(Aurora's POV)
Patrick raised both hands immediately, the picture of a man backing away from a fire he'd accidentally started. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I shouldn't have said anything. Forget I mentioned it."
The room had gone slightly quieter. Not silent - the others were still talking, glasses still clinking - but the energy had shifted in that particular way it did when Phineas's expression went below a certain temperature.
I felt it.
I reached over and found his hand where it rested against his knee, and pressed my fingers into his palm. Just once, steady and quiet.
He didn't look at me. But some of the cold in his face eased, the set of his jaw loosening by degrees.
He nodded toward Patrick's empty glass.
"Pour yourself one," he said. "Consider it an apology."
Patrick didn
