Corvin led her over to the first group of people. “Liv, this is my cousin Atticus. He’s Lucius and Garnet's oldest. His wife Dulcia is Aquila house and these are their two kids.”
Atticus clapped a hand on Corvin's shoulder. “You’re lucky she didn’t run you over with that trash can, Corvin.”
Dulcia gave Corvin a scolding look. “You know better than to get in a determined Taurus woman’s way.”
“She is Taurus, isn’t she?” Corvin mused.
“How did you forget?” Livia asked, unsettled.
Corvin's cheeks went pink. “Sorry, Liv.”
She stared at him and confessed honestly. “I did almost run you over. It scared me.”
“I won’t forget again, Livia,” Corvin said.
“Nice save,” Atticus told Livia. “Mom’s not that agile. She would have turned him into Corvin pancake.”
Atticus slapped his hands together and laughed. Livia flinched and did not laugh. She looked away and didn’t respond to the joke.
Dulcia bumped her husband with her hip. “That’s not funny to her, love.”
Atticus assured Livia confidently, “He would have been fine. A trashcan is fairly light and so are you. Probably, no more than a scrape or two.”
Livia thought it was irresponsible to underplay the risk like that. She imagined Corvin trying to catch himself to keep from falling over and spraining a wrist or an elbow. Worst scenario a concussion or fractured bone. People were a lot more fragile than they liked to think about.
Corvin touched her elbow to draw her attention. “Liv, no one got hurt. No use in worrying about what might have happened.”
“It’s possible you could have ended up with a concussion or--”
“I’m aware,” Corvin said. “They are right to call me out for being careless.”
Livia let out a sigh of relief. Corvin didn’t take it lightly as his cousin. She believed he would be more careful in the future. “Be less careless.”
He nodded. “I will, Liv. We okay?”
“We’re okay,” she agreed.
She was introduced to Garnet and Lucius’ second daughter Azurea. Her belly was curved with late pregnancy and her husband held her close against his side.
“I would have expected a baby by now, Azurea,” Corvin teased. “I’m looking forward to meeting your girl.”
She rolled her eyes. “Trust me, Corvin. I’m more eager than you.”
He laughed. “How are you feeling, Az?”
“Fat,” she spat.
“Own every pound of it,” Corvin encouraged. “You’re doing an amazing job.”
She sighed and looked at Livia. “You are Livia Fabius.”
“I am,” Livia agreed very quietly.
“You’re at the same school as Corvin we heard.”
Livia nodded.
“Do you see each other often?” she asked.
“Only when my roommate leaves on the weekends.”
Corvin turned to Livia. “She leaves every weekend?”
“Yes.”
His brow furrowed. “I didn’t know you were alone that much…”
“I don’t mind it,” Livia said. “There are parts of being alone that are nice.”
Azurea turned to her husband. “Let me introduce you to Jonas, my husband. He’s Rattus house and works in the praetor's office.”
Livia knew that meant he worked in the Caesarean court system.
“Are you a lawyer?” Livia asked.
“Yes, and I believe you are acquainted with my sister.”
“What’s her name?” Livia asked though she had an idea. He was Rattus house, married into a patrician family, and had that style.
“Salina Antonius.”
One of the maidens of malevolence indeed. Livia nodded. “Yes. I hope her health has improved.”
Jonas looked confused. “Her health?”
“Yes,” Livia spoke lightly. “We both like to cook. I offered to send her recipes or invite her over to try a dish. But she had severe diet restrictions that fluctuated from week to week. I assumed she was on an elimination diet. I hope her health is better.”
Livia hated using her mother’s tactics. It made her stomach churn but she didn’t know any other way to be both honest and civil.
“She’s never gone on any sort of diet ever,” Jonas laughed. “That’s so awful. I’ll have to scold her for being so rude.”
Azurea shared an amused look with her husband. “She hopes her health is better! It would serve Salina right if rumors went around that she was chronically ill.”
“We shouldn’t,” Jonas insisted, but he laughed.
