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“So, who is the older brother out of you two?” Arpina Zakarian, Milena’s younger sister, flumped herself down at the spare seat next to Colt, swirling her wine glass as if she were an expert taster. She was a seventeen-year-old spoiled brat who shouldn’t have been holding a wine glass in the first place.
Colt made it clear he didn’t have much time for her. “Er… what do you mean?”
She leaned in, conspiratorially. She was wearing a tiny dress and towering heels and was clearly going to be a man-eating terror in a few years time. Carmelo did not envy that poor fucker who was basically her babysitter, Ardian. Carmelo looked around to see where he was. Speak of the devil, Ardian was seemingly trapped in a deep conversation with their mother, Camilla. From this distance it basically looked like Camilla was trying to shamelessly flirt with him, her hand fluttering all over his chest as she gesticulated unnecessarily, laughing loudly, pouting, tossing her hair. It was brash and tasteless. Ardian was trying to remain polite but his clipped tones and lack of eye contact was saying a clear no. Fuck, did Jovan know? Carmelo looked around and saw Jovan in a discussion with some of the other older men, maybe his own brothers or business associates, all of them holding cigars and looking serious.
Carmelo ran a hand through his short hair. Fuck, this family was one dysfunctional mess. He was glad he would be doing everything in his power to avoid marrying into it, this was enough to put off any guy.
“We aren’t real brothers,” Carmelo tried to explain to the younger girl who had made herself comfy and was clearly here for the long haul.
Pina blinked back as if she hadn’t heard. She was drunk.
Carmelo cleared his throat. “You’ve probably heard Colt call me ‘brother’, it’s just a friendly nickname, like buddy, or pal…”
Pina frowned, her young features pinching on her forehead. “No, you’re actual brothers, it’s so obvious-”
“We really aren’t,” Colt spoke up now.
“You have the exact same eyes. And skin color, too.”
Carmelo starred at Colt. Colt eyed him with a humorous disbelief. But fuck him, if he didn’t see his own chocolate brown eyes staring straight back at him.
“What, brown?” Colt replied, flatly. “Lots of people have brown eyes and tanned skin,” Colt said slowly, as if explaining to a toddler.
She batted her hands in front of her face, trying to bat away his rebuttal.
“No, but you two are… clearly brothers, my guess is Colt, you are the older one, ‘cause no offense, but you look older-”
“Nice, thanks,” Colt muttered.
“Why else would you be here? I don’t get it.” Pina finished, sitting back looking smug as if she’d proved her point.
Carmelo aimed for a patient, kind tone. “Colt and the MC are like my family, but are not my family-”
“I’m an orphan, adopted, parents fucked off when I was a newborn-” Colt shrugged.
Pina’s blurry eyes widened. “So you could actually be brothers then.”
Colt laughed now. “You’re funny, kid,” he said.
Carmelo took a breath to laugh it off, too, but at that moment the prospect arrived, looking windswept but pleased with himself. A brown paper bag in his arms.
Colt eyed it up, winked and stood up. “Gotta go, got a busy night ahead of me,” he said, getting up, grabbing the bag from the prospect and heading straight towards April, who was looking glamorous talking to some older aunt further down the table.
Carmelo turned back to Pina, unsure what to say to Lena’s little sister. Luckily he didn’t need to say anything. Ardian was there.
“You’ve been drinking. You’re not old enough,” Ardian spat out, eyeing her with disapproval.
She rolled her eyes in the exact way Lena did. “Yes, thank you Captain Obvious, clearly.” She then took a rebellious gulp of her wine, maintaining eye contact with him, daring him to react.
“Past your bedtime,Hreshtak,” Ardian said, his voice was steel.
Pina huffed and looked at Carmelo. “Hreshtakmeans ‘angel’ in Armenian, he calls me this ironically because he thinks I am the furthest thing from an angel, don’t you, Ardian?”
He simply glowered back. To Carmelo’s uncultured ears, the nickname sounded like “harassed hug”. Which was about accurate with the Zakarian’s, Carmelo was coming to learn. Flustering, suffocating and all-encompassing. Poor guy, Ardian had his hands full with her and no mistake. Fuck and anyone marrying into this family was taking on a maelstrom sure enough. He saw now, with marrying Lena, the easy part was Lena. The hard part was her mother, her father. Her little sister. The staff working for them. Lena came with baggage. Baggage that resembled a crate of snakes. Any husband would need more than just gloves to handle with care.
Carmelo didn’t envy Ardian, the guy’s older brother Kavan was lording it up as the chief consigliere while Ardian, the younger brother, was left to sweep up after the carnage caused by the drunk, bratty younger sister.
Pina downed the rest of her wine and stood up. “Alright, I’m coming, I get the message, I know when I’m not wanted, after all this is Lena’s night… as is the dress fitting, as is the bachelorette party, the rehearsal dinner, the wedding day-”
