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If the Texas Malones’ house was complete chaos, the New Orleans Malones’ could only be described as icy calm. The house was enormous. And intimidating. A stern-faced butler had greeted them at the door to help them with their bags.
Thea walked in with Ace and Keir, looking around her with wide eyes and wondering how the hell she was going to keep the boys from breaking anything.
“Is any of this stuff super expensive? One-of-a-kind? Priceless?” she asked Carrick.
“I imagine most of it is. Intimidating, huh?”
She nodded. Jardin turned to look at them. Then he glanced around. “I grew up with it all, so I don’t take much notice. Cold, isn’t it?”
She couldn’t imagine him growing up there. “I’m sure we’ll get used to it.”
Ace and Keir turned to give her incredulous looks. “Just don’t touch anything,” she told them. “Or run around in here. Definitely no water fights inside.”
“Actually,” a masculine voice stated from behind them. “That sounds like a lot of fun. Perhaps if we’d been allowed water fights, this place might have more of a lived-in look.”
They all turned toward the man standing there. He looked like an older version of Jardin, with streaks of gray in his dark hair. He was polished and nicely put together, his slate-gray eyes cold.
Regent Malone.
The man she had to thank for getting rid of Derrick Silvers. Apparently, there was no way he could wriggle out of the charges. There was too much evidence against him, and all witnesses were being protected. Which she guessed was also Regent’s doing.
Soon after Jardin had broken the good news, they’d packed up to drive back to New Orleans, stopping for just one night in Lafayette so they could retrieve her mother’s necklace. She still welled up thinking about the fact she’d gotten it back.
“Thea, Ace, and Keir, this is my brother Reggie.”
Regent sighed. “It’s Regent, not Reggie. But I’m pleased to meet you all.” He gave them all a small nod. “I trust you’ll all be at dinner.”
“Yep, we’ll be down as soon as we’ve unpacked,” Jardin told him.
“Good. Gerald has prepared something special for all of you.”
God, she hoped it wasn’t foie gras. As though he could read her mind, Regent sent her a small wink. She was so shocked she just stood frozen there as he turned away.
“I’ll have Gerald put away all the priceless artifacts and buy some water pistols in preparation for this water fight,” he called back.
She turned to Jardin. “He won’t really, will he?”
“Get water pistols, sure. Actually participate? Likely not. Couldn’t see Regent Montclair Malone ac
tually operating a water pistol. But I will.”
“Me too,” Carrick said.
Ace and Keir stared at them, then a big smile crossed Ace’s face. “Awesome!”
She hoped Gerald really would put away all the priceless stuff.
“Don’t worry, rocket,” Carrick told her, placing his arm over her shoulders. “We’re not living here forever. We’ll find an equally stuffy place to call our own. It’s the New Orleans Malone way.”
“I heard that!” Jardin said.
To her relief, dinner was hamburgers. Regent sent her another of those knowing looks. The boys dug in excitedly. To her surprise, they were taking all these changes better than her.
Dinner was nothing like it had been in Haven. Nobody yelled over each other or tried to steal their food. And Regent and Victor ate their burgers with knives and forks. She’d had to nudge Ace to stop him from staring.
It did look pretty bizarre, though. Especially since they, along with Jardin, were all wearing suits. Only Carrick and Maxim were dressed more casually. Maxim reminded her more of his cousins. There was a teasing grin on his face and his eyes danced with amusement whenever he looked over at her.
“So, Thea, you worked for Jardin?” Maxim asked.
