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“I know you better than anyone.” Aiden lifted a suspicious eyebrow. “And you like Luca.”
I scoffed at his comment. “No, I don’t.”
“You’ve kissed him.”
Right in front of my brother and Pops. Not very romantic for my first kiss, but it was still one hell of a kiss.
“So,” I shot back. “You’ve kissed more girls than I can count.”
He rolled his shoulders and grinned. “I’m a slut. What can I say? But you’re not, and that’s the type of woman Luca wants.”
“How do you know what he wants?”
“Because I’m a guy.” He rolled his shoulders. “We know things.”
I snorted with laughter. “You’re an idiot. And you know nothing about Luca and me. Go back to playing your video game and stay out of my love life.”
Shaking his head, he chuckled, his back to me as he slapped the button on the pinball machine.
A few hours later, we drove to the Salvatore estate for dinner. It was the beginning of spring, nice enough to ditch the heavy sweaters I’d worn all winter. I paired a red sundress with a light jacket and three-inch pumps. I made Aiden wear black slacks, a polo shirt, and Doc Martens boots he’d never worn. He wasn’t happy about dressing up, but he had to act like a grownup at some point.
We parked in front of a garage on the estate that housed at least ten cars. My BMW 8 Series convertible was the shittiest of the bunch. There wasn’t a single car on the property valued at less than two hundred thousand dollars. The Salvatores did nothing half-assed. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Maserati, you name it, and all the boys were there. Which also meant the entire Salvatore family was home.
“He’s here,” I said to Aiden, eying Luca’s Aston Martin Vanquish as we approached the front door.
“Just be careful, Lexie. Don’t let him get too close.”
“Luca is like a shark sniffing out blood,” I said with laughter in my tone. “He likes the thrill of the hunt.”
“We already know he bites. So watch out. That’s all I’m saying.”
Before we could ring the bell, the front door swung open. A middle-aged man with dark hair, dressed in a black suit, greeted us with pursed lips and an intense stare. He looked as intimidating as the assholes who lived here. A chill rushed down my arms as we stepped into the house. Fear mixed with excitement created a sudden giddiness in the pit of my stomach. The thought of seeing Luca made me slightly anxious, like a girl with a crush.
Damn it, Aiden was right.
Aiden grabbed my hand as we followed the man down the tiled hallway. I squeezed his fingers, seeking his warmth. He always seemed to know when I needed him. It was our twin thing.
Loud voices floated into the hallway from the formal dining room. All five of the Salvatore men sat around a rectangular dining table large enough to host The Last Supper. Arlo was at the head, Luca on his right, and Marcello on his left. Bastian and Damian took their usual spots at Luca’s side.
My heels clicked on the tile as we entered the room, and all conversation ceased as they snapped their heads in our direction. Bastian and Damian gave me their usual bored stares, while Marcello didn’t even bother to glance up from his phone. Arlo nodded, offering a quick welcome to us.
Luca rose from his chair and leaned down to whisper something into Bastian’s ear. His adoptive brothers shot up from their seats and sat beside Marcello, giving me a nasty look.
Luca closed the distance between us, hooking his arm around my back to pull me into a one-arm hug. “How are you settling into your new house?”
“We love it. I’m lucky I got Aiden to stop playing video games long enough to shower and dress.”
“I was close to beating the game before she freaked out,” Aiden explained. “I haven’t seen old school Pac-Man and Street Fighter since I was a kid.”
Luca glanced over my shoulder at my brother. “I thought you might like those. Just something we had in storage.”
He took my hand, leading me to his side of the table, and pulled out my chair.
Aiden sat beside me, his eyes on Arlo. “Thanks for hooking us up with the house, Mr. Salvatore. The fully stocked bar in the game room was a nice touch.”
He gave Arlo a thumbs up, which made me blush with embarrassment for him.
“No problem,” Arlo intoned. “Your sister is quite the commodity. I couldn’t have her living in squalor over in Beggars Bay.”
Commodity? Interesting choice.
The houses in Beacon Bay were like my childhood home, but compared to the Salvatores wealth, which paralleled a small country, anyone under a billion-dollar net worth was poor.
“The house is perfect for us.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
Arlo tugged at his lapels, his jaw flexed. “You refuse to spend any of the money in your trust accounts, which leaves you with few choices.”
