“I don’t think you’ll like Elliot, and I don’t want to waste our time with people you may not like that much.”
My lips part. “Why would you think that?” Then I tilt my head. “Are you worried that Elliot might not like me?”
He snorts. “He will like you because I chose you and I love you. There won’t be any other option for him.”
I grin. “So by that logic, I have to like him too.”
“No. That’s not how it works with you. You already don’t like Blake.” He laughs harshly. “Who am I kidding? You probably can’t stand the guy, not that I blame you. He can be…insensitive.” His expression turns serious. “You chose me despite all the odds, but I’m aware that my relationship with you can be made difficult if none of my family manages to endear themselves to you. I just thought…it’d be nice to have someone who everyone likes there to smooth things a bit.”
“You mean Elizabeth.”
“Yes.
I can’t help but fall a little bit more in love with this man, which is insane because I thought there was no way I could love him more. I can’t believe he’s worried about how I’m going to feel about his family. “Just like they’ll have to like me, I’ll do my best to like them because they’re your family and I know they matter to you.”
He shakes his head. “You aren’t going to do anything you don’t want to. You’re my priority, Ava, not anyone else.”
I press a kiss on each of his cheeks, then his mouth. Does he have any idea how much his regard means to me, how sweetly he wrecks me? I’m more determined than ever to get along with his siblings. Unless I misunderstood Elizabeth at the hospital, he already doesn’t talk or otherwise communicate with his parents. Losing contact with his brothers and sister would be too cruel.
The car stops in front of a high-rise, and we make our way inside. The building is astonishingly swanky—more luxurious than the one that houses the condo Lucas and I saw earlier. Not that the place we’re moving into is shabby. It’s just that Elliot’s building is like a palace, except constructed with modern sensibilities.
When we step out of the elevator, Lucas squeezes my hand. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” I smile even though nerves are jittering through me. I’m sure that Elliot will probably behave—I can’t imagine anybody being more appalling than Blake—but I really want him to like me…just a little bit…and hopefully be nothing like their oldest brother.
Elliot’s penthouse is breathtaking—ultramodern and ultra-expensive. A view of nighttime L.A. glitters on the other side of floor-to-ceiling windows, and a beautiful, contemporary staircase leads to a second level. The furnishings are opulent and quite masculine in taste. It’s obvious that his wife hasn’t had a chance to change the décor at all.
“Finally! You made it.” A man who looks just like Lucas comes out. Unlike the love of my life, his hair is short, cropped to show off his unscarred and handsome face. But even so, I feel no spark, no stirring. What I feel for Lucas isn’t about his appearance. It’s about his soul, what’s in his heart.
Elliot is dressed somewhat casually in a well-fitted V-neck shirt in sleet gray, and slacks as black as ink. His ebony leather shoes are shiny, looking like they’ve been freshly polished.
“Perfect timing,” comes a soft, feminine voice. Heels clicking, a pretty redhead walks toward us, her designer yellow dress showing off her lovely curves.
Lucas makes introductions. I shake hands with Elliot and his wife Belle. Their smiles seem genuine, and I start to unbend. “And Nonny is Belle’s sister, but I’m not sure where she is,” Lucas says.
Elliot cocks an eyebrow at Belle. “Finishing up her homework, I think,” she says.
“Are you sure? She’s not obsessively checking her messages again to see if that boy texted her back?”
Belle rolls her eyes. “Let her be. It’s her first real crush.”
“Ugh.” Elliot makes a face. “I’m going to have to find out who this boy is and have a firm conversation with him about treating women right. Well…one of them, anyway.”
“That’s rich, coming from you,” Lucas says, putting an arm around me and pulling me closer. “So is the food here yet?”
“We ordered about ten minutes ago.” Belle gestures to the open space behind her. “I prepared some cheese and crackers and decanted a bottle of wine. Why don’t we have a drink before the food arrives?”
Ever the gracious hostess, she leads us to the low coffee table in the living room. I’m surprised at how much I like her. Given what the tabloids said, I thought she’d be slightly…mercenary or something. I don’t think she’s soft the way Elizabeth is, having grown up in the lap of luxury, but Belle is definitely the kind of woman I would love to befriend.
“By the way, love your dress.” Belle smiles. “I wish I could wear red, but it’s really hard with, you know, the hair.”
“Well, who needs a red outfit when they have hair as stunning as yours?”
Belle flushes, and I know then we’ve taken the first step toward forming a friendship, and that more than anything else helps me relax—because she’s my second ally in Lucas’s family.
“Did you find anything you like?” Elliot asks as we sit around the table.
“I’m sorry?”