Free Shattering Halos by Sunniva Dee Page A

imperceptibly, he shook his head.

Chapter 9 — Caught
    Gaia
    “Marina, you’re relentless!” I stared at my friend across the table. How many times had we had this conversation? I’d rather spend my time with Gabriel than go to Marina’s church to be force-fed the theoretical version of him.
    “Well, you’re the one who promised. It’s for your own good.” Her voice sounded whiny.
    “I’ll come tomorrow. Or the next day,” I said, taking a bite of my donut.
    “All right, because yesterday you didn’t come because of…what again?”
    “Dentist,” I lied. Marina slapped her forehead. “Right, the spur-of-the-moment dentist appointment. Last week your grandma suddenly had a birthday, yes?”
    I was beginning to feel guilty.
    “Okay, so listen up.” Marina puffed out an impatient breath. “Never mind Father Damian. No churchgoing. Let’s meet up with my granduncle instead.”
    She made no sense. “Why?”
    “Because Uncle Sebastian knows as much as a priest. He went to the seminary when he was young—” she frowned, “I guess they released him from it after a year or something?”
    I giggled, “So the seminary was jail for him?”
    “Ha. Ha. Funny. Anyways, he knows stuff. More than me.”
    “No?” I play-muffled a gasp that Marina ignored.
    “He’s got a library filled with books about theology, and he studies them, like, twenty-four seven.” My friend gave me a victorious finger point, “Mom and I don’t go often—he’s more interested in his books than us—but, heck yes, Uncle Sebastian’s our guy!”
    I shrugged. At least it was better than going to her priest.
    A pleased smile stretched Marina’s lips. “When I was little, he let me play with his chessboard in that library. He’s awesome.”
    ****
    Despite my recurring discussions with Marina, most of my attention went to Gabriel these weeks. Even though we hadn’t touched since the harbor, our interaction became more deliberate, more ingenious by the hour. I was beginning to realize that our little game of hide-and-seek might be a form of slowly escalating flirting.
    Marina used me as a soundboard for her string of dates with Kyle and Cody, and I wished I could have done the same with her. I often missed Megan and Ash. What would they have said about all of this? I swallowed the lump in my throat, grateful to know that they were happy.
    “Gaia!” The decibel level of Marina’s whisper made me flinch. Our Computer Apps teacher must have his hearing aid turned to the lowest setting.
    “Yes, Marina, I’m not deaf.”
    “You know how I’m a scaredy-cat? Well, Cody and I ended up at the horror flick last night anyway.”
    I smiled at Marina’s fake surprise. “So you had an excuse to cuddle up to him, then?”
    “I did not !”
    “Really?” I grinned. “Did he kiss you?”
    From where he sat on the teacher’s desk, Gabriel raised an eyebrow at me, and I burst into laughter.
    “What’s your problem?” Marina hissed.
    “Sorry—just being weird.” In front of me, Gabriel pursed his lips into a smirk, and I had a hard time peeling my gaze away.
    “Whatever, so Cody put his arm around me, and I let him, right?”
    “And then he French-kissed you?” I asked. Gabriel concealed his smile behind a fist, but his eyes, sparkling with amusement, made me snicker.
    “Young lady—” She sounded stern.
    “I swear, Marina, you’re my mom’s long lost twin.”
    “I French-kissed nobody yesterday, because I don’t know which one is Mr. Right, Kyle or Cody.”
    “Oh, we’re back to that now? The Mr. Right thing?”
    “Miss Samuelle, Miss Lampedusa, do share your insights with the rest of the class.” The teacher’s voice dripped with boredom.
    Marina pivoted and said sweetly, “Well, sir, Gaia told me about her stomach cramps, and my advice to her…”
    I turned pink as the teacher cut her off. “I’ll write out hall passes. Please take your friend to the nurse.”
    Marina took my elbow like I was a china doll and