Chapter 42
FORTY-TWO
LANA
M y heart hammers as the car pulls to a stop outside a set of brass gates with an A weaved into the middle.
How did I let Cole talk me into this?
Somehow, I ended up agreeing to come to his family home for Thanksgiving. Sharing a three-hour car ride with him and his sister was bad enough, but meeting his parents? God help me.
From what I can remember, I’ve never even celebrated Thanksgiving. I didn’t exactly have a normal upbringing, and instead of spending the holidays sitting around a table and eating a lavish meal with family, I spent my time throwing knives at targets and learning how to stitch bullet wounds.
On actual people with very real bullet wounds.
This is so far from my comfort zone that just the thought of going inside the Aston household is making me itchy, but it’s too late to turn back now.
Cole has slowly been lowering his mask around me, whether that’s because he knows I can see past it or he’s trying to open himself up to me, I’m not sure.
What I do know is this is a way for him to let me into his life, to see behind the smoke and mirrors that he shows the rest of the world, and to see him in a different environment.
The gates swing open, and I spot a camera directed towards us. Cole pulls forward and drives up the narrow road before pulling to a stop outside of a mansion. Because of course, he lives in a mansion.
“My mom is going to freak when she sees you,” Gracie says from behind me, and I give her the side-eye, only to find her leaning forward in the gap between me and Cole, a conspiring smile on her face.
But why would their mom freak when she… Oh, hell no.
“You didn’t tell her?” I ask Cole.
He looks at me, biting his lip almost as though he’s nervous.
“I didn’t tell either of my parents that I was bringing someone.”
I groan. “Why? What the fuck were you thinking, Cole? It’s bad enough that you dragged me here in the first place, but to not tell them I was coming?”
“Shhh,” he hushes me. “Everything will be fine.”
“It will not, especially for you, because I’m going to fucking murder you.”
He parks the car and smirks at me. “You’re hot when you get all murdery,” he purrs and climbs out of the car as Gracie does the same, leaving me to glare in his general direction before I do the same and follow behind them up the steps that lead to the entrance of the home.
The door flies open before we reach it, and a short woman with graying hair throws herself at the siblings.
“My babies,” she cries with a noticeable Italian accent. “I missed you both. ”
I shuffle where I stand, feeling awkward as hell. The movement must catch her attention, because she turns towards me before looking at Gracie.
“You brought a friend? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’d have had a guest room set up for her.”
Gracie grins towards Cole. “No need, Mama. She’s actually here with Cole.”
Their mom gasps, and I inwardly groan at the questions she’s no doubt brimming with, but I’m saved from that horrific event by Cole clearing his throat and telling her that we’ve had a long drive—I wouldn’t consider three hours long, but whatever—and that we need to get settled in.
“Of course, I’m sorry, gioia mia ,” she says to Cole before turning to me. “And I guess he’s leaving me to introduce myself. I’m Gloria, Cole and Gracie’s mother. It’s nice to meet you.”
I give her a small smile. “I’m Lana. Thank you for having me.”
She waves her hand around in the air in a dismissive gesture before ushering us through the house and towards the second level.
“I assume your… friend doesn’t need a guest room?” Gloria asks Cole, and he shakes his head, carrying both of our bags up the stairs. I follow behind him, taking in the family pictures on the walls that must date back centuries, before we reach a room that Cole lets us both into.
“So, that was your mom,” I say as Cole puts our things in the closet.
“Yup.”
“And you’re Italian?” I ask, confused. How the hell did I not know this?
He shrugs. “My mom is Italian, but we try to keep that out of the media. She only really switches to Italian when it’s just family. The rest of the time, she can pass for American.”
I sit on the bed and tilt my head to the side, examining him. “Why would she hide that?”
He flings himself down on the bed beside me and takes a lock of my hair in his fingers. “Every family has secrets, little menace. Let’s just say… my mom’s side of the family had more than most, and it’s safer for everyone if they remain that way.”
“Meaning your mom comes from the Mafia,” I deadpan, and his eyes widen, clearly not expecting that to be my first guess. It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together when he’s talked about his mom’s side of the family a little in the past week or so while we’ve been getting to know each other.
“How did you…” He trails off and shakes his head.
“Of course, you would get it on the first try. Yeah, my mom came from a Mafia family, but she left when she was young. We don’t have much contact with her side of the family anymore.
Most of them are dead anyway, just a few cousins left that we rarely ever see.
My mom didn’t want me to grow up in that life, so she tried to put as much distance between us as possible. ”
I nod, having the feeling I know exactly which family he’s talking about, but he’s entitled to his secrets, just like I’m entitled to mine.
