Luca laughs even harder.

I’m murdering you when I get home. Hope your will’s in place.

You’re so overdramatic. I should’ve given you more wedgies when you were a kid.

You’ve never given me a wedgie.

Seems like a good time to start.

You and what army?

I shove my phone back into my suit pocket. “I had to dress up for this shit.” I flap the lapel of my coat. “You better be giving me the best pony in your stable. It better shit gold at night.”

“It’s worth a couple of bricks of gold,” Luca promises me. His moment of hilarity has passed. He sighs and squeezes the back of his neck. “I wish I could just find someone and be done with it. Have three kids and get my mom off my back.”

“It’s our sisters that are the problem. This is the new world. They should have pulled up their boots and taken a seat at the head of the corporate world, but instead they wanted to be mothers.”

Luca nods, warming to this idea. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s our sisters’ fault.”

“You should tell them.”

He draws back in horror, all six foot two inches of him. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’m not telling my sister anything. You tell yours.”

Melody is five foot two inches and around one forty. I outweigh her by sixty pounds and could lift and throw her with one arm, but she’s still my older sister and I’m scared as fuck of her. “No way. She’d ban me from ever seeing Ronnie again and obviously since I’m here, I’d do anything for that brat.”

“Yeah, same. Gia has one on the way and if I don’t get to hold that kid, I might as well just fling myself off the top of the house.” He bends over and rubs his hands against his knees. “Still, I’m not ready to go out there and face the enemy. Gia’s probably in the kitchen. Let’s go hide there for a while.” He straightens. “In fact, I think I’m supposed to introduce you to someone.”

“Forget it.” I start walking back to the party.

“No. She’s decent. Single mom. Very pretty.”

“If she’s so great why aren’t you with her?” I parry.

“I tried, but she didn’t want to have anything to do with me,” he admits. “At the very least, you can say hi to Gia. She’ll be mad if you don’t stop by.”

I’m not afraid of Gia, but I go anyway because Luca’s pathetic and I don’t want to see him grovel anymore. We walk down the hallway, our dress shoes clicking against the marble tile. A couple of wait staff come by carrying large trays. They duck their heads in a manner that would please Gran. Me being back here with the staff wouldn’t make her happy. I should take a selfie just to piss her off. Before I can do it, though, we’re at the service entry door.

Luca pushes it in and loudly announces his arrival. “It is I, your lord and master, Luca Ward. Please come and serve me.”

A towel hits him in the face. “Go away,” his sister, Gia, shouts.

I pluck the towel and wave it in the air. “Truce. Truce. I come bearing gifts. I—” My eyes fall on the woman next to Gia. Rich brown hair, small nose with a ski-jump tip, bright hazel eyes and lashes that are long enough to brush her cheeks when she flutters them. It’s a face I see in my dreams every night. It’s the face that haunts me during the day. It’s one I thought I’d never see again. “Darby?” I croak.

“You know her?” Luca says.

I tried. He’d told me.

“You son-of-a-bitch.” I punch him in the nose. He staggers back. Gia screams. Darby scuttles backward, but I grab her before she can escape. She’s never leaving my side again, not even if I have to lock her in the attic of Gran’s mansion.

Chapter 6

Darby

I stare up at Jonas in shock. I’d gone to try and steal a peek of him earlier but didn't see him anywhere. Now, I’ve run right into him. His fingers on me tighten as he pulls me into his body. I have no idea what the hell is going on. I look up into his deep blue eyes, unable to think of anything to say. Those eyes always hold me in a trance when I see pictures of him.

“Jonas! What the hell are you doing?” Gia shouts at him. Her voice breaks me out of the trance I was in. I search my mind for something to say, but it’s a blur. I can’t stop staring at Jonas.

“Mommy?” I turn my head to look down at Jax, who is holding his sucker. Gia had put him into his pajamas for me earlier when I tried to sneak a peek of Jonas. When I’d gotten back to my room, Gia and Jax where heading back to the main kitchen to get a sucker for him. He’d somehow convinced Gia that he needed one. I bet it was that sweet smile of his that got her.

“Darby.” Jonas says my name again.

“Let go.” I try and pull from his unbreakable hold, wondering how the hell he even knows my name.

“No.”

“Fuck, man. I’m going to have a black eye. My mother is going to be pissed.” Mr. Ward doesn't sound too torn up about it. Probably because his mom will stop slinging women at him until it heals.

“Mouth.” Gia smacks Luca on the arm.

“Can everyone stop hitting me?” Luca rubs his arm like it actually hurt. Gia rolls her eyes.

“Let me go,” I tell Jonas again. “My son,” I hiss as I motion toward Jax with my free arm. This seems to break him from whatever is going on with him. He jerks back, his eyes and hand falling away from me. I turn, scooping Jax up into my arms.

“Did you want anything else, angel?” I ask Jax, trying to keep my voice at an even keel. He is completely invested in his sucker so he doesn’t seem to notice that I’m upset. I don’t think he saw anything. He’d been behind us when Jonas hauled off and punched Luca. Jax shakes his head no, shoving the sucker back into his mouth.

His eyes widen as he looks around at everyone. His gaze stops on Jonas, who is staring directly at us both. He pulls the sucker out of his mouth, holding it out to Jonas.

“You don’t share suckers, angel,” I tell him, but he keeps holding it out to him.

“What’s his name?” Jonas looks from Jax to me.

“Jax,” I answer. Both Luca and Gia stare at me. Why the heck is everyone staring at me and not saying anything? “You okay, Mr. Ward?” I ask to try and break the weird silence. I still have no idea what is going on or why Jonas hit him.

“Luca,” he corrects me like always.

“Darby.” Jonas says my name calmly this time. When I look back at him, his face is anything but calm.

“Yes?” I answer. I have to look away from his eyes. So many feelings rush through my body. Jax finally lowers his arm, putting the sucker back in his mouth.

“We’re leaving,” he says, stepping toward me.

“What do you mean we?” Gia chimes in.

“As in Jax, Darby and I,” Jonas answers. I go to step back from him but at the same time Jax reaches for Jonas, both his arms trying to grab him. Jonas takes the invitation, plucking Jax right out of my hands. “He’s a little over two?” he asks.

“Darby lives here,” Gia tosses back. I nod yes. Because I can’t seem to speak full sentences when he’s looking at me.