Page 16 of The Billionaire's Angel

I knew who Lucas was, and I knew the type he'd have on his team. Charlie wasn't far off. They'd be smart as hell and in killer shape. I didn't want a single one of them anywhere nearSophie.

Sophie was mine. And no one, not even me, was going to push her into anything she wasn't readyfor.

Sitting back, I waited for Amelia and Charlie to stop bickering before I cut in and said, “Dropit.”

Charlie immediately turned her attention to the tote bag of wedding stuff at her side. Amelia glared at me mutinously. “It's none of your business,” shesaid.

“It's none of yours either,” I shot back. “Meddle with someone else's life. You've got a whole family here to irritate. Leave Sophiealone.”

“Fine,” Amelia conceded. Looking at Sophie, she said, “I just don't want you to be lonely. You're stuck with me all the time, and you never goout.”

The blush in her cheeks had faded some when Sophie looked up at Amelia and said, “I'm not lonely. This is the least lonely I've been in years. I promise. And I like being stuck with you all the time. Being with you is fun, even when I'm worried you're going to get me fired with one of yourpranks.”

At that, Charlie laughed. “Amelia's pranks aren't going to get you fired, Sophie. We might kickherout, but we'll keepyou.”

Amelia harrumphed. “And that's why you're my second favorite great-niece.”

“I'm your favorite, and you know it,” Charlie said, unfolding a binder on her lap and scanning down a list. “At least until Annalise comes home, then you'll love best whichever one of us is causing the mosttrouble.”

“You’re both my favorite great-nieces,” Amelia said with an affectionate smile atCharlie.

“We’re your only great-nieces,” Charlie interrupted,wryly.

“But after stealing Aiden’s whiskey, you’re my favorite. For now,” Ameliafinished.

Charlie cleared her throat and started going through her wedding list. I tried to focus on what needed to be done, but my eyes kept wandering to the curve of Sophie’s lower lip, wondering what she would taste like and if she’d let me kissher.

By the time Charlie was done with the wedding meeting, I had a to-do list and a hardon.

I managed to escape the living room while the three women talked about Charlie’s dress, saying something about running errands. I loved Charlie, but I didn’t care about her wedding dress, and I had to get moving. I needed a phone, computer, tablet, and a new wardrobe. It was a lot to tackle in one day, but I wasn’t a fan of shopping. Better to knock it all out atonce.

Before I left, I made a few of the phone calls on Charlie's list and set up meetings with a photographer and two musicians. Charlie had narrowed down the choices and said she trusted me to make the final decisions. After that, it was quick work to get the electronics I needed, and much longer to restock my wardrobe. I was having enough trouble convincing Aiden to let me through the doors of Winters, Inc. A closet full of cargo pants and faded t-shirts would not help mycase.

My brother Vance had directed me to a store in Buckhead that didn't exist when I last lived in Atlanta. They carried everything from jeans to the highest quality suits, did custom tailoring on-site, and were happy to serve me a beer while a helpful sales assistant showed me myoptions.

Not long after I’d been handed my beer, Vance showed up, strolling in with his blonde hair tied back with a twist of metal he’d probably picked up from the floor of his studio. As always, Vance drew the eye. Female—and a few male—heads turned as he tracked me down in the back of the store. He threw himself into the arm chair next to mine, sent the saleswoman a wink when she offered him a beer, and said, “So, how weird is it to behome?”

I shook my head in response. Weird didn't begin to cover it. I wasn't going to try to explain, sitting in public, so I just said, “It's going to take a while to settlein.”

“Doesn't help with all this crazy shit going on,” Vance said. “Why Tate and Charlie decided to get married in the same week is beyondme.”

“I got the feeling the rush to the altar wasn't so much Charlie as Lucas,” I said. Not that Charlie was resisting. She was head over heels for Lucas Jackson. I'd only met him once, the night I got home, but from the way he looked at her, I’d say he was just as crazy aboutCharlie.

“He waited six months to put a ring on her finger,” Vance grumbled, “but as soon as she said yes, BOOM—wedding.”

“It's not like you waited much longer to marry Maggie,” Isaid.

Vance's blue eyes warmed, and a secret smile played across his mouth. “I had to lock that woman down before she got a better offer,” hesaid.

“Yeah, more likely you wanted to marry her before you had a chance to fuck it upagain.”

“That too,” Vance agreed, easily. “You doing anything afterthis?”

“No plans,why?”

“Come over for lunch,” Vance said. “I told Maggie I'd pick something up. Ella—she helps us with Rosie—is working all day today and she's taking Rosie to the park, so we can have an actual uninterrupted adult meal.” Vance gave me a sidelong look. “You're probably used tothose.”

I thought about the last six months, spent mostly locked in a tiny cage with a dirt floor. Uninterrupted, yes. Meals, not as many as I was used to. My captors had been a lot better with the torture than they had been about feedingme.