A pretty blonde walks in, and my eyes widen with familiarity. Shit.
Her eyes glow warmly when she sees me, not seeming the least bit surprised, and she hands me a margarita on the rocks—my favorite drink. It’s Helen—Uncle Mick’s personal assistant. What’s she doing here? Uncle Mick never goes anywhere without her.
Oh no…
“Ms. Brendon,” she says with a wink, smiling at me. Damn it. She must want a front row seat to the show.
“Oh, sorry, Helen, is it?” Jax says, tugging at my glass. “Bora prefers whiskey sours.”
No!
Helen stifles a grin when she sees my eyes widen. “Sorry, I had margaritas on hand. I can have you a whiskey sour in a moment.”
Her eyes sparkle with amusement, because she knows how much I hate that drink.
“No,” I quickly interject, shaking my head. “I’ll stick to the margaritas, since you have them on hand.”
I smile appreciatively as she walks off, and Mrs. Marshall eyes her drink speculatively.
“That’s odd. I’m having a sangria and so is Vivian. I wonder why she had margaritas.”
Thank you, Helen. I hate sangrias even more than whiskey sours.
“I don’t know, but a margarita sounds good. I think I’ll go trade my drink in,” Jax says, acting as though he’s going to stand and leave me alone with the trolls.
“I’ll do it,” I quickly interject, hoping to have a word with Helen.
His eyebrows shoot up in confusion. “You’re going to get me a drink?”
Yes, because I’m not a selfish brat like Bora. And I don’t want to be alone with your family.
“Sure. I’ll be back.”
I hop up and leave him confused as I make my way toward the kitchen. Helen is propped against the counter with a knowing grin when I walk in.
“That girl is exactly the same. Still has you doing all her dirty work. And those women are rather vicious, you gold digger.”
I start laughing, but I smother it quickly with my hand to keep them from overhearing. She snickers lightly while turning and pouring another margarita.
“How’d you know? And why are you here?” I whisper.
“Shanna called me. Said you were in her daddy’s house with a bunch of strangers, and then she filled me in on the details. I came down yesterday to make sure Mick didn’t have anything of irreplaceable value, just in case someone had sticky fingers, so I was still in my room. Thought you could use a hand, so I gave Sadie the time off and let your Uncle Mick know what was going on just before bringing you a drink.”
She chuckles lightly while handing me the new glass of margarita.
“Dad called Bora’s phone yesterday... Think he’s figured it out?”
“Probably. Go do what you will. I won’t judge. I’ll be here if you need me. I almost have the steaks ready.”
Helen practically raised Shanna, since her mother took off when she was little. Uncle Mick has kept Shanna as far away from cameras as possible, but he’s not the one everyone can’t get enough of, so it’s easier. Now Helen’s saving my ass the way she always has Shanna’s.
“Thanks, Helen. I really, really appreciate this.”
I give her a quick hug and feel peace when she returns the embrace. Having someone on my side will be helpful.
“Just some words of advice, kiddo. If you’re stuck with these people for three weeks, at least be you. It’d be exhausting to spend three weeks as Bora.”
I smirk when I hear Shanna’s words replaying. Nurture versus nature. Shanna isn’t her blood, but she learned a lot from her.