Page 27 of Controlling Chloe

I sigh and drop my shoulders, pinning her with a stern look. “Yes, stop trying to guilt me. You know we’re family. But you two are walking chaos.”

Scarlet shrugs. “We’re also the only reason you guys ever laugh, so there is that.”

“Daddy, can I have more wine?” Cali holds up her glass as if she’s waiting for her husband to serve her.

He quirks an eyebrow. “Where did your manners go, Little girl? Do I need to give you another reminder?”

She shakes her head so hard that I’m surprised it doesn’t fly right off her shoulders. “Please can I have more wine, Daddy?”

Declan smiles and grabs the bottle from the wet bar. “Good girl. This is your last glass for the night, though.”

When Cali lets out a dramatic huff, Declan snatches her glass away. “Little girl…”

“Okay! Okay, I’m sorry, Daddy. I was just being sassy.” She holds out both her hands and makes a grabby motion with her fingers.

Watching the two of them makes me wish Chloe could be here tonight. I want to argue with her like this. To threaten her with spankings and pour her wine for her. To know she feels safe to be sassy and bratty. I want it all. When I told Cali that Chloe would be my wife one day, I wasn’t lying. And if it’s up to me, it will be sooner rather than later.

“Can we start the movie now? We haven’t watched Beauty and the Beast since last week,” Scarlet whines.

The men all groan, but we grab our glasses of whiskey from the bar and find spots to sit. I know this entire movie line by line by now. It only takes one look at the two women who have captured all our hearts, and my annoyance disappears. I’d do anything for them. Just like I’d do for Chloe. Which is the only reason I haven’t shown up on Kieran’s doorstep demanding to join them. She asked for one-on-one time, and since I know she’s totally safe with him, I’ll sit my ass here and watch this damn shifter dude lock Belle up in his lair. Actually, it’s not a terrible idea. Maybe the Beast is onto something with that. Would Kieran approve, though? Or is that taking it too far?

Probably too far.

For now.

“What are we doing here? I thought you were taking us to lunch.”

I smile in the rearview mirror at Scarlet and Cali. Grady chuckles beside me. “We are going to lunch, but I needed to stop here first.”

Scarlet scrunches her nose. “At Blush? It’s the best high-end makeup store in the city. A bottle of foundation is like eighty dollars.”

“I know it’s the most high-end. That’s why we’re here. Let’s go.”

We get out of the SUV and wait until two men exit SUVs parked on either side of us. Declan and Killian don’t let the girls go anywhere without a small army of guards. Not that I blame them. I’m actually on board with it. Which is why I had Chloe followed home last night by a couple of men. Can never be too safe when it comes to the treasures in our life.

The store goes silent when the eight of us walk in. I suppose six big men in black suits walking into a makeup store isn’t something that happens every day. I scan the place. Rows of displays on either side gleam with different bottles, tubes, jars, and pencils. Every row is a different brand, but all of them are high-end and packaged to match the expensive price tags.

The obnoxious lighting glares off the bright white floors. To one side, several women sit at vanities while employees in black aprons give them makeovers. The entire store smells like a mix of different fragrances, none of which appeal to me because they’re not Chloe’s.

A tall, slender woman approaches nervously and looks at Cali and Scarlet. “Welcome to Blush. Is there something I can help you find?”

“We’re going to need a couple of sales associates to help my sisters pick stuff out. And baskets. Several baskets.”

The woman looks at me and bats her eyelashes. “Of course.”

Cali turns to look up at me. “What’s going on, Bash?”

“Chloe loves makeup. She films makeup tutorials and likes to collect the pretty containers. So, you two are going to pick out anything and everything in this store that she might possibly like. No limit. And pick some shit out for yourselves if you want. Got it?”

Scarlet lets out a little squeal and throws her arms around me. “I take back what I said to you when Killian handcuffed me to the car. I do like you. She’s a lucky woman.”

I laugh and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Love you too, brat. Now go. Have fun. Try to find some sparkly shit, she seems to like that stuff.”

Two sales associates have appeared in front of us with baskets in their hands, looking more than ready to assist the women. Two of our men accompany each of them as they start wandering the store.

The first woman who greeted us comes over to me and touches my arm. “Is there something I can help you with?”

I lower my eyes to where her fingers are on me. My skin crawls even through the layers of clothing. The woman is attractive. There’s no question about it. But she’s not Chloe. The only hands I want on me in that manner are my girl’s.

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