Kent looks down at me with a withering look. I work hard to keep my face straight, but I feel so terribly awkward that I open my mouth to say something else – anything else –
Daniel saves me. He links elbows with me and pulls me closer. “My mom died when I was young,” he says casually. “Her marriage to my dad was actually arranged,” he notes cheerfully. “Like ours.”
“Oh!” I say, looking between Kent and Daniel, genuinely surprised. “Um, was her death… an accident? An illness?”
Kent sighs and looks at me sharply. “If you want to ask, Fay, if I murdered her, or she died in a gunfight, or was kidn*pped and tortured by my enemies, just be forthright about it.”
I press my lips together, embarrassed. Because of course, that’s exactly what I want to know. I say nothing.
“Cancer,” Daniel whi
