Chapter Fifty-four

Lunch was served under a white wicker canopy, the artificially painted wood was covered with vines and hanging flowers, it painted a beautiful sight.
The table was already laid out, it was also made of white furniture which brightly reflected the afternoon sun.
Killian pulled out a chair for Claire and promptly sat right across from her so he could get a proper view of her while they were eating lunch.
Lukas sat right beside her, his jaw clenched. He was clearly holding onto his self control by a thin thread.
Killian barely waited for Lukas to take his seat before engaging Claire in a charming conversation. “Unfortunately, I was out of the country when your engagement ball was being held. I missed a chance to see you earlier.”
Claire smiled, a bubbling ball of nerves in her middle. Killian gave her the image of a predator about to pounce on its prey; she didn’t want to encourage his advances.
But she also couldn’t get on his bad side, this was a delicate line to toe. “I understand, and we did get to meet eventually.”
“Here, let me help you with that.” Killian surged to his feet and came around the table to help serve Claire.
This caught her off guard because it meant that he was pressed up against her side. It didn’t help that Lukas immediately placed a possessive hand on her bare knee. *How did she keep getting herself into these situations?*
Killian gave her one last charming smile after serving her, going around the table to claim his own seat. Only then did Lukas let go of her leg and resume eating.
Claire forced herself to draw a deep breath, she tightly held a cutlery in a bid to ground herself. *‘She could do this, she had to do this.’*
“I heard that you’re new to the city, I have free time on my hands, why don’t I show you around the city some time.” Killian said after a brief silence.
Claire had been taking a sip of the champagne and nearly choked on it. Just how bold could Killian be? To straight up ask her something like that while she was seated right next to her fiance.
She slowly peeked at Lukas, wary of how he would react to this. She needed him to be calm about it, for the sake of their country. She should have known better though.
Lukas slammed a palm on the table, making the glassware clink against each other. He looked like he was about to say something dangerous but then he gritted his teeth and seemed to reign in his anger. “Unfortunately, my mate has too much on her hands at the moment. And if she wants to see the city, I’ll show her around myself.”
“Mate?” Killian raised a brow in a mocking manner. “You mean your fiancee?”
Without thinking, Claire placed a hand on Lukas’ hand on the table. She hadn’t thought her actions through, she just knew that Lukas lashing out at Killian wouldn’t end well. Clearly, the Emissary was trying to get under Lukas’ skin.
She smiled tightly, already exhausted about having to deal with the amount of raging testosterone at the lunch table. “I think we should keep the discussion to the meeting.”
Lukas took his hand out from underneath hers but said nothing more. Claire tried to hide the pain that flashed in her eyes at that obvious action but Killian was too observant.
Killian leaned back with a poker expression on his face, “Claire is right, I apologize for being untoward.” He politely said.
True to his words, Killian only talked about important matters of state after that. This meant that Claire wasn’t required to say much. She tried to listen to what they were discussing about but she was too troubled by Lukas pulling away from her to focus.
Maybe she was overthinking it and he had meant nothing by it. Or maybe he had done it on purpose just to spite her for making him look bad. She hated the second-guessing, it drained her.
Claire quietly concentrated on the lavish meal spread out in front of her but she found that she had lost her appetite. She hoped that the meeting would end soon, she wanted the safety of her own space and the company of Rosie.
Although she wanted the meeting to end soon, she was quite surprised when it actually did. It seemed like Killian had zero interest in holding a lengthy conversation with Lukas and the Alpha King shared the same views.
“Now that the meeting is over, may I talk to you for a bit, Claire?” Killian requested, rising from the table. “Its our first time meeting, it wouldn’t hurt to have a brief conversation, now would it?”
Claire couldn’t turn him down so she rose to her feet to have the talk with him. She didn’t turn to look at Lukas as she stepped forward at Killian’s beckoning. It was a little ridiculous that something so little would hurt her so much but she couldn’t help her reaction.
Killian was quick to take her hand again, leading her from the table to a different corner of the penthouse balcony. She was taken to a tiki bar that was also done in white to match the rest of the decor. Claire let him gingerly guide her on the stool before taking a seat himself.
“Would you like something to drink?” He offered generously, all smiles.
Claire nodded to be polite, “Could I get something non-alcoholic?” She requested firmly, needing to keep her wits about her.
“Of course,” Killian agreed without hesitation, getting down from his stool to fix her something.
“Thank you.” Claire said breathily.
“My pleasure.” Killian murmured, seeming to have something more to say. “I hope this doesn’t come off as insensitive but are you happy to be engaged to a werewolf?”
Claire was caught off guard by this, she hadn’t been expecting Killian to bluntly ask her that. She found herself looking at Lukas, although he was still quietly seated at the dining table, she was certain that he could clearly hear them.
Claire might have considered opening up if it were anybody else but she knew that Killian just had it out for Lukas, and wanted to use her to spite him.
Without planning to she lashed out at him, she was the only one allowed to make Lukas miserable in turn.
“I don’t appreciate you asking me that, Mr. Reid. I don’t think I’ll stay for a drink after all.” She coldly said, picking up her clutch purse. “If you’ll excuse me.” She added, getting to her feet and sauntering off.