Lucius (Acquisition Series #4) - Celia Aaron Page 0,60
her out, little Teddy runs onto the porch.
“Hey!” He jumps from the top step, lands in a hunch, and does a forward roll to his feet.
“Wow.” Evie takes my hand and steps out.
Teddy freezes, his eyes on Evie. I don’t blame him. She’s wearing a yellow sundress, the kind with those thin straps at the top. She’s a bombshell.
“Teddy, this is my girlfriend Evie.”
“Girlfriend?” She shoots me a look.
“What?” I pull her closer and wrap my arm around her waist.
“You have a girlfriend?” Teddy looks aghast.
“Yep.”
“Does Mommy know?”
“She’s about to find out.”
“Okay.” He turns to run inside, then stops. “Hey. Didn’t you say a girl named Evie shot you?” His wide eyes go back to her.
“Sure did, champ. Isn’t she something?” I kiss her cheek.
“I’m telling Mommy.” He runs off as Evie groans.
We walk up the front steps.
“I’ve been here before.”
“You have?” I stop on the porch, the sunset sending dappled rays through the trees at the edge of the lawn.
“When I was a kid, yeah. Red and I came over for some ceremonial thing. Maybe when your mom was Sovereign. I’m not sure.”
“Was I here?”
“Yes.” She looks down, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
“I wish I could remember it.”
“You were already a teenager, way too cool for a little girl like me. But we did talk.”
“We did?” I face her and run my fingers down a lock of her soft hair. “I bet I was charming.”
“You were larger than life for me. The evil smile, bright eyes, and sarcastic wit.” She sighs. “I never had a chance not to fall in love with you.”
“You loved me then?”
“The way a kid loves anything that’s too big for them to fully see. I had no idea about the Acquisition or any of it. You seemed like a cute teenage boy, and I wanted you to think I was cute, too.”
“What did I say when we talked?”
She nibbles her bottom lip. “I was sitting at the dining room table, waiting for my mother to finish talking with your mother in her office. You came swaggering in and plopped down in the chair across from me. I tried not to look at you, but you just kept staring at me, so I finally met your eyes. You asked me who I was and what I was doing there. I told you, and then my stomach rumbled really loud. I wanted to crawl under the table and die right there, but you got up and came around to me. You said, ‘C’mon.’ And you held out your hand.
“I took it, and you led me into the kitchen and pulled down a box of cookies from a high shelf in the pantry.
“‘Have as many as you want.’ You scooped up a few, winked at me, then left. My mother never let me have sweets. It’s like you knew there was a rule you could break, so you went for it.”
“Did you eat the cookies?”
“I ate so many I got a stomachache, but I didn’t regret it one bit.”
“Just being near me had you breaking bad. I love it.” I lean close, my lips grazing against hers.
“Lucius.” Stella’s voice is harsh. “I didn’t realize you were bringing a date.”
Evie turns to her. “Hi, Stella.”
“Hello.” Stella doesn’t offer her hand, and she certainly doesn’t invite us in. Instead, she blocks the door and sizes up Evie with a hawk-like gaze.
“I don’t know if you remember me—”
“I remember you just fine.” Stella finally looks at me. “You should’ve warned us.”
“Evie’s not a threat.” I thread her fingers through mine. “We’re together.”
“Mmm.” Stella doesn’t seem the least bit convinced.
To her credit, Evie stands patiently as Stella gives her another once-over.
More silence passes, and for a moment I think Stella isn’t going to let us in, but then she steps back. “You can have dinner with us, but I’ll go ahead and warn you, Evie. If you try anything. Anything. I’ll put you down. This is my family, my life, and I won’t lose them.”
Teddy peeks out from behind Stella, his big eyes focused on Evie.
“I’m not here to hurt anyone.” Evie gives Teddy a small smile. “And yes, I shot your uncle. But that’s before I got to know him. Now I just want to strangle him sometimes.”
Teddy smiles. “Daddy says that too.”
Stella considers Evie for a few moments longer, then turns and strides away. “The food’s almost ready. You two come on in.”