14. Ivy #2
“Yeah, some of it was rebuilt thirty or so years ago, after a fire.”
“A fire?” I look at him.
“Yes, not sure of the source, but it’s believed to be linked to the war for New York.”
“What war?”
“Well, there’s always a turf war going on, you know,” he says with a smirk.
“How cliché.”
Vaughn chuckles, then he offers me his arm, helping me up the few stairs leading to the front doors.
Melissa rushes forward with a flirty smile to greet Vaughn and offers her hand to him as well.
Vaughn only nods, leaving her hanging as she leads me in the house, leaving my little sister standing there, shocked.
“Come, Mel,” I call to her, with a sugary smile on my face. “Mom and Dad are already inside.”
Vaughn glances at me with a raised eyebrow, while Melissa huffs and angrily goes up the stairs, then she blazes past us and follows after her parents.
“What’s going on? Are you two now on good terms?” he questions after Melissa is gone.
“Mr. Consigliere, please do your best to mind your own business,” I say with a polite smile to which he only smiles.
“I have to say, I like these claws,” he whispers flirtatiously.
“You like them until they tear you apart,” I whisper back with a smile, and he glances at me then we walk in, but he remains silent.
“May I take your coat?” Vaughn asks gently. I nod then start taking off my coat, only to feel him freeze behind me.
“Is everything okay?” I ask sweetly but receive no answer.
I turn around to face him, only to see him breathing deeply, his eyes glued on me.
“Vaughn?”
He shakes his head, his eyes snapping to mine. “You look…” He trails off.
“Bad? Ugly?”
“Jesus, you’re anything but!” Vaughn says immediately, taking a step closer. “I’m just trying to find the right words without sounding disrespectful and crass.”
“Oh?” I say coyly, knowing damn well what I’m doing. I don’t know how to bat my eyelashes but tonight, I will pretend like I’m a master flirt. “What’s the disrespectful version?”
“You look absolutely ravaging! The way you’re wearing the hell out of this dress…”
Vaughn’s Italian accent becomes thicker, his voice dropping to a raspy tone that tells me everything I need to know.
Princess Di’s revenge dress.
Queen Bey’s freakum dress.
When in doubt, when at war, when breaking lose from unrequited love… find your own war dress that does the job and Scarlet came through with the backless, high slit, Balmain emerald suede dress poured over my curves, accentuating them to a degree where even I applaud myself.
I make a mental note to thank Scar for the dress when I see her next.
Vaughn stares for what feels like a long minute, then he shakes his head again and quickly passes my coat to one of the waiting attendants.
“This is going to be a fun night,” he hums with a charming smile on his beautiful face, and offers me his arm. “Most of my family is here to meet you. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, please let me know and I’ll do my best to save you.”
I smile at Vaughn’s generosity, but my mind has since wandered away and is now stuck on one thing and one thing alone.
Where is Emmett?
As we go down the elegant halls and pass through the rooms, I search for him.
I hear classical music playing, a feature ultra-rich people like for some reason, but it does nothing to soothe my nerves.
Vaughn leads me to a large, beautiful dining room, with a big table all set up with gorgeous flowers, candles, crystal glasses, and polished silverware.
I quickly scan the room. After all, this is a family dinner, he should be here too, but I don’t see him at all.
Where the hell is he?
I start feeling anxious and prickly, fighting hard not to look as uncomfortable as I feel.
So I feign confidence, holding my head up, stretching my neck like the models I see online.
When Vaughn says something, I clutch his arm and laugh, but if someone asks me right now what he just said, I’ll draw a blank.
But it doesn’t matter. My response seems appropriate because Vaughn smiles at me, his eyes twinkling with enjoyment.
Jesus, it’s easy to fall in love with a guy like this.
He doesn’t push, nor does he make me feel like I’m walking on an ultra-thin thread across an abyss like someone does.
“You smell amazing too,” he murmurs in my ear and this time, I do feel a swift kick in my stomach.
I’ve never had this kind of male attention my whole life.
Back then, I didn’t even care about that because all my focus was always on one person.
So now, knowing full well that Vaughn is flirting with me, I can’t help but feel like hiding.
How does one behave in this situation?
But I’m wearing this very, very sexy dress and I’m on a mission. If I shrink back now, what does that say about my resolve? Weak-minded much?
“Did I make your brain scramble?” Vaughn questions softly, a huge grin on his face.
“N-no,” I stutter, beginning to panic. “I’m just internally debating something.”
“And what’s that?”
“Whether or not your comment was acceptable or if it was some creepy Mafia fetish.”
Vaughn throws his head back and barks out a rich, deep laugh that stuns me… along with everyone else in the room, much to my chagrin.
His laugh sounds… beautiful, but also awkward, like he’s not used to it.
I’m proved correct when I see Vaughn’s father’s eyebrows rise up in our direction… but the man standing at the very edge of the room fixes his eyes on Vaughn intently.
Who is he?
“Everyone’s watching,” I quickly say, moving to stand with my back to them.
Vaughn chuckles some more. “I didn’t know that compliments are categorized in ranges of acceptable to creepy fetishes.”
“Well, welcome to the world of a woman, where we have to dissect every detail, word, and action of a man for our own safety!”
This makes Vaughn muffle his laughter, but he’s still smiling.
“I promise, I mean you no harm with my compliments,” he says gently, but his eyes darken as he stares intently into my eyes. “There’s something undeniably compelling about you, Ivy, that I can’t…”
I wait for him to finish as goosebumps grace my arms, but he falls silent.
“Are you nervous?” Vaughn questions when he sees me.
“Do I look it?”
“No, which is why I’m asking,” Vaughn says with a smile. “I can never tell what you’re thinking.”
I glance at him, feeling strange about that comment.
“What?” he asks quietly as he leads me into the house, following where everyone is heading to.
“That’s new.”
“What is?”
“The comment you just made,” I say with a sigh. “Everyone in my life says I’m an open book. What you see is what you get.”
“Everyone in your life?”
“My family.”
“No friends?” he asks, looking at me with a strange expression.
“My friends are my family.”
“You mean the kids you grew up with in Westbrook Blues?”
I pause, my hackles rising.
“You’ve really done your research on my life and must already know of everyone connected to me in Westbrook Blues, huh?” I say, watching him.
He nods slightly with a smile. “I have to say, you and my cousin have an extremely enviable friend group.”
A chill goes down my spine when I hear the strangeness of his words, coupled with the glint in his eye.
“Vaughn?” I start softly.
“Yes, sweetheart,” he says with a charming smile that would make anyone fall in love.
“We’ve been getting to know each other lately, but I feel maybe now is the best time to give you some advice.”
“Oh? Are we now at that stage?” he teases, but seeing the look on my face, he grows serious. “I’m listening.”
I make sure to hold his gaze as I say this. I want him to know for certain that I mean it.
“Never touch, think of, or attempt anything in regard to Westbrook Blues or the people therein,” I state, each word feeling like it’s laced with frosty steel.
“I don’t care what schemes you have or don’t have now or in the future, but I promise you before God in Heaven, I will make sure to destroy you in ways you haven’t even thought possible if you or anyone else connected to you touches my family. ”
The look in Vaughn’s eyes shifts as shock and wariness flush through them.
But I just smile and say one last thing.
“I might look like someone who can be manipulated but I assure you, if you go after my bottom line, I’ll design a kind of hell specifically for you that you will feel every step of the way.”
His own cousin taught me the art of war when we used to hang out. I just haven’t used any of it but I don’t mind practicing on Vaughn if it comes down to it.
I give him a sweet smile then turn around and walk away, leaving him standing there, looking bamboozled.