Carol sighed. “Give him some time and grace to adjust. He was in love with Chiara, and their breakup put him in a funk for a long time.”
I squirmed uncomfortably and dropped her gaze. His family was just as much mine, and the idea of losing them because of the rift between Ellis and I was too terrible to consider.
Flynn stiffened beside me, and when I glanced up at him, I saw the way his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed. “Ellis doesn’t have a right to be so upset. Besides, he moved on with Chiara’s best friend, and she accepted their relationship with grace. I don’t think it’s too much to ask he do the same for us.”
“Just…” Trevor hesitated. “It’s his wedding weekend. Let’s try to keep the drama to a minimum?”
Flynn nodded, and I smiled reassuringly. I’d keep the drama down if he did.
As if speaking of him summoned him, Ellis stepped into the lobby then and his eyes locked on Flynn almost immediately. The venom in his eyes took me aback, and I frowned. I knew things between them had always been contentious, and something had happened a few years back to cause a giant rift, but I had no idea he still held onto such animosity.
Flynn’s grip on my hand tightened, and I knew he had not been looking forward to this confrontation. Sneaking a peek at him, I found his face a mask of indifference. Anything he felt was firmly locked away, and I wondered if he felt as strongly about Ellis. Sofia took her fiancé’s hand as they both made their way over to us, and her nerves were there clear as day. She wanted Flynn and I together, and she loved him like a brother, but I knew she was in a tough spot due to Ellis’s feelings toward Flynn.
“Flynn,” Ellis greeted stiffly as they stopped in front of us.
“Ellis,” Flynn responded shortly. Both men continued to eye the other for several seconds before Flynn sighed and held out his hand. “Congratulations, man. I’m happy for the two of you.”
It took several seconds, but Ellis finally gripped his hand and nodded. “Thanks.”
They dropped the handshake, and we all looked between them, waiting. My gaze fell to Sofia and her eyes widened and she shrugged.
“Uh… should we maybe… go in for dinner?” I asked awkwardly when no one spoke.
“That sounds great. I’m starving,” Trevor agreed, smiling gratefully at me.
Ellis and Sofia turned to follow Trevor and Carol toward the restaurant, and I looked up at Flynn, giving him a moment to breathe.
“You good?” I asked, tugging on his hand when he watched Ellis’s fading figure.
He turned his attention to me, and I watched the tension ease from his shoulders, and the shadows in his eyes dissipated. “I am now, Angel. Let’s go get you fed.”
Ignoring the way the nickname sent butterflies loose in my stomach, I nodded and let him lead us into the restaurant. Tonight was going to be… interesting.
Chapter Five
Flynn
Dinner was awkward.
Kate—her other Bridesmaid—Sophia’s parents and grandparents, along with Ellis’s parents, groomsmen and best man, joined us.
The food was awesome and the atmosphere nice without being stuffy.
I didn’t miss the way Uncle Trevor and Aunt Carol sat between the happy couple and us, or the way they kept conversation on the wedding instead of delving into the past or focusing on me. Not that I minded all that much. I didn’t particularly want to hear Ellis’s opinion on my life or my choices, and he never was one to remain silent when he had an opinion.
Sofia was beaming, happy to be talking about her future with her fiancé, and I had to admit, the wedding glow looked good on her.
I’d met Sofia the same time I’d met Chiara, and she’d been so sure of herself and what she wanted. Chiara seemed more than happy to just be with her friend and do whatevershewanted to do, that I’d given Sofia the nickname,Princess.At first, I’d meant it as a snide insult, and she’d taken it that way. Our first few weeks had been tense, but back then, I hadn’twantedto be around people or be forced to make friends. I was full of pain and loss, and I wanted to lash out, so everyone felt as miserable as I did.
But she’d grown on me. After a while, it was as if a flip had switched in her head, and she’d decided she was going to meetme head on until she came out the victor. She rose to my sharp remarks and gave back as good as she got until one day we ended up shouting insults at each other that turned so ridiculous that she burst out laughing and I had to duck my head to bite back a grin.
Chiara had of course been there that afternoon and simply sat there shaking her head at the two of us, relieved that we finally found common ground. She hadn’t bothered to stop either of us, apparently knowing her friend well enough to know it would be useless. Since then, whenever I called Sophia Princess, it was without the underlying snark, and she’d grown to love it.
The sound of Chiara’s soft laughter drew me back to the present and I turned my head to see her smiling at Aunt Carol. Her gray eyes flashed with warmth when they flicked to me. I didn’t miss the way her breath hitched or the way her eyes dropped to my mouth when I smirked.
Foxy didn’t approve of sex on the job, but she wasn’t necessarily against it either. She just didn’t want to know if it happened. Knowing this didnothingto help me now, becausegoddamn…
I didn’t think seeing Chiara after all these years would affect me so strongly, but the woman she’d grown to be was nothing short of fuckingstunning.It wasn’t just her looks—which were incredible to say the least—butwhoshe was.She was all gentle sunshine still, with a slightly more confident way about her, but she was still all light and purity. She had a gentleness and a calmness about her that suggested she was untouched by the true evils of the world. Instead of being resentful of her or disgusted that she could remain so untouched, I was eager to protect that streak of rare innocence. This was a real headfuck because I also wanted nothing more than to fling her over my shoulder and take her hard and fast in some dark corner of the restaurant and hear her cry my name on a throaty moan. My appetite in the bedroom leaned toward the darker, domineeringside of things, and I had a list of things I wanted to do with her. I wanted to tarnish her, dirty her. I had this growing need to ruin her for all other men and have her hooked on me. A million dirty, sinful things I wanted to do to her flooded my mind, and for a moment, I was paralyzed.