“We can’t let this pass. We must ruthlessly mock her,” Azurea said. She turned to Livia. “She’s a beast, Livia. She threw a fit when it turned out I was pregnant before she even got married because I’m younger than her.”
“I hope that she has not continued to be rude to you,” Livia said, empathetically. “Especially, not after the baby comes.”
Azurea looked surprised. “She won’t--I should probably be prepared for that shouldn’t I?”
Livia shrugged, helplessly. “If sending recipes would make it better, I’m willing--”
Azurea’s face lit up. “I’d love that. It’d be good to have some ideas after the baby comes. Please, send them. Corvin can give you my contact information.”
Jonas smiled. “I liked meeting you, Livia Fabius. Feel free to approach us when we’re out and about.”
Livia nodded and gave them a timid smile. Corvin interjected. “I’m sure you’ll be so pleased with Livia’s recipes. She keeps bringing the treats she makes on the weekends. Everything she touches turns out amazing,” he said. “And it’s just like her to offer. She’s so generous.”
Livia looked up at Corvin in genuine surprise. She didn’t expect his warm praise. He looked back at her and smiled. She lowered her eyes and ducked her head to hide how much the words meant to her. Livia heard genuine praise very rarely.
Corvin reached out and touched the small of her back very briefly. “This way, Liv. I have more cousins.”
Corvin was different among his family. He was a consummate conversationalist. He filled the awkward spaces in their conversations with a warm, affectionate voice that spent chills of comfort down Livia’s spine. Without thinking she moved closer to him and let her arm brush against his.
Corvin bragged about her shamelessly. Protective, caring, helpful, talented in the kitchen. Livia would have asked him to stop but she was too intimidated by how outnumbered she was. Also, she was curious. Was this the way he saw her? Was she this amazing person he’d described? Her face turned warm with his endless praise.
Corvin told his family that Livia wasn’t much for hugs. Though he suspected she had exactly one reserved in her that night for his mother. Livia was so grateful for this thoughtful bit of protection, she squeezed Corvin’s hand briefly in gratitude. He squeezed back before she let go. Livia looked up at him, her heart expanding with warmth for him in a way that surprised her. She couldn’t hide the smile that turned up her lips.
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Her attention was pulled away as he introduced Livia to his Aunt Garnet and Uncle Lucius. Their greeting was particularly warm. Livia was more curious about them than she cared to admit. Garnet was born Taurus after all. By the end of their exchange, Corvin’s aunt promised to invite her over for dinner the next time Livia returned to Caesarea.
“That would be wonderful,” Livia said. “You’ll have to let me bring something. Maybe my mother’s famous honey rolls.”
Garnet laughed. “We’d love that. We’re so proud of Honor. What a strong, independent woman.”
Livia felt tears come to her eyes. It was the first time anyone in Caesarea had said anything kind about her mother. “Thank you,” she managed miraculously without crying.
Corvin moved on but Livia hid her face for a moment against the back of his arm to collect her emotions. Corvin paused. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her against him.
“You okay?” he asked, softly above her ear.
Livia nodded, but she was blinking back tears fiercely.
Corvin put up a hand to pause the introduction they were having. He pulled her into a tight hug and held her silently. Livia tried to hold herself apart but that lasted all of three seconds. She melted into his embrace and took strength from it. Corvin’s kindness served as a salve for her rogue emotions and Livia pulled away ready for another round of introductions.
Corvin urged her. “Come meet my Aunt Silvia and Uncle Marcus.”
“They’re with Silvanus,” Livia noted.
Silvanus was Corvin’s older cousin, who was also one of Justin’s officers. Livia was excited to see him again and so was Corvin. The two men swept each other into a fierce hug. Corvin and Silvanus were incredibly close and looked very similar. It wasn’t uncommon for people to mistake one for the other when they weren’t paying proper attention.
“How’s the team?” Corvin asked.
“Missing you,” Silvanus said, pulling away.
