17. Chapter 17
The last thing John needed to do was have dinner with Sienna, Lily, and Bella.
It would already be hard enough to leave as it was.
He hadn’t allowed himself to be close to anyone in centuries.
It hurt too much. He pulled out the bracelet that he carried in his pocket and held it in his palm.
Lily and Bella could steal your heart with one glance.
And as he watched Sienna drive away yesterday, he’d worried the same could be said about their determined, brilliant, and beautiful aunt.
But in the end that didn’t stop him from caving and coming to dinner.
John held out until a couple minutes after five, and then he found himself calling the office number.
He told himself that they wouldn’t answer since he was late, which would be the excuse he needed not to come, but Ryan answered.
He agreed to come get John and showed up minutes later in the UTV, gesturing for John to join him before he could back out.
Ryan drove quickly back to the house, informing him he had texted Sienna that he was bringing John for dinner.
He then opened the front door of the clan house for John and mumbled something about needing to hurry or he would miss out on the enchiladas, before driving off with a quick wave.
John walked into the entry and followed the sound of music.
To say he was surprised by what he found was an understatement.
The girls were dancing with abandon, and Sienna...
she was following the beat of the music with her entire body.
Being open and free instead of carrying the weight of leading the clan.
Something shifted in his chest as he felt their joy permeate the room.
And when Sienna turned to him with her wide brown eyes and wearing a glittery Girls Rule T-shirt that matched the girls’, his heart thumped like a bass drum.
She obviously hadn’t seen Ryan’s text because her shocked expression told him she wasn’t expecting him.
And he wasn’t expecting his brain to short-circuit as he took in her pinkening face that made the starburst tattoo on her cheek stand out.
That was the only thing that could explain why he had danced with her.
Why he had pulled her close and spun her around, her citrus scent surrounding him like a spell.
Maybe that’s what happened. He’d been under a spell.
Was still under one as he now carefully danced Lily around the room, her shoes on top of his.
Her glee palpable as the music came to a stop.
And with the silence, the spell broke.
Lily hugged his legs. “Thank you!”
He patted her back awkwardly. “You’re welcome.” John found Sienna across the room, eyes lit from within, holding Bella in her arms. Something pinched in his chest again. This was a mistake. But before he could retreat, Lily took his hand.
“It’s time for dinner.” She pulled him as she headed through the foyer to the dining room across the way. He glanced back at a smirking Sienna, who brought Bella with her. A woman was setting pizzas on the sideboard when they walked into the room.
“Marilyn, we’re going to need another place set—”
Sienna stopped talking, and he followed her gaze to the table with four plates.
“The girls insisted we needed an additional setting. I see we do have a guest.”
From the look of surprise on Sienna’s face, she hadn’t told the girls he might be joining them. “Marilyn, this is John.”
“Nice to meet you, John. If you want anything special made while you’re staying here, please let me know.
” Marilyn bustled out of the room after getting Lily situated in her chair with a couple small slices of pizza.
Sienna put a piece of cheese pizza on a plate and began to cut it into smaller pieces.
“Help yourself, John.”
He walked to the sideboard and grabbed some sausage and pepperoni pizza. “What would you like?”
“I’ll take the veggie pizza. Thanks.”
He brought both plates back to the table, and Sienna finished cutting Bella’s food, then placed it in front of her.
They ate for a couple minutes in silence.
“Good job, girls. The pizza is yummy.” Sienna smiled. “The girls helped Marilyn make the pizzas.”
He had already finished one piece and had started the second. “It’s really good. Sausage and pepperoni pizza is my favorite.”
Sienna wore another surprised look at his comment before she shook her head as if to clear it and asked the girls about their day. She was such a natural with them. Lily told them about her classes with her teacher.
A few minutes later Marilyn came through the door from the kitchen with another pizza.
“I hope you saved room for dessert. This is a s’more pizza.
Chocolate and marshmallow with a graham cracker crust.” She cut the pizza and quickly handed out small pieces to the girls and more generous pieces to John and Sienna.
“Thank you, Marilyn,” Sienna said.
They dug into the dessert, and John watched as the girls and their aunt enjoyed their treats.
Bella pointed toward the opening that led out to the foyer and clapped her sticky hands. “Mommy!”
