“Cousins?”
“None you want nor does Sire know of.”
“Hmm…”
Her brother joins us on the couch, and I make sure to keep my gaze off of him, and Lisette continues to fuck with him. “My dear brother.”
“Leave me alone.”
I bite back a smile, and I’m so glad Lisette doesn’t leave him alone.
“Would you rather I sleep with someone you hate or one of your close friends?”
“I would rather you sew your lips together.”
“Close friend it is; who are your best friends?”
“August.”
Lisette is quiet for a second, and when I look down at her, she’s staring at Sire like he’s speaking a foreign language. “Besides him– ew!”
Sire breaks into a laugh, and I glance over at August for his reaction, but he’s rubbing his girlfriend’s feet and staring at her with a smile as she scrolls through her phone mindlessly.
Sage voices that she wants water and I pull her back onto the couch before kissing her cheek and getting up to get it for her.
I walk into the kitchen but stop short as I walk past Vidia. “Can I grab a water bottle for Sage?”
“Yeah, go ahead.” She shuts the oven, and I turn for the fridge. When I grab a bottle, I turn and stop in my tracks as I watch Sage’s smile. She sits next to Hazel now, and when Hazel turns her phone off, August smiles as his girlfriend entertains whatever Sage goes on about.
“You two are cute.”
I glance over at Vidia, and she’s watching me with a small smile. “You can’t take your eyes off of her. It’s cute.” She shrugs before heading to the table with a few plates, but I decide to follow after her.
“How come you’re being so nice?” I grab some of the plates from her stack and mindlessly help her make the table because my mom’s voice is ringing in my head, and I feel like a shitty guest for not doing something.
Vidia didn’t talk to me much in Italy and was glued to Hazel or Sire’s side, but now she’s telling Sire to be nice to me, and I’m confused as to why she cares.
“Well, you’re a guest in my home. It’ll be rude to treat you like shit.”
“Your boyfriend should take notes.”
She laughs softly, and when she looks into the living room, I think her eyes sparkle when she looks at Sire. “Sage was so stressed about her brothers hating you.” She shrugs. “I know what it’s like having the people you love hate your person. It gets exhausting, and I don’t want that for her, so if she wants to be with you, I’ll keep Sire in line.”
I study her for a beat, and I have no clue who didn’t want her to be with Sire since everyone is obsessed with them. Paparazzi and fans have been constantly sneaking pictures of them ever since they were spotted at some lantern festival, and I don’t follow either of them on social media, but I still seem to scroll across a picture of them.
“Thanks.”
She laughs, and out of the corner of my eye, I notice Sire turning to look at her from across the room.
“I did it for Sage, not you.”
“Yeah… thanks.”
Before she can respond, her boyfriend is by her side. He kisses her temple before wrapping an arm around her waist and taking a step away from me. “I said I can make the table.”
“It’s fine, Liam already helped.” She brushes him off like it really was no big deal since itwasn’tbut Sire sends me a glare.“Oh my God, do you want to remake the table, mi amor? I’m sure you could do it better than him.”
Sire smiles down at her before squinting his eyes. “Smart ass.”
