Page 81 of Miss Treated

“Yeah, and fair warning. He’s in a mood.”

Oh, boy, if someone who looked like Leo thought someone else was in a mood, that said something.

“We were thinking we’d all go for a drink after this. Just the three of us,” Leo declared.

Dominic glanced toward me, which I could tell irritated Leo. He didn’t have to worry. I didn’t intend to be an extra wheel, especially when it came to sibling bonding.

“How about I go by your place and take Lady for a walk? I’ll either meet you there or at my hotel later.”

Leo’s brows jumped up. “Lady lets you walk her?”

“She does.” I wondered if my value went up now.

“Lady loves Kels. And yeah, drinks would be good.”

“All right, let me go see Aunt Sophia before she busts my balls, and find Dad and Mom. Then I can escape this nightmare.” He regarded my glass. “If your drink doesn’t contain booze, I suggest you add some, Kels.”

He held up his glass of what appeared to be scotch in mock salute, before taking off.

Dominic chuckled at his departure.

“One brother down, one to go?” I queried, hoping we wouldn’t have to stay long.

He blew out a breath. “Honestly, if Gabe is in a mood, I’d prefer you don’t meet him.”

“Is he often in a mood?”

“He didn’t use to be. But his ex-wife can set him off.”

“The narcissist?”

“Yep. Oh, I see Aunt Sophia and Ava. Let’s go say hello.”

Damn, maybe I should’ve opted for a shot, after all.

Sophia kissed her nephew’s cheek and turned toward me. “Kelsey, I didn’t expect to see you again after your assignment ended.”

Ouch. Dominic squeezed my hand. “Now that the assignment is over, Kelsey and I are dating.”

While Sophia stood there shocked, Ava went in for hugs. “I’m excited to finally meet you. Nicky told me how you turned him down, and of course I thought any girl who didn’t just fall at his feet was one I couldn’t wait to meet.”

Aw, the fact he’d talked about me with Ava made my heart beat faster. It was becoming more and more obvious Dominic was the real deal.

“Where’s Uncle Frank?” Dominic inquired.

Ava’s expression took a sad turn, but Sophia spoke up.

“He’s working, of course. Never a spare moment for such things like another lavish party.”

Armed with a different perspective on Sophia, I saw the passive-aggressive comment for what it was. She was jealous. Perhaps that’s how she justified her theft.

Ava interjected, “Excuse me, I’m going to stalk the crab puff guy before he gets away.”

As soon as her daughter left, Sophia’s gloves came off. “It’s not a conflict for you to work for Chambers Tech and date the COO?” She acted as if we’d somehow committed a faux pas.

“No more than the conflict involved in working for a family member.”

If I’d thought our interchange might bother Dominic, he put those fears to rest. Chuckling, he observed, “Isn’t that the truth? Well, we’re off to find said family member. See you later, Aunt Sophia.”