Are you two together?
Gianna hated that question.
Hated the implication—that she was still revolving around an orbit with Zane. Hated the memories it dragged to the surface, uninvited and bright as broken glass.
Her laughing happily. Romantically. Sheepishly.
Years ago, whenever strangers met them—whenever someone admired the symmetry of their smiles, the ease of their closeness, the way their hands used to find each other without thought—the question had always followed.
As if the world could not believe their luck. As if it needed confirmation that two people like them belonged together.
Back then, it had felt like a compliment.
Now, it felt like a curse. A sorrow. An anathema.
Gianna swallowed the bitterness rising in her throat, her jaw tightening even as Spider answered before she could.
"No," he said easily. "We're all friends."
She watched Bentley's reaction with cool detachment.
