“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Danvers,” Ella said sweetly, though we all heard it for the lie it was. She had a death grip on my upper arm, nails damn near puncturing through my sport coat and shirt beneath, barely holding back from launching herself at him.
“How did you two meet?” Dad asked me, pointedly ignoring Ella.
She clearly didn’t like being dismissed like that, so before I could, she replied, “He works for my family’s winery.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a Delatou?”
My girl stuck her hand out. “Ella Delatou, at your service.”
Dad merely stared at her, trying to figure out how to use this knowledge to his advantage—or maybe just trying to figure out how to get rid of her.
“Your family has been so wonderful to Liam,” Mom said, saving Ella from the awkwardness of my dad ignoring her handshake. “We’re thrilled he found a home in Michigan, doing whathe loves.”
Dad snorted, but wisely kept his mouth shut.
Something in me eased then. My father would likely never approve of Ella—not the tattoos nor the purple hair—in the same way he never approved of me. But my mother loved her, and as long as Gramps did as well, I was set.
The rest of my family could get fucked, my baby brother most of all.
And as if I’d summoned him, there was a commotion at the door as Sammy and his bride, Char, appeared. A thundering applause went up from their gathered guests, each of them preening under the attention.
God, they truly were a match made in hell. I was more thankful than ever that I lived on the other side of the country.
My brother and I looked so little alike it was a wonder we were born of the same two parents. I heavily favored my mother’s side of the family with my dark hair, height, and broad build, though Mom was the exception to the rule as far as size went. Sammy, on the other hand, took after Dad. He was several inches shorter than me, not even six foot, fair-haired and skinned, and more delicately built. He was what I’d call a pretty boy.
I watched him offer his too-white smile to everyone he passed, shaking hands, leaving his bride in his dust as he practically beelined for our little grouping once he set eyes on me.
“Well, well, well,” he said when he reached us. “The prodigal son has returned.”
“I don’t think you know what that term actually means, Sammy.”
My brother stiffened. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why not?”
Sam straightened, spine going ramrod as he attempted to level me with a glare. His shoulders drew back, chin raised, eyes narrowed. “My name isSamuel. I’m no longer that stupid little boy who used to idolize you even when you made my life a living hell,” he spat.
I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. “If that’s the way you remember our childhood, you’re even more brainwashed than I thought.”
“Just becauseyoupissed on tradition—” my little brother hissed, but Dad put a hand on his chest, stalling him.
“Fight nice, boys. There are too many eyes on us.”
“And all you’ve ever cared about is your image,” I gritted through the fakest smile I could manage.
Ella hovered nearby, pulled into conversation with my mom, and I was grateful for it. Grateful she was missing this trainwreck, that someone who genuinely cared about me was welcoming her into the fold.
I was tall enough that I could see over practically every head in the room, my gaze swiveling around as I searched for a way out, and I knew it the moment Mellie appeared.
Bracing myself, I waited for the gut punch.
It never came.
I grinned, ignoring whatever my dad and Sammy were saying in favor of returning to Ella’s side. Having her tucked against me, I could fully relax—into the knowledge that I was fully over Mellie, that I was fully wrapped around Ella’s little finger, thatthiswas the love I was meant to find and keep forever.
Without breaking her stride in conversation with my mom,Ella only shot me a quick wink and snuggled deeper into me.
Mellie must’ve been scanning the crowd for me, because when I looked up to track her progress, I was unsurprised to find her coming toward me, a wide, excited grin on her face. When she reached us, she gave my parents kisses on their cheeks, said a polite hello to Sammy, then whirled on me.
