Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Fury
I wasn’t sure who was more surprised when I spontaneously asked Sienna to join me for Thanksgiving with my New York family—her or me. Honestly, I think it was me who felt the shock most acutely when she said yes. She hadn’t canceled, and now, standing outside her building, my heart raced at the prospect of taking her to Maggie and Drake’s for dinner. I could almost taste the anticipation mingling with the aroma of roasted turkey and family chatter.
When Sienna opened the door, my jaw nearly hit the floor. I’d seen her in dresses before, but holy shit, nothing like this. The deep crimson red made her eyes sparkle like diamonds, and I swear my heart skipped a beat. It hugged her body without being too revealing, accentuating her lithe figure and making her legs look a mile long. The heels she wore brought her to just shy of six feet tall, the perfect height for me to ravish those luscious lips of hers. Damn, I was in trouble.
I played it safe, though, and just kissed her cheek before giving her the flowers I’d brought. My first instinct had been to go all out, to make one of those grand, extravagant gestures like filling her apartment with roses, but it had taken me only a few seconds to dismiss that idea. First, because our relationship wasn’t traditional, and second, because that would’ve felt too much like trying to buy her, and she’d had enough of that in her life.
So, I’d opted for a dozen orange and yellow chrysanthemums.
“Thank you.” A pleased smile curved her lips, and I knew I’d made the right decision.
“Apparently, they’re the official flower of November.”
As Sienna turned away to head to the kitchen, I mentally kicked myself. The official flower of November? I was usually great at charming women, spinning words like an artist. Hell, it had practically been in my job description when Cory and I launched our company, since he was the one who got tongue-tied around women. So what the hell had happened to me?
“They’re beautiful,” Sienna said as she placed the flowers in water. “And different from the usual sort. I like that.”
“You look beautiful,” I said. “I mean, you’re always beautiful, but you look even more stunning today in that dress and … shit.” I shook my head.
She laughed softly, coming over to me and taking my hand. “I know what you mean. And thank you. You look very good today, too.”
I smiled and lifted our joined hands to brush my lips across her knuckles. “This is new for me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really? You don’t exactly strike me as a monk.”
I laughed, feeling the tension within me ease a bit. The nerves were still there, but they weren’t as overwhelming. “I mean taking someone to Thanksgiving. I had some semi-serious relationships when I was younger, and sometimes they’d come over for dinner or a birthday party, but I never brought anyone over for the big holidays.”
“So, no pressure, right?” Her tone was teasing, but I caught a hint of concern in it.
I laced my fingers between hers and tugged her into the hallway. “It’ll be fine.”
“Sure,” she said. “Former escort, now working at a sex club, living in an average New York apartment with a roommate, mingling with a well-known fashion designer, a violinist with the Philharmonic, and some other people I assume are as rich as you.”
I bit back a groan, realizing it was probably for the best that I’d kept my mouth shut about London and Spencer. Those two had flown in yesterday and would grace us with their presence at dinner. Christ, Spencer’s royal family connections could make anyone’s knees weak.
“My cousin Carson,” I said, “the designer? His fiancé grew up in a cult. My other cousin Alec is engaged to a teacher. All perfectly normal people.”
Sienna nodded, but she didn’t appear completely convinced. At least I knew I could count on my family not to treat her weirdly. Like any family, we had our issues, but there were some things I always knew for sure. They’d always have my back unless I was being an idiot, in which case they’d give me a kick in the ass if I needed it. And they’d always treat people with respect and compassion, no matter where they stood in life.
The drive to Maggie and Drake’s place was slow, but I’d factored in the traffic when I’d told Sienna the time to be ready, so we arrived right on time. Sienna’s eyes widened the deeper we went into the swanky neighborhood, and when we pulled up to the curb in front of a two-story, four-bedroom house, she let out a low whistle.
“I know your family has money, but damn.”
“Well, it’s not just Maggie’s money,” I said. “Drake has plenty of his own. He comes from a wealthy Scottish family.”
“Right.” Sienna shot me a sideways look. “Are we going to be having caviar and lobster? Flakes of gold in our champagne? Servants at our beck and call?”
I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, unsure how to respond to her questions. Hell, I didn’t even know if they were genuine or if she was just messing with me.
She let me flounder for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. “I’m impressed, but I’m not an idiot. You’d probably have wine and Scotch instead of champagne.”
I joined her in laughter, hoping this meant she was feeling more at ease. Still, I took her hand as we approached the door.
Maggie opened it before I even knocked, beaming as she greeted both Sienna and me with hugs. “Come on in. Carson and Vix are already here. London and Spencer are on their way. Rose is just putting down the twins for their nap, so everything should be perfectly timed for us to eat while they sleep.”
“Boys, girls, or one of each?” Sienna asked as we hung up our coats.
“One of each,” Maggie said, her face lighting up even more. “Shannon and Carlyle. And be forewarned because you’ll be hearing about them all evening. Drake will probably break out pictures, too.”
“I look forward to it,” Sienna said sincerely.
I knew it was too soon for the image that popped into my head, but I couldn’t help it. My mind immediately conjured up a tantalizing picture of Sienna cradling a baby, her luscious body curving around the tiny bundle. I stood behind her, my hand possessively gripping her shoulder, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my fingers. I tried to shove the enticing vision away, but I had a gut feeling it would return with a vengeance. The more time I spent with this intoxicating woman, the further ahead I could see our future unfolding—a future I’d had no clue I craved until she waltzed into my life and turned everything upside down.
I heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up, smiling, when I saw Rose coming down. She looked a lot better than she had the last time I’d seen her, but there was still a shadow in her eyes as she hugged me. I didn’t ask her about it, though. I knew my sister, and she wouldn’t want me to call attention to her feelings. Instead, I turned toward Sienna.
“I know the two of you have met briefly before, but that was under some weird circumstances.” I reached for Sienna’s hand, loving the way her face lit up with pleased surprise. “Rose Gracen, meet Sienna Marquez. Sienna, my little sister, Rose.”
“It’s nice to officially meet you.” Sienna extended her free hand, her cheeks pink. “And I’m sorry if I was short with you the other day. I … misunderstood your connection to Fury.”
“You were lovely,” Rose said. “And thank you for joining us today.”
I loved my sister. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew Sienna had been jealous, and she chose not to focus on that, just like she wasn’t asking about me and Sienna holding hands, even though I knew she was curious.
The doorbell interrupted us, and we all moved forward to give London and Spencer some room as they entered, Spencer carrying their one-year-old son, Alexander. We went through additional introductions as Maggie herded us toward the living room, where Drake, Carson, and Vix waited.
Living on the opposite coast from these cousins, I hadn’t gotten to know their significant others very well, and one thing I’d been looking forward to when I moved here was spending more time with them. Having Rose here was just a bonus.
They were all just as warm and kind to Sienna as I’d expected. They asked her the kinds of questions anyone in this setting would ask and shared their own anecdotes and stories with ease. Not a single one of them pushed for more information when she gave vague answers, either. By the time we finished dinner, I felt like the day was already a success.
It wasn’t until Maggie brought the twins downstairs and we were all watching them and Alexander doing their baby thing that I realized Sienna had been unusually quiet for a while. Trying to be discreet about it, I glanced at her, but it was impossible to read anything from her expression.
The fact that she wore that too-familiar mask told me enough. Something was wrong. When she excused herself a couple of minutes later, saying she needed to use the restroom, the subdued way she left the living room confirmed my suspicions.
I was still mulling over the issues when Drake came over and sat down next to me.
“Your lady friend is quite beautiful,” he said, his Scottish brogue as thick as my Uncle Patrick’s. He smiled, his eyes softening as he looked over at Maggie giving Carlyle a toy. “Not as beautiful as my love, but still lovely.”
“She is,” I agreed.
“And like my Maggie, your Sienna seems to have had some … darkness in her past.” Drake placed a hand on my shoulder, his expression serious. “Women like that, they take time to let you in, and it takes time for them to heal. She may push you away, but if you really care about her, lad, don’t let her.”
Carlyle flapped his arms and started making “da-da-da” sounds, prompting Drake to smile and head for his son without another word to me. In the little time I’d spent with him, I knew he wasn’t the type to mince words, so I appreciated what he’d said and planned to ask Sienna if she was okay when she returned.
Except ten minutes passed, and she still wasn’t back. Then fifteen minutes. I began to worry.
When I saw everyone’s attention was on a story London was telling about something Alexander had done to one of Spencer’s sisters, I quickly got up and headed in the direction Sienna had gone. I didn’t need to search far to find her. She was standing by the door of the guest bathroom, leaning against the wall and looking at something on her phone.
“Hey, I was starting to think you got lost,” I teased, sticking my hands in my pockets to appear more casual as I approached her.
“Oh, no.” She raised her head but didn’t meet my eyes. “I was just checking on Lulu and didn’t want to be that rude person on my phone while everyone’s visiting.”
She sounded like she was telling the truth, but my gut said it wasn’t the whole truth. Still, it was concern for Lulu—not trying to catch her in a lie—that made me ask, “How’s she doing?”
“Good,” Sienna replied. “Her mom, son, and she went to Albany to see some cousins for the holiday, and she thinks they’ll stay there until Ralf’s been arrested.”
“So the police haven’t caught him yet?”
Sienna shrugged. “Lulu said that one cop, Perrault, called her yesterday evening to tell her they were still looking for Ralf, but that he’d either gone underground or completely left the city altogether.”
I suddenly realized she’d just shared more with me in this little exchange than she’d said to anyone since dinner, and I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why. I knew she’d been nervous about being here with my family, but I’d thought their clear acceptance from the start had eased those concerns. Unless someone had said something to her, but I couldn’t even think of anything that could’ve been misinterpreted.
“So everything’s all right?” I purposefully made my question vague, hoping she might either answer about Lulu or reveal what had her acting so reserved.
“Yeah.” She pushed off the wall and seemed to gather herself, lifting her chin defiantly. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
As she walked past me, I instinctively reached out, but she flinched slightly, pulling away just enough to evade my touch. It was a subtle movement, a mere shift of her body that, had I not been attuned to her, I might have missed entirely.
But I caught the fleeting flash of pain that crossed her face, and it struck me hard, echoing Drake’s warning that she would likely push me away. If she genuinely wanted me to back off, I’d respect that. Yet I refused to let her retreat simply because she harbored misguided doubts about our connection. I hadn’t officially called her my girlfriend yet, but I was more than willing to explore that possibility.
I realized I had finally found a woman worth fighting for.