That Loren's family being around had not yet actually resulted in any fights was surely a good thing, Abasi thought. "So you think your family may be getting along? Or...perhaps civil is a better word for it. That's good, right?" Loren's family dynamics were so complicated he often wasn't sure. His own family had been dysfunctional, but at least it had been simple. Over-expectant father, depressed mother, anxious son...and...no no, it wouldn't help him to think of that.
Abasi went to eat after their kiss too, smiling. "We sound like two lovesick children on a boat ride." He laughed, shaking his head. "You know, the scholars in the library would call me qalb barid, 'Cold Heart'. As the son of the High Priest and then the High Priest myself, I had many women come to me...I...suppose now I might regret how I rejected them." It only occurred to him as he was saying it that his brash and swift rejections might have been cruel.
All this talk of how much they appreciated each other, possibly even loved, reminded him of something he had been considering for a while. "Loren, I was wondering. How attached are you to the manor? Do you only live there from a sense of obligation? You do not seem to use many of the rooms."
ABASI
it's sad to know that we are not alone
it's sad to know there's no honest way out
