Page 14 of Captivated

“And how do I walk?”

“Like the ground is air, and you’re floating on it. Ballet dancers have a unique kind of grace. Mesmerizing, really.” Joe leaned back in his chair, adding quieter, “Some might say it’s even alluring.”

Funny.

That’s exactly how she would describe him, too.

“Well, how did dinner go?” Jordyn asked.

She gave Liliana a quick pat on her cheek—she had only come with her father to grab some stuff from her old room for her apartment before she was heading out.

“It went … well,” Lucian said.

Liliana didn’t miss the way her mother’s gaze darted in her direction. “Really?”

Lucian came to a stop in front of Jordyn, and reached for his wife before pulling her into a tight hug that engulfed her mother. Liliana almost looked away simply because the action seemed so personal and affectionate, but she didn’t.

Her parents wouldn’t care, anyway.

They had never hid their love.

And it was a beautiful love.

“I promise,” Lucian murmured, “you know me.”

“I do,” Jordyn said. “Did John show up?”

“No.”

Liliana stiffened at the mention of her older brother. Four years older than her, John was … well, her brother was a lot of things. Diagnosed with bipolar at seventeen, she knew that things were not simple for John in his life. Nothing was easy for him.

He hadn’t made things easy for them, either, growing up. To say the least. His mania had manifested in ways that both terrified her, and hurt her.

Mostly, emotionally.

He could be nasty one second, and violently angry the next. He might say something so cutting, the words felt like knives slicing through someone’s heart.

And then he would be good again, as though nothing had ever happened. It just made for a difficult and complex relationship, as far as that went.

Liliana loved her brother, though. She just found it easier to love John from a distance so that they could both see each other a little more clearly. She didn’t want to hurt him, or worse, hate him for things he couldn’t control. And she worried if she pushed too much, or stayed too close, that was exactly what might happen.

“Andino must know where he is,” Jordyn said.

Lucian sighed heavily, and scrubbed a hand down his jaw. “I assume so, yes.”

“Assuming isn’t good—we need to know.”

“Gio said he was going to get ahold of Andino tonight, anyway. We need them both for tomorrow.”

Liliana came to lean against the kitchen island, and gained both of her parents’ attention when she asked, “What’s happening tomorrow?”

Her father graced her with a smile that usually distracted people. She wasn’t the type to fall for it. Jordyn gave her husband a look before she made a beeline for the entryway to leave the kitchen.

What was that all about?

“Nothing you need to be concerned about,” Lucian replied easily once his wife was gone.

“And yet, I asked, Daddy.”