“Can you do it at the castle so Jace and I can stand in one of the hidden rooms and watch?” He stops to look at me with disbelief before it gives way to a purely wicked lift of his lips.
“You’re on.”
“Jazzy! Come meet my sister,” Ash calls, waving his hand, so Shane and I continue up the slope toward the group. When we get there, I don’t even get a chance to say anything before Edie is throwing herself at me.
“Oh my god, Jacinta, you are super amazing! Thank you so much.”
Her slender arms come around me in a tight hug. She’s a petite little thing, maybe even slightly underweight for her age, with a mass of long, curly black hair. When she pulls away, I get a good look at her. She’s the female version of Ash, all aristocratic bone structure and plump lips with the same warm, whiskey brown eyes.
“Oh, aren’t you gorgeous?” Alex takes her from my arms and twirls her around like a ballerina. “You are going to be leaving a trail of broken hearts in your wake. You better lock this one up now, Ash. I think Jacinta’s got a room for her at the top of the castle in Romania that has bars on it.” Edie giggles with delight and pulls away to pinch him on the ass. Alex’s mouth purses with shock.
“Alex Winters, you are one of the sexiest men on the planet. Like you can talk. Maybe Shane should do the same thing as you!”
Riku raises an eyebrow. “You know who they are?”
Edie rolls her eyes in that way girls perfect once they hit their teen years. “Of course I do. I go to an all-girls boarding school. Fashion is a major topic. I also know that Jace is the next best thing in fashion design. No offense,” she says to me, looking a little guilty.
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. “None taken, it’s completely true.” The two of us giggle as Jace blushes and shuffles on the spot.
“And Ash introduced you to Riku and Cole?” I ask, and she fans her face dramatically.
“He sure did. I don’t know how you can stand to be surrounded by so much beefcake.” Those words in that posh English accent have us all laughing.
“Can you guys give us a moment?” he asks once we get our laughter under control. The rest of the guys leave, and Ash takes me by the hand. “How about we walk to the stables? There’s something Jazzy and I want to talk to you about.”
“What’s going to happen now, Ash? There’s no furniture left in the house. What happened to it all? Grandmother said to ask you and your… trollop.” She grimaces and looks guilty about parroting her grandmother, but I just shrug it off. “She’s really angry.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry because Ash saved the house. What do you say about helping me refurnish it?” Her eyes widen with surprise before she nods enthusiastically.
“Yes please, that would be awesome.”
We get to the stables. The door is hard to open since it doesn’t slide well, and when we get inside, Ash wrinkles his nose at the state of disrepair.
“What happened to Sammy?” he asks, and Edie frowns.
“Grandma got rid of Sammy last Christmas. Said with me in boarding school, there was no point in paying for a groom or to feed an animal that wasn’t being used.”
“Sammy was supposed to be going to school with you,” Ash counters.
“Grandmother pulled me out of riding lessons, so there was no need for him to be there.”
Ash growls, and I feel sorry for this poor girl. It seems like a lot of things went on that she didn’t share with her big brother.
“Why didn’t you tell him?” I ask her gently, and she shrugs.
“I didn’t want to be a burden to him. I’m young, but I’m not stupid. I know the reason he was never home is because Grandmother can be so terrible.”
“Oh, Edie.” Ash pulls his sister into a hug, looking guiltily over her shoulder at me. Then he pulls away and drags us over to a dusty pile of hay bales. “There are some things you should know. I don’t want to have any secrets or hide things from you anymore.” Edie takes a seat and puts her hands in her lap, waiting for him to continue. I sit down on one of the other bales, but Ash stays standing, pacing back and forth.
“Ash, just spit it out. I’m not a baby,” Edie demands, and when he looks at me, I nod. She’s old enough. Teenagers with access to the internet know a lot more than I did at their age.
“First things first, I have been appointed your guardian. Grandmother no longer has a say in what goes on with your life.”
“Oh thank goodness.” Tears shimmer in her eyes. “I overheard her talking about making me marry an old man, Ash!” He stops his pacing and sits down next to his sister, putting his arm around her.
“I never would have allowed it, even if I had to kidnap you. But yes, I knew about that. She’s been holding it over my head as a way to keep me from being honest about myself.”
She wipes away the stray tear that escaped and frowns at him. “What do you mean?”
