I snatched the papers from his hand. It was a property deed, and it did have Elaine and John Shields listed as the property owners. She thrust another piece of paper at me, which was a Writ of Possession.
“You may have been able to keep us from visiting her in the hospital, but you will not keep us out of our own home.She’s been out of the home for more than sixty days. I filed for eviction,” Mrs. Shields stated.
“You knew that she was in the hospital under a doctor’s care. You couldn’t let her get out of the hospital and get home settled first before you broke out the talons?”
“Deuce, can they do this?” Sevyn asked from behind me. There was a hitch in her voice, and she sounded so broken.
“Yes, Sevyn,” I responded just as brokenly. “We could hire lawyers and fight it in court because of your medical condition, but it will take time. It won’t happen overnight.”
“Interesting.”
I turned around from the counter I stood at and saw my fiancé’s brother. He held a bottle of champagne in his hand, and his tie was loosened. My fiancé, Ethan, and his brother, Liam, were very handsome and looked almost exactly alike, but Liam was a couple inches taller than Ethan. They both looked like their father. Their youngest brother, Kyle, looked like their mom.
I had escaped the crowd in the living room to be alone with my thoughts for a few minutes. I sipped my champagne as I stared out of the kitchen window.
“What’s that?” I asked, surprised that he was speaking to me. He didn’t seem to care for me by the judgmental glances he had given me since meeting me.
“I didn’t take you for the type my brother would be interested in.”
“Why is that?”
He walked further into the kitchen with his hands tucked in the pocket of his slacks, and his eyes never wavered from me.
“He usually goes for the bougie, black Barbie type. You’re nothing like that. With your blonde hair, thick curves, and sassy attitude, I can see how he might find you appealing though. It would be hard for a man to resist a woman like you, even if you don’t fit into the carefully thought-out plans for his life.”
“Although you seem to be throwing shade, I’ll choose to take it for the compliment that it is. One thing about me is that I’m not fake, and I’m not delusional. I know who I am, and I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not. Matter of fact, I love me.”
His eyes narrowed, and a slick smile appeared on his lips. “As you should. I respect that.”
“Good.” I turned back to the counter, and he came and positioned himself beside me.
“What is it that you see in my brother?”
I turned my glass up and finished the last of my champagne in one gulp before I set the glass in the sink. “Is there something that I can help you with?”
“I’m just trying to get to know my future sister-in-law better. Can I help it if I’m intrigued?” Liam asked, scoping me out slowly from head to toe. I didn’t like the way his eyes lingered on my breasts, hips, and thighs.
“Would your wife approve of you getting to know me better or being intrigued?”
“My wife and I have an understanding.”
“Well, your brother and I don’t.”
He chuckled and pulled the glass out of the sink, turned the water on, and rinsed the glass. He poured a healthy amount of champagne into the glass and handed it to me. I held it up and stared at the glass before I looked at him.
“What’s this for?”
“A toast. To the growth of our family.”
I stared at him for several long seconds before I finally held my glass up. He tapped the bottle against my glass, creating a loud clinking sound that had me pulling my glass back quickly in fear that it might shatter.
I sipped my champagne, and Liam pulled the bottle to his lips and took a long, healthy swallow. He trawled his gaze down my body as he drank. When he pulled the bottle back from his lips, he winked. A bead of champagne rested in the groove of his full bottom lip.
“My mother is worried about you.”
“Why?”
“She thinks you’re trying to get your hands on the family fortune.”