Silvanus grasped Livia’s hand. “How are you, Liv?”
“I’m good, Silvanus. How’s work?”
“We miss you too,” he said. “No one quite realized how much you did until you left. The new intern is not as organized. Took us a month to figure out how you made things run so smoothly.”
Livia grinned. “I was good at my job.”
Silvanus laughed. “Too good, Liv. We had to shift things around to get back to how it was when you were there.”
“Good to see you, Silvanus,” Livia said.
Silvanus released her hand. “It’s a surprise to see you two together. You were both rather intent on ignoring each other at the office.”
Livia shrugged. “Sometimes you believe wrong things about people.”
“Livia thought I was a shameless sexist,” Corvin said, amused.
“No!” Silvanus laughed heartily in shock.
Corvin continued, “And I thought she was going to try and argue me into getting back together with Bella. When the entire time she was talking Bella out of it.”
“Whoa,” Silvanus said. “That’s a plot twist.”
“We have lots to catch up on,” Corvin said.
“We’ll talk,” Silvanus said, easily. “Say hello to my parents before they call us out for being rude.”
Corvin grinned and gestured. “This is my Aunt Silvia, my father’s sister. Everyone loves her because they remember her fondly as their primary school librarian.”
His Aunt Silvia laughed. “Stop bragging about me, Corvin.”
Corvin introduced Silvia’s husband. “This is my Uncle Marcus, he's a physician at the clinic. He’s revolutionized the way they do medical care there over the last decade.”
Livia shook his hand and looked at them both. “You’re Silvanus’ parents.”
They nodded and Silvia caught sight of Livia’s ring. Her eyes flew to Corvin, alighting with hope. “Corvin, is this?”
“No,” Corvin said, quickly. “That’s a gift from her Paterfamilias, Gaius.”
The hope in her expression dimmed. “Oh, the way you interact, I wondered--”
“Livia and I have only gotten to know each other recently. We’re friends now and that took some time,” Corvin interrupted.
Silvia’s eyes softened. “Well, you keep us updated.”
“Same with you,” Corvin said and they moved on.
Livia tried not to giggle. Corvin bumped her with his hip. “Go ahead and laugh.”
“Maybe I should stop wearing this ring?”
Corvin shrugged. “Maybe switch it to another finger, instead. If it means something to you, keep wearing it.”
“It doesn’t fit on another finger.”
“You can get it resized,” he said.
“You can’t resize an heirloom, Corvin!” Livia insisted. “It might get ruined.”
Everyone took notice of the ring now. “It’s from Gaius,” Livia repeated. That seemed to increase their fascination with it.
Finally, they met Corvin’s parents. Livia had only interacted with Lars and Aurelia briefly, mostly on formal occasions. Though, she knew that Hyrum interacted with Lars frequently over house business when Gaius was visiting family in Istanbul. Livia hugged Aurelia and smiled at her.
Aurelia smiled back at her, black hair streaked with silver. “Thank you for bringing my Corvin home. That was very kind to let him get some rest. He pushes himself so hard.”
Livia grinned. “It was a pleasure. He’s done so much for me, it was nice to even the score.”
“Then I introduced you to my entire family all at once,” Corvin said. “That’ll erase all my good deeds for a decade at least.”
Livia laughed and so did everyone else. “It’s slightly overwhelming,” she admitted.
“Only slightly?” Corvin teased.
Livia frowned. Why wasn’t Hyrum here to rescue her by now? She pulled her phone from her pocket and when she saw the time her eyes flew to the road with fear. It had been 30 mins. Hyrum was punctual and she could understand him being ten minutes late. But fifteen? Without contacting her? That wasn’t usual.
“Livia, what’s wrong?” Corvin asked.
“Hyrum is supposed to be here by now.”
“You asked him to pick you up?” Corvin asked.
“Yes.”
Her phone pinged. It was Caecilia. We are on our way. ETA 10 mins.
Livia put a hand over her heart. “They’re coming.”
“Did something happen?” Corvin asked.
