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Ariel pats Carra’s shoulder. “Guess what, hun? We’re gonna have a great big kitchen, I bet. We can bake any time of day or night. Because I know Kieran here will be happy to have anything your pretty little fingers whip up.”
I relax enough to laugh. “I’ll be looking forward to that. Only, I need to stay in fighting shape. You can’t be making me fat.”
Carra’s eyes slide down my body. “That would be a tragedy. I’ll make sure to hide the cookies from you.”
I chuckle darkly. “I’ve got a sweet tooth, luv. I like juicy treats.”
Her face starts to blaze hotly.Uh-hm.She clears her throat loudly which makes me laugh more.
Ariel smacks my shoulder. “You two! Don’t be talking about sex. I’m solo because men suck.”
I growl and give her a look, and she amends her words. “Most men suck. Anyway, Declan’s storing my belongings until I move into this new house including my... um... toys.”
The picture of Declan with a box of pink silicone toys in his den makes me chuckle loudly. “He is?”
Carra slides on her sunglasses, leans her head back, and chuckles. “He doesn’t know he is. Ariel’s got somepersonal-personal items in one of her boxes at his house.”
I reach for my phone, joking, “I can get Declan to bring them over. Wouldn’t want you to suffer through a dry spell.”
Both of them swat me this time, and yell, “No!”
Less than ten minutes later, we pull up to an ornate copper-clad gate at number four Wellsworth Street.
The entrance alone is an impressive sight.
It’s still hard to believe my first house—ourfirst house—is a fucking mansion.
The driver of the first SUV in our procession enters the access code on the console next to the guard shack. When the gate smoothly rolls open, we all glide through.
A long driveway rises up ahead. Trees, barely green with buds, hang over the smooth pavement. In the distance, the inky roof of our new home reaches into the bright blue sky.
Beside me, Carra makes a little gasping sound. “Oh god. This?!? This is NOT a house. This is a resort.”
“Pretty sick, huh?”
“You think?” she chokes out.
Ariel’s stretching her neck between the seats trying to see. She shoves me. “Wow. Homeboy did good.”
When we come to a stop, we’re in a circular drive, parked in front of a grand staircase surrounded by two big fountains. “It’s named Dreamcatcher Manor.”
Sturdy white columns brace the front of the gigantic brick home, climbing four stories into the sky. The house goes on for as far as you can see to the left and the right. Rows of windows, dormers, and balconies artfully cover the front.
Carra’s smiling now, and I’m hard pressed to keep my face neutral. “It’s beautiful in the summer. The photos the realtor shared are stunning. Those beds are full of flowers, roses, every color in the rainbow.”
“It’s beautiful now,” Carra says breathily. “I can’t trust my eyes that this is real.”
Ariel’s stunned speechless. I punch her lightly in the arm. “Got nothing to say?”
She grins slowly. “I’ve got plenty to say. First, when you said a house... I thought you meant a house.”
“I wanted something big. Private. Secure, with room for—”
Fuck. I almost said a big family.
I glue my mouth shut, hop out, open Carra’s door, and take her hand. As we walk toward the stairs, a sleek gray Ferrari pulls into the driveway behind us. The throaty roar unmistakable.
Max’s men draw their guns.