I can’t push him for more when I won’t give him my entire backstory. It wouldn’t be fair.
“So, what about your father?”
He sighs. “My family is from old money. He’s considered American royalty in some circles, and while he and Noah’s dad own the company, that’s nothing compared to everything he inherited when my grandparents died. ”
“I didn’t ask about his money, Cole.”
He groans. “He’s not like my mom. My mom is warm and gentle while he’s…
not. Don’t get me wrong, he does love me, he just doesn’t know how to show it.
He thinks that pushing me to be the best that I can be is the same as affection, but he doesn’t see the line he crosses when he takes it too far,” he admits, and I realize I misjudged him all of those weeks ago.
He came across as the guy who had it all when really, he struggles just as much as the rest of us.
“You’re not as hollow as I thought you were, pretty boy.”
“And you’re not as psychotic as I thought you were, little menace.”
I glare at him, but all he does is smile.
That smile alone is enough to break down my walls and destroy me, and if he’s not careful, that’s exactly what he’ll do.
D inner with Cole’s family is… fine. His father has barely spoken one word to me since we were introduced, which is fine by me, but what I’m not okay with are the skeptical looks he keeps firing my way and the way he talks down to Cole.
He’s different with Gracie, though. It’s as though he treats her like a princess and Cole nothing more than trash, and it’s really starting to piss me off.
To Gracie’s credit, she tries to have her father engage with Cole the way he does her, but every time she brings him up in the conversation, he only belittles Cole or changes the subject .
If only it weren’t frowned upon to stab him in the hand with my fork at the dinner table.
Gloria is the complete opposite of her husband, and she clearly loves the hell out of her kids, doting on them every chance that she gets.
She’s been the same way with me, too, which is freaking weird and makes me…
I don’t know, uncomfortable? I mean, it’s kind of nice, since I can’t even remember my own mom.
I’ve never had that motherly connection with anyone.
“So, Lana , what’s your surname?” Derek asks before taking a sip of wine and giving me another one of those unsure looks.
“James,” I answer immediately.
He cocks his head to the side and examines me. “Huh.”
Huh?
What the hell does ‘huh’ mean?
I clench my jaw and focus on my plate in front of me. Gloria cooked dinner, some Italian dish that I can’t remember the name of, but it’s amazing. I just wish the company weren’t so damn awkward.
I’m seriously regretting not just telling Cole to get lost and staying on campus instead of coming here to be his buffer, though I do see why he needs one.
“I’ve never heard of the James family before,” Derek says, and my hand pauses as I’m about to take a mouthful.
Fuck.
What the hell do I say to that?
Clearly, he’s well connected, so he’s going to know whatever lie I feed him isn’t the truth.
Cole, who’s sitting opposite me, leans forward in his chair, his teeth gritting together and looking like he’s about to lose his shit .
At me, or his father?
I shrug, appearing casual as I bring the food to my mouth and start to chew.
Gone is the unbelievable taste, instead replaced with my mouth feeling dry. I struggle to swallow it down as my gut churns.
“Dad,” Cole warns, and his father’s eyes fly to him.
“Well, I’m just curious about what family she comes from. Is it a crime to want my son’s girlfriend to be good enough for him?” Not his girlfriend, but okay. “You’ve never been known to make good decisions, son, so I’m just looking out for you.”
Okay, that’s it.
I drop my fork to the plate, letting it clatter and garnering everyone’s attention.
I’ve had enough of this shit.
Insult me, fine. Insult Cole? Hell no.
“You do realize that your son is one of the top students at the university, right?” I ask, my eyes boring into Derek’s.
“And you do realize that he’s molded his entire life to suit you , don’t you, Mr. Aston?
” I lean my elbows on the table and lean over closer to him.
“You’re so focused on his future and what you want his life to look like that you’re ignoring his present.
He’s a grown man, and he can make his own decisions.
He can make his own choices and his own mistakes.
You need to stop being such a controlling dick before you end up losing your son for good. ”
The room is silent, all eyes flicking between me and Cole’s father as though they’re waiting for another bomb to drop, and I don’t blame them. I absolutely should not get involved, but seeing the way this man treats his son left me unable to keep quiet .
He’s lucky that Cole loves him, because I’d have stabbed someone for less.
Derek throws his napkin down on the table and gives me a single nod before standing from his chair and leaving the room.
Once’s he’s out of sight, the attention goes back to me.
I really fucking hate attention.
“I’ll be upstairs,” I murmur and leave in the same way Derek did, heading back to Cole’s room to pack my shit and get the hell out of here.
I’m not made for being around other people, and I think this clearly proves that.