“So, Mr. Lucian, you look like you have good taste. Where do you think a tween could get some reasonably priced cashmere?” Chloe asked.
“Maeve, can you help me get more…uh…kale in the kitchen?” I said.
My sister vaulted out of her chair and grabbed her wineglass. I took the cue and my wineglass and followed her into the kitchen.
“So you two are just playing house now?” Maeve said, whirling around to face me.
With a sharp shush, I dragged her through the kitchen and into the family room. “I’m not playing anything. He won’t leave!”
“Yeah, okay,” she scoffed.
“Have you ever tried to make Lucian Rollins do something he didn’t want to do?”
“No, but I know you’re probably the only person on the planet who could,” she shot back.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you two have been something to each other since the beginning of time. And if you really wanted him gone, he’d be gone. So maybe you’re thinking he deserves a second chance.”
“He already had one of those,” I reminded her.
“Fine. A last chance.”
I cocked my head. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”
“What? I’m not saying I think you should give him another chance. I’m just suggesting that the two of you bonded over a traumatic incident and now appear to be living together.”
I held up my palms in defense. “Listen, I’m too busy to even consider getting into a relationship with him. Hell, I’m too busy to kick him out properly.”
“Believe me, I get it. But maybe at a certain point, you start wondering if being busy is keeping you from having a real life,” Maeve said.
“Okay, now I’m actually worried about you,” I decided. After the attacker cornered me in my Jeep and Mary Louise told me to stop pursuing an appeal, my intentions to confront my sister about her secret relationship and ensuing breakup with Kurt Michaels had fallen to the back burner.
Once again, I’d let circumstances distract me from what was a top priority: family.
“Lucian told me he’d have a family with me.” I timed the announcement poorly and ended up with a face full of chardonnay.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” Maeve said, gasping and choking.
She handed me a box of tissues from the end table, and I mopped up the spit wine. “I basically had the same reaction, only slightly less damp,” I assured her.
Chloe’s high-pitched giggles carried to us from the dining room along with the low baritone roll of Lucian’s laughter.
Maeve took another hit of wine. “Shit. Well, hold on to something, because I’m going to give you some very not me-like advice.”
Theatrically, I gripped a floor lamp.
“At least hear him out,” she instructed. “If a guy is offering you everything you’ve dreamed of, maybe you owe it to yourself to find out if he’s serious.”
“You really miss him, don’t you?” I asked.
“Who?”
“The guy you were secretly seeing but broke up with because you were too busy to let yourself fall in love.”
“Little sisters are so annoying,” Maeve complained. Another round of laughter echoed out of the dining room. “Mom and Chloe sure seem to like him.”
“Yeah, well, they haven’t been subjected to his whims yet. Tonight he’s charming Lucian. Tomorrow he could morph into sulky, solitary Lucian again.”
The doorbell cut off any further conversation.
“I’ll get it,” I yelled even as I heard the scrape of a chair from the dining room.
Lucian and I got to the front door at the same time. “I told you I don’t want you answering the door,” he growled.
“And I told you that I’m the one who lives here,” I shot back.
We wrestled for the handle and managed to open the door, revealing a determined-looking Kurt Michaels holding a huge bouquet of lilies.
“Uh-oh,” I said.
“Sloane is busy. With me. And for future reference, she’s allergic to lilies,” Lucian said.
“He’s not here for me, Lucifer,” I said, stopping him from slamming the door in Kurt’s face.
“I’m going big,” Kurt said, nodding at me.
“Good luck,” I whispered. “She’s in the dining room.”
He squared his shoulders and walked past us into the house.
“What the hell is going on?” Lucian demanded.