happy for her, Judge.”

“What did she say?”

“I’d think you would welcome a proposal from a Sovereign Son. I mean, you’re the big shots, right? The upper echelon of your creepy little Society?”

“Solana. I am going to ask you one more time. What did she say?”

“She’s thinking about it. But I’m guessing we may be hearing wedding bells soon. I’d get on that if I were you, Judge.”