“I don’t know. It was Caecilia. Not Hyrum texting. Said they’ll be here in 10 mins.”
“Hey, we would have taken you home,” Corvin said.
She met his eyes. She joked, “Yeah, but then I’d owe you again.”
He rolled his eyes. “Remember, I’m in the red for a decade.”
Livia laughed. “Stop saying that or I might think you’re serious and take advantage.”
“I’d like that,” Corvin said, warmly.
Livia flushed at the flirtatious look on his face. She shook her head, flustered. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“I disagree,” Corvin said. “It feels good to be needed.”
Livia snorted. “You’ve no shortage of people who need you, Corvin.”
Corvin sighed. “But...I do have a shortage of genuine friends.”
The change was subtle but Livia recognized sadness on his face. Her defensiveness evaporated. She thought about how the welfare issue in Lupus house probably cost him as many relationships as it had cost Bella.
Livia bumped her hip against his with extreme care. “Hey, me too!” she said with faux enthusiasm.
Corvin laughed and responded in the same tone. “I have a great idea! Let’s be friends, Livia.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re already friends, Corvin.”
“Just checkin’.” He winked at her.
It wasn’t fair that look sent a whirl of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She looked away casting about for a distraction and her eye settled on Epiphany.
“How did your book drive turn out?” Livia asked her. Epiphany had spearheaded an effort based out of the Aediles office to increase the selection of books available to the community Library. Livia and Hyrum had compiled a collection of non-fiction animal and agriculture juvenile books and donated it together.
“The librarians and teachers loved the collection of books you donated,” Epiphany said.
Livia shrugged that off. “Oh, they were things we would have liked to read when we were kids. I never was into fiction and Hyrum could never find enough stuff about plants.”
“Hyrum encouraged me to apply for several library grants. They notified us last week that we were awarded one,” Epiphany said. “It will double the size of our science and technology section. The news brought Aunt Silvia to tears.”
“Did you write the grant proposal or did Hyrum?” Livia asked. “His professor hired him as a research assistant and all he did for four years was write grant proposals. He earned his department a lot of money,” Livia said.
Epiphany's eyes widened, enlightened. “Ah, that perhaps is why he was so specific in his criticism. He told me to send it to him to review before I sent it off and we revised it three times before he approved. It injured my pride, but I did it.”
Livia nodded. “Hyrum is a perfectionist.”
Epiphany’s face turned sober. “We were surprised he’d take that much time and care over it. But throughout our collaboration, I came to understand that I had very little practical knowledge of what materials normal children needed to learn. Most Lupus house children are capable of reading difficult texts at very young ages so they don’t suffer for the lack. About 90% of our educators are Lupus house and since we figured out how to make do without them we didn’t realize the need for the Rattus, Aquila, and Taurus house children. Hyrum was personally offended at the inequity and made sure I met each deadline.”
A look of frustration crossed Epiphany's face clear as day. Livia had personal experience dealing with Hyrum’s stubbornness and offered sympathy. “I hope he was not too infuriating to work with. We all learned really young that if we wanted anything we had to do it ourselves. Hyrum doesn’t trust people to be reliable even if they’re competent, and I’m sure he saw you as competent.”
Epiphany was surprised, but something vulnerable appeared in her eyes. It was as Livia suspected. Hyrum often came across as disapproving.
“Why do you say that?” Epiphany asked.
Livia spoke reassuringly to her. “Because if you were incompetent he would have diverted your attention to another project and written the grant himself. You must be a very good writer.”
Surprise and relief crossed Epiphany’s face at the same time. “Thank you for saying that. I didn’t doubt my skill as much as I assumed he hated me.”
“Hyrum comes across that way,” Livia agreed. “Wait a bit; his true colors will show. He’ll find some way to say thank you when you least expect it.”
At that moment Hyrum came up behind Livia.
“Liv,” he greeted, quickly. He stepped to Epiphany. “Ms. Tullius, I think congratulations are in order--”
He was interrupted when Livia laughed out loud.
