“You know it,” I murmur back.
But it’s not true.
She’s the dangerous one. Robin Rivers, with her soft smiles and stubborn kindness and the way she makes me want things I can’t have.
We disentangle, tidy up, and I even change outfits, giving up on my creased jacket, but then we remain curled against each other in the seat as the plane hums softly around us. Robin’s weight is a comfortable warmth against me, her breathing graduallyevening out. For a few brief minutes, the world beyond the cabin feels like it doesn’t exist.
And I can pretend that the journey is all there is. No destination. Just being here with her, forever.
But nothing lasts forever. Eventually, we’re disturbed by a steward bringing food, then by Leon, who wants to talk about security protocols, and at last by the pilot, who announces over the speakers that Las Vegas is in sight, and that we will begin our descent soon.
It’s time for me to meet Robin’s family.
Chapter 20
Robin
The car pulls up to the hotel, and through the tinted windows I can already see them waiting in the lobby. My heart leaps into my throat.
“Maisie!” I barely wait for the car to stop before I’m throwing open the door, even though I get a scowl from Leon for not waiting for his escort.
My little sister spots me first through the glass and bolts across the floor, her sneakers squeaking against the marble surface. I drop my bag and scoop her into my arms, too used to hugging her carefully even as she squeals with delight.
“You’re really here!” Maisie cries, wrapping her arms around my neck so tight I can barely breathe. “Adrian said you were coming but I didn’t believe him because you’ve been gone forever and?—”
“I’m here, baby girl,” I laugh, my heart full of joy. I didn’t realize how much I really did need this—how much I neededthem. “I’m really here.”
“Aw, come on, you’ve only been gone, like, three weeks,” Dane says, trying to play it cool but failing miserably as he grins and pulls me into a fierce hug. “Missed you, sis.”
“Missed you too.” I have to blink back tears as Alicia and Adrian pile in for a group hug that nearly knocks me over.
For a moment, I forget everything else. Forget the castle and the complications and the beautiful, capricious woman who brought me here. There’s onlythis—my family, whole and healthy and here.
Then I do remember Eva.
I turn to find her standing a few feet away, watching the reunion with an expression I can’t quite read. She’s dressed as impeccably as always in a charcoal blazer and tailored pants that she changed into on the plane after our encounter. Every line is perfect. But something about her posture speaks of uncertainty, like she’s not sure if she belongs in this moment.
Shedoesn’tbelong here. But she came here anyway.
The thought makes my heart do something complicated in my chest.
“Everyone,” I say, keeping one arm around Maisie, “I’d like you to meet Eva.”
Eva steps forward with that practiced smile I’ve seen her use in business meetings. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
Maisie stares up at her with wide eyes. “I met you already. You’re really pretty. Why are you here?”
Heat floods my cheeks. “Maisie?—”
“Thank you,” Eva says smoothly, unfazed. “You’re very pretty, too.”
Maisie beams, won over instantly. But I catch the way Eva’s smile softens slightly, becoming more genuine.
“Okay,” she says quickly before anyone can ask more probing questions, “who’s hungry? Because I’m thinking steakhouse.”
We pile back into one of Eva’s enormous, armed cars—Leon driving, while I try to persuade the kids to bring it down a few hundred decibels while we’re inside—and head to the kind of classic Vegas steakhouse I could never afford before. The kind with red leather booths and dim lighting that makes everything feel like a movie.
We’re seated at a large round table that somehow accommodates all of us. Eva and Leon sit slightly apart from the kids and me, their mafia-queen-and-bodyguard energy making them seem out of place among the family chaos. I catch Eva watching them carefully, something almost wistful in her expression.
