“Right.” She winked up at me and mimed a tiger scratch. “Rawr.”
Ella cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips.
I cleared my throat and flashed angry eyes at Luca who pulled Brandi back under his arm.
There was a knock on the door, and Derek opened it to reveal Katie holding a homemade pie.
“Hey, Katie.” Derek freed her hands of the pie and gave her a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“So much better,” she answered. “Thanks for filling in for me.”
“Hi, Katie,” Brandi said, immediately honing in on the new addition to our group. “I’m Brandi. With an i.”
“Hi.” Katie took Brandi’s outstretched hand, uncertainty veiling her face.
“Hey.” Dallas suddenly appeared at our sides. “Jax just called and said they’ll be a little late and that we should start without them. Everything’s about to come out of the oven.”
“I’ll help you.” Katie smiled as she and Derek followed Dallas back toward the kitchen.
“You think Justin Timberlake will be here?” Brandi asked Luca as he steered her away from Ella and me.
I turned to make sure the coast was clear before pulling Ella into my arms. “Hi.”
She pressed a kiss to my lips. “I thought I was going to have to kick drunk Barbie in the shins.”
“I’ve seen ass-kicking Ella before. She is not to be trifled with.” I touched my nose to hers.
“That girl’s not really staying for dinner is she?” Ella asked. “She seems perfectly nice, but this is not a good night for new guests. Liv and Jax are probably nervous enough as it is.”
I released a dissatisfied sigh. “I know. I’m hoping Luca will do the right thing and ask her to leave.”
She snorted. “Luca? Do the right thing? You must be joking.”
I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, trying to put Luca out of my mind. “God, I can’t wait to get back to your house. This dress is gorgeous on you.”
“It’ll be even more gorgeous off of me,” she teased.
“I can’t wait until we don’t have to keep us a secret anymore.”
“Soon,” she said. “I promise. I just need to tell Grace first, and I haven’t quite figured out how to do that yet.”
“You guys coming?” Luca’s voice asked, causing us to startle and jump apart. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Cash was um… helping me with my necklace,” Ella improvised, instinctively reaching for the small chain around her neck.
“Yes,” I added. “It was caught in her... uh…”
“Hair,” Ella finished for me. “It was caught in my hair.”
Luca’s forehead creased as he narrowed his eyes at us, and I just knew we’d been busted.
“Right,” he said finally. “I was just fixing Mandy’s necklace earlier too. Dinner’s on the table.”
“Luca, wait a second.” I paused, choosing my words carefully. “I think you should ask Brandi to leave before the kids get here.” I attempted to reason with him, hoping I’d have a better shot without the other guys around. “We need to do what we can to make them comfortable.”
Luca appeared to consider what I was saying for a moment, and I thought I might have gotten through to him. Finally, he let out a roaring belch. “No.” With that, he turned and started back toward the kitchen.
“So,” Ella muttered. “Guess she’s staying.”