Hyrum glared at her. “What?”
“You’ve turned me into a Sibyl.”
“What?” His eyes narrowed on her.
“I told her you’d thank her somehow for writing the grant.”
Hyrum grunted. “So you know. She worked hard.”
He lifted a gift bag and handed it to Epiphany.
Epiphany took the gift tentatively. “What is it?”
“Open it,” Hyrum gestured.
Epiphany opened it and found a jar of honey and a recipe book. She read the cover and looked up surprised. “Your mother wrote this?” she asked.
Hyrum nodded.
Aurelia came up beside Epiphany. “May I see?”
Epiphany handed over the book and the honey. Aurelia’s eyes rose to take in Hyrum. “This is very thoughtful. This honey is from the Caesarean hives?”
“Yes,” Hyrum nodded. “It’s fresh. Jarred only this morning.”
Lars took the honey from Aurelia’s hand. “That will be an adventure. What shall we make with it?”
Aurelia handed the recipe book back to Epiphany. “You’ll have to select which recipe we should try.”
Epiphany looked up to Hyrum with a smile. “This wasn’t necessary but thank you.”
Hyrum lowered his head and didn’t give any reply. Instead, he looked at Livia. “You ready to go home?”
“I worried,” Livia said, quietly.
Caecilia stepped past Livia to greet Aurelia and Lars.
Hyrum sighed and his eyes fell on Caecilia. “I know we’re late. Caecilia, well, she...slowed us a bit.”
Livia could see by the tightness in Hyrum features that he was frustrated. Her muscles instantly went tense. She looked at Caecilia. She was talking to Lars and Aurelia and exchanging an emotional looking hug with the matriarch.
“Is everything okay?” Livia asked.
Hyrum didn’t get to reply before Caecilia came to Livia. “Liv! I’m so happy--”
Caecilia’s eyes filled with tears. Livia was alarmed and stepped forward to face Caecilia directly and grasped her under both elbows. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m just so happy you’re home,” she said, then burst into tears.
Livia awkwardly pulled her in a hug then gave Hyrum the sternest glare she could manage. “What did you do?” she mouthed at him.
Hyrum laughed and so did Corvin and his family.
That surprised Livia because that was out of character for Hyrum. Caecilia pulled back. “I’m sorry we’re late. I got sick, again.”
“Again?” Livia said, alarmed. Caecilia was never sick that she remembered. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing that a few months won’t fix,” she smiled.
Livia was baffled. “A few months? You have pneumonia or something?”
Corvin’s family laughed.
“I’m pregnant, Livia.”
Livia's eyes widened. “Oh.”
That’s why Hyrum was laughing! “Wow,” Livia said. “Are you sure you’re okay? Oh, let’s get you home. I need to feed you.”
Hyrum and Caecilia both laughed.
“Her answer is to feed you,” Hyrum said. “That’s Livia.”
“I’m afraid not much sounds good right now,” Caecilia said.
“Oh, you just need some good cookies,” Livia waved a dismissive hand. “You can’t say no to Livia cookies.”
Caecila laughed. “I’ve missed your cookies.”
“We’ll put your feet up and make you lemon ginger tea while I bake. Hyrum will put on his ‘time to relax’ playlist and you’ll down an entire plate. You’ll see.”
Caecilia laughed. “Oh, Livia! I knew you’d spoil me.”
“We’ll if Hyrum hasn’t, he’s not doing his job right,” Livia declared.
Caecilia tossed Hyrum a playful look. “You hear that?”
“Loud and clear,” he made a show of grumbling but he was smiling.
Livia looked at Corvin. “I have to go. Caecilia needs cookies. Stat.”
Corvin laughed. “See you around, I suppose.”
Livia nodded. Of course, he’d say that but she didn’t expect to see him much. She seldom saw him in Caesarea unless they were at work and at work he ignored her. Caecilia threaded her arm through Livia’s and they started toward the car. Livia looked over her shoulder and gave Corvin one last wave.