Sienna rested her hand on Bella’s shoulder. “Sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy are out with Uncle Adam and Aunt Tessa. They’ll be home later.”
They finished their desserts. Chocolate had found its way onto Lily’s chin and cheek.
Before Bella could swipe her chocolate and marshmallow hands through her hair, Sienna grabbed her little arm.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” She pulled a wipe from seemingly nowhere.
“We have a pack of baby wipes strategically placed under the booster seat.” She handed one to John and then started working on Bella’s hands.
Lily tilted her head up with a grin, and John wiped her hands and then began to wipe her chin when voices came from the foyer. Megan and Tessa stopped in the cased opening. Chills ran up John’s spine. Bella had known they were coming home early.
Bella held up her hands and squealed, while the shocked grown-ups gaped at each other. He went back to wiping Lily’s face.
“What are you all doing home?” Sienna asked.
“We were tired and decided to come home early,” Tessa said.
John looked over at Sienna, who frowned at Tessa’s announcement. Before she could ask any questions, Tessa continued. “What do we have here?”
“We’re having a pizza party,” Lily announced.
“I see that,” Tessa said, giving John the once-over. “Nice you could come party with the girls, Unka Gumpy.”
Before he could respond, Sienna spoke up. “There’s plenty of pizza left if you want something. I’m sure Marilyn will be here any minute once she hears you.”
Megan shook her head. “We had an early dinner. Adam and Eric are talking to Marcus. They should be here soon.”
John’s alarm bells sounded. Something was going on that they didn’t want the girls to know.
Lily spoke up again. “Look what Aunt Sienna got us!” She pointed to her T-shirt.
“I see that. Very cute,” Tessa said.
Megan smiled. “I need a picture of the three of you together.”
Sienna chuckled. “I already took one. And before you start pouting, Tessa, I got shirts for you and Megan too.”
Tessa’s eyes lit up. “Yay! We can have all kinds of girl parties with no boys allowed.”
“What’s this about no boys allowed?” Adam asked as he and Eric walked into the room. Adam came to a stop when he saw John, and Eric narrowly avoided plowing into his back.
“Well not all boys, apparently,” Tessa said and winked at John.
John frowned. This was not what he signed up for. He was tempted to leave, but he wanted to hear what really happened tonight.
Sienna held up her hand. “John came over to see the boards. We were going to take a look once the girls were settled for the night.”
Marilyn walked into the room as if on cue. “If you all need to talk, I can watch the girls for a bit. They can help me pick out meals for the coming week.”
“And desserts?” Lily asked.
“Of course.”
“Let’s help Marilyn clean up first,” Sienna said.
Over Marilyn’s protests, they quickly carried the dishes and leftover pizza into the kitchen. Adam left to find Marcus so that he could join them for the discussion as well. Because apparently the more people the merrier. But John wasn’t feeling merry.
He followed them down the hall into an office.
A desk, seating area, and bookcases took up the space.
Across from the desk was a fireplace. Above it hung the Death of Magic painting he had given them.
The painting was a bloody reminder of what started all of this.
Hell, he was a bloody reminder of it as well.
Every time he saw the painting, his hand burned where his grandmother had cut him.
He looked down at his palm. The scar was still there.
Although over the years, the thin line had taken on a silver hue.
He turned and found Adam, Eric, Tessa, Megan, and Sienna grouped together. Marcus stood behind the couch with his arms crossed. John wasn’t sure if the man knew how to relax.
Sienna spoke before he was able to. “The concert wasn’t canceled, was it? What really happened tonight?”
Tessa frowned. “After I made sure everything was good with the clothes and set up for the gig, I headed out to join Adam, Eric, and Megan. The place was packed, and I was weaving through the crowd when I saw the Templar creep who grabbed me last year.”
“Are you sure?” Sienna asked.
“Yep. You don’t forget someone you kicked in the junk.”
“Did he try to grab you?” John asked.
“No. But he was watching me. By the time I made it to Adam, he’d disappeared. But we decided to get out of there and come home anyway.”
“Which was the right call,” Marcus said. “We didn’t see anyone following you to the venue, so I’m not sure how they knew where you were.”
Tessa shrugged. “The concert wasn’t a secret, and neither is the fact that the designer I work for is responsible for clothing the artist. I do this a lot with our clients.”