Her dad chimes in before Mom can reply, his voice proud and soft. “And we’re very proud of you, honey.” He looks at me continuing, “Her mother, my late wife Andrea, passed away when Penelope was only nine. It’s been her dream to help kids navigate loss ever since—to make sure they have someone who loves and cares for them.”
That lands. Even I feel it.
“That’s amazing,” I say before I can stop myself. And I mean it. She looks up at me then—really looks—and for a second, the air between us hums again. Like that night at the club, when everything blurred into want and sin and nothing else mattered.
I look away, push the food around my plate to keep my hands busy.
Because the truth? I wish I had the kind of conviction she does. I’m not in computer science because I love it. I’m there because it’s safe. Because it makes my mom happy. Because she told me I owed her after she spent “an arm and a leg” shipping me off to boarding school.
“Your selfish behavior has consequences, Talon,” she’d said back then.
She wasn’t wrong. But damn if she ever let me forget it.
I want to design mobile apps—real ones, useful ones, maybe even something for kids like Minxy to make learning less of a chore. But that’s not an option, not if I want to prove I’m “responsible enough” to see my sister whenever I want.
So yeah. I do what I’m told. Smile, behave, study code, and play the role.
But across the table, Penelope sits there like every contradiction I shouldn’t want.
And Chad? He has no clue. Not about me. Not about his daughter. Definitely not about what she does on weekends behind closed doors at Velvet House.
For a second, the thought flickers—tell him. Watching the whole perfect thing she’s built come crashing down. I could. One sentence, and she’d crumble.
But where’s the fun in that?
No, this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.
I lean back in my chair, watch her laugh at something her dad says, and think about the way she looked when she said no to me after class. The way she meant it.
A better man would walk away.
I’m not that man.
Maybe I’ll use what I know. Maybe I’ll push until she stops pretending she doesn’t want to see me again.
She’ll cave.
They always do.
Chapter Nine
PENELOPE
I excusemyself from the table, mumbling something about needing the bathroom. The words come out smoothly, but my pulse isn’t. Every step down the hallway feels louder than it should. The laughter from the dining room fades behind me—Abi’s bright and practiced, my dad’s tired and trying—and all I can think about is the way Talon’s gaze felt on my skin.
I don’t even make it to the bathroom before I feel him behind me. His footsteps are quiet, but I know it’s him.
I turn fast and shove him into the den. The door clicks shut behind us. The room smells faintly of lemons and wood polish. “What are you playing at?”
He leans against the counter, all calm swagger, arms crossed like he’s been waiting for me to ask. “Me?” His voice dips into that lazy drawl, and I hate that I like it. “Nothing, baby. Just meeting my new family.” His grin spreads slowly. “Funny, though I know something Daddy doesn’t, huh?”
My throat tightens. “You wouldn’t.”
He tips his head, pretending to think. “I could,” he says softly. “And I might—unless you’re free tomorrow night.”
“You’re unbelievable.” I step closer, whispering hard. “This ends now, Talon. You’re my student. And now, apparently, we’re going to be step-siblings.”
“Not yet.” He shrugs. “Right now, I’m just a well-kept secret.”
