The first time he called me “sis,” I think it just sort of slipped out by accident. It was about a year ago now, and as soon as he said the word, a flush crept up his cheeks and he got all flustered. Now it rolls off his tongue without a second thought.
We’ve taken a long road to get here, but it was worth the effort. Worth the stops and starts, the awkwardness and hard conversations.
I grin at him. “Hey. I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“We had to meet with a real estate agent who’s been laundering money for us. Guy was getting skittish,” Marcus explains, accepting Cassy as Theo turns her over so she can greet him too. “Since Caleb’s been helping handle those negotiations, I figured he should come a
long too.”
“How’d it go?” I ask, my expression turning serious.
The first year after Luca’s death was one of a lot of sleepless nights and long days, as the men and I, along with Caleb and Victoria, worked hard to solidify our grasp on the city. Things have been pretty calm since then, all things considered. Having power spread out helps keep people lower on the food chain from getting too antsy, and we haven’t had any big disturbances in the last couple years.
“Fine. We renegotiated the terms, and we’ll have to keep an eye on him to make sure he holds up his end of the deal, but we shouldn’t have any more problems.”
Marcus’s voice is confident and easy, and he grins at our daughter as he speaks. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the two parts of my life can co-exist so naturally, but they do. Although domestic bliss and criminal activity seem like diametric opposites, somehow it all comes together in a way that just works.
Cassy starts repeating the story Ryland was telling her earlier, eager to fill Theo and Marcus in on all the details. My husbands listen intently as they move deeper into the house, heading toward the kitchen.
I hang back, glancing at Caleb. “You want to stay for dinner? It’s been a couple weeks.”
He grimaces, and I think I detect a slight flush in his cheeks. “Can’t tonight. Maybe next week though?”
“Yeah, sure.” I narrow my eyes a little. “Why not tonight?”
His mouth drops open partway, then he closes it, pursing his lips against a smile. “Damn. You’ve really got this big sister thing down now, don’t you?”
“That’s not an answer,” I remind him dryly.
He sighs, puffing out his cheeks slightly. “Fine. I’ve got… a date tonight.”
My eyebrows shoot up. We only started talking about this kind of stuff within the past year or two, as we’ve slowly reconnected and gotten closer. But even before that, I’m pretty sure I would’ve known if he was dating someone, and he hasn’t for a long time.
All that shit with his adoptive parents made him distrustful of people for a long time. Understandably, really. They lied to him for pretty much his entire life, using him as a pawn instead of loving and protecting him the way parents should do.
Now that I have a kid of my own, I actually hate them more for what they did. Now that I know what it feels like to have my heart outside of my body, to be willing to do anything to protect my baby girl, I cannot fathom the decision any of these men’s parents—real or adoptive—made to subject them to the ruthless, chaotic violence of Luca’s game.
“Who is she?” I prompt, curiosity rising inside me.
There’s a protective instinct too. I wouldn’t hesitate to beat a bitch down if she hurt my brother. But after keeping his heart locked up for so long, I’m glad to see Caleb is getting out there. And if the blush on his cheeks is any indication, he actually really likes this woman.
“We met at Gravity,” he tells me. “She came in with a friend but spent the whole evening at the bar with me.”
Gravity is a nightclub he bought a few years ago. It’s become a useful front and base of operations, and the thing he’s poured most of his time into. Sometimes I’ve wondered if the reason he keeps himself so busy with work and so closed off from new relationships is because he’s still trying to do penance for the shit he did in what feels like another lifetime now.
If that’s the case, I hope this is a sign that he’s finally starting to forgive himself.
I forgave him a long time ago. I’ve held onto a lot of grudges in my life, but that was one that didn’t feel worth clinging to. And I knew there would never be a chance in hell my men would forgive Caleb if I didn’t, so I had good reason to try.
“Name?” I prompt. I know I won’t get too much more out of him, at least not until they’ve had their first date. But he better at least give me that.
He hesitates for a fraction of a second before he gives in. “Ariel.”
I chuckle. “You’re dating a Disney princess.”
“Nah.” He shakes his head, smiling too. His eyes go a little unfocused, like he’s summoning up a memory of her in his mind. “She’s no princess.”
I laugh outright at that. Of course my brother wouldn’t go for a princess. We may all be the de facto rulers of Halston, but none of us are royalty. We’re not kings or queens, princes or princesses.