I quickly shoot a look at Tessa. Between the doting parents (who will do anything Remy says) and my younger brothers (who could scale walls in their sleep), she’s the only one who will align with me on the ludicrous nature of this.
She rolls her eyes and pulls Pixy Stix out of her pocket. She’s bribing the little guy with candy. Zara catches the meaning and snickers behind me.
Maddox proudly announces, “No one messes with my Nightmare,” as the music stalls, and he pitches the next challenge. “A song with a girl’s name in it, Rem. Twenty seconds.”
Remy scans the selections, and when he presses a number, the first notes of “Come on Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners resound. Everyone cheers, and his whole face brightens.
This is an opportunity for Remy to show off what he’s learned in Uncle Maddox’s music education class. Homeschooling is truly a family affair.
Thrilled he’s still in charge, Remy starts shouting instructions at everyone.
“Walk on your hands to the kitchen table, Blue. Only on furniture.”
Blueis what he calls Jax most of the time.
“Love seat, Daddy. Couch, Uncle Cash. Dance on the coffee table, Uncle Maddox. ’Clining chair, Uncle Axel. Mama and Aunt Tessa can stay.” He clearly has everyone’s strengths down—a Noire through and through.
“Circus Girl”—he pauses, deciding whether that’s adequate for Zara—“come to the jukebox with me.”
Smart kid.
“You got it, Music Man,” Zara chirps, and Remy beams from her attention.
Ryker guffaws when he passes me, aware I’m being upstaged by his son. “You can’t trust any man in this family with her.”
The room is in a frenzy of commotion as we all switch spots and settle in. Zara hops from couch to coffee table to chair to sideboard until she reaches her destination, where she perches atop the jukebox, cheeks pink, her entire being aglow and utterly comfortable to be using her ninja skills for an unorthodox kindergarten game.
My lungs empty. I wasn’t prepared for what having her among them would mean.
Maddox gives the next directive. “A song with a food, Rem. Fifteen seconds.”
Remy doesn’t hesitate with his selection, throwing his hands in the air as “Cherry Pie” by Warrant begins.
Fitting.
Hoots and hollers abound. Remy and Zara shout some lyrics before he issues more orders.
We do this several more times until the chefs arrive with our catered dinner.
The meal is no different. Maybe it’s her training to be adaptable. She’s probably been through the gamut of finishing school, but whatever the reason, you’d think she’d always been a part of us.
I sit at the head of the table, Zara by my side and next to Tessa, who interjects her disgruntled sidebar, painting us all in a human shading that keeps things relaxed. Remy delights us with more fun facts that he’s learned. He’s as brilliant as his mother. The rest of them all bounce off one another, like they always do, and Zara stays in step the entire time.
The weight of what I’ve built being tarnished by the beauty I can’t bear to look away from twists something inside me violently. A tortured pang rips through my sternum.
How will I ever trust her?
Needing a moment to think, I ask Zara if she’ll be all right for a few minutes, and when she assures me she will be, I excuse myself. I stride through the sitting area of my suite into the dressing room, wrangling my tie as if it were a noose. After splashing cold water on my face in my en suite, I traipse out to my bar and pour myself a drink, staring out at the illuminated cityscape before I begrudgingly transfer five hundred thousand into Cash’s account. He can deal with splitting it with Maddox.
I’ve never been so in over my head. Bringing her here was a mistake. Why did Cash have to fucking push things? I don’t care about the money. I’d spend a hundred times that to keep people away from her, but I need to rein this back in. A casual evening isn’t a luxury we can partake in without scrutiny from all the wrong places. The last thing I want is to force her into a union with me. Although she’s already here. There’s no sense in ruining tonight.
As I’m pondering that, my phone buzzes with a text on a thread with my chief of security and Bernard.
Kane: We’ve been notified that the Secretary of State will be visiting Magie Noire at eleven tonight. I’m starting passageway clearance and closing off a few of her preferred rooms.
Bernard: I just spoke with her partner. Arriving within the hour. I’ll alert you. She’ll wait at the bar.
Kane: I assume Axel will want to greet Madam Secretary personally?
