I am going to miss this when the years is out. I will be running a company; Jacob will be helping run his section of the Bratva and then there’s Daylan. Back in Italy, working for his family and getting married.
He isn’t engaged. Well not yet I don’t think. But his family are big on arranged marriages still and his mother keeps flying in with prospect after prospect for him to choose from. He seems to want to choose a bride almost as much as choosing which way he would prefer to die.
“Back to the fundraiser,” Jacob sits forward. “Is Piper coming?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. You know how nervous she still is,”
“I’ll ask her if she would feel comfortable coming with me and I can be by her side all night,” Jacob nods as if it is a done deal.
“You sure?” My eyebrows raise. “You want to be attached at the hip with Pip, instead of getting drunk and hitting on Stacey?” I smirk.
His eyes narrow again. “Stacey and I are over,”
“Yeah sure,” I chuckle. “That’s what you said the last time,”
“And the time before that,” Daylan inputs.
“Yeah well, that’s over for good this time. Plus, spending time with your sister isn’t that bad,”
Now it is my eyes narrowing on my best friend. “Hmm, I guess,” Jacob has been in our lives since we were babies, our mothers were best friends when they attended Marrowton Academy and like they hoped, we are just as close. That includes Piper.
Jacob and Piper have always had this deeper connection, a one that I cannot understand. Even when they were younger, it was like watching a well-rehearsed dance between them, a dance no one else knew the steps to.
If she moved, he did.
If he moved, she did.
Their attention always found each other, no matter who else was in the room.
It has never been romantic between them and that is why I have never worried about my best friend spending so much time with my little sister. Plus, he has always had the attention of other girls in the Academy, attention Piper hasn’t seemed to be bothered about at all.
But since last term things have felt a little different. He hasn’t bothered with any other girls, yet has found every excuse to be around Piper, and the look in his eye doesn’t scream brotherly protection like it used to.
If I had the time or the extra energy to figure out what was going on between them, I would. Unfortunately for me, I now have to add to my plate and go ask Darcy to the fundraiser.
Fuck.
“Darcy is on her way over,” Daylan warns before I feel a perfectly manicured hand run up my shoulder, and into my hair at the top of myneck. Instead of a shiver of pleasure like when Ruella did it, I shiver with disgust.
It doesn’t feel right.
It’s not her.
I shake it off and paste on my mask, before turning to the person I have a very real fear of being tethered to for the rest of my life.
“Darcy”.
SEVENTEEN
RUELLA
“So, what’s this about you having dinner with Max?” Corden smiles before shoving a spoon full of rice into his mouth.
I roll my eyes.
“Well, if someone hadn’t cancelled on me…again. Then I wouldn’t have had to have dinner with him at all,” I lie. I had every intention of eating with Max for information, regardless of Corden. If he didn’t cancel on me first, I would have on him.
He mock gasps and puts his hand on his chest. “So, because I had an assignment due, you replaced me?” I take a sip of my water as I hold back my smile. I shouldn’t be enjoying this so much, I should be making other friends to try and get information. Corden and Deena don’t know anything, and yet I am still spending my time with them. If my father found out I was spending valuable time making real friends for nothing but companionship he would probably break my wrist.
