Page 32 of Let Me Say It Again

“Logan, Mother. She hasn’t taken the name Morelli. She’s not Angelo Morelli’s daughter, just his late wife’s.”

“Nevertheless, she is about to become a Lyons. You’re a very important businessman, Reddington, and someone is always watching us, making sure we don’t slip up. Because if we do, they want to be the first to expose it. Besides, don’t you think your father draws enough attention with his shenanigans? How about the fact that you decided to wed your brother’s ex?”

I shook my head. “Too scandalous?”

“For some. My point is you need to control the narrative. As a CEO, I’d expect more from you.”

Oh, brother, she was pulling out all the stops. Too bad there was no way Jade was going to go for this. Plus, if I was being candid, I didn’t really want her living here. For the sake of this whole fake engagement thing? Maybe. But not for my own sake. She was temptation walking, and I would’ve preferred to be able to walk around my house with my cock not straining against mypants, wanting to be set free twenty-four seven. Just the thought of Jade strolling from the guest bathroom to the bedroom in nothing but a towel made my heart beat faster. “I doubt she’ll go for it until we’re married. She’s old school, as you say.” Don’t judge me, okay? Blaming her was the only way my mother would get off my back. It seemed like the most logical thing to do at the time. Told you, I couldn’t lie on my feet.

Completely poised, as she always was, she tapped the top of the island. “You know her best.”

Wait. Did that really just happen? She wasn’t going to insist? That was what this family was known for. I felt more unnerved than I had before. Was I dreaming? I smelled the chicken in the oven. I lightly pinched myself for good measure. Nope. I was awake. “I do,” I agreed with her, hoping I wasn’t pushing my luck.

She turned on her heel and went to retrieve her purse before making a beeline to the door. Well, that was fast. Semi. It was semi-fast. “I’d like to get to know Jade more. After all, we’re going to be family.”

“Didn’t you get to know her plenty when she and Nate were together?” How much more could she know?

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She waved me off. “He was never serious about her.”He’d planned on proposing, but okay.Then she nodded, as though pleased with whatever she was thinking. “We can play tennis together at the club.”

“That’s a nice idea.” No, it was a horrible idea. One I hoped never came to pass. Too bad I knew hoping was useless because this was my mother we were talking about.

“Very well. Have a lovely evening, Reddington.”

“You, too, Mother.”

She turned back one more time before going, her hand on the knob. “Oh, and your dinner is done.”

I turned around to see how she figured that just as the timer went off.

At the door, she threw over her shoulder one final tidbit, saying, “Maybe you won’t need Kieran any longer when she moves in.”

“Afterwe’re married.”

“Sure, dear.”

Mitzy Elliot Lyons McGee, everyone.

Chapter Thirteen

Jade

I’d done morehomework since Maria had hired me for the job as fashion editor ofBellissimathan in the entire time I was in school. Just for your information, it wasn’t too difficult to surpass the total amount of homework I’d done because it was low, which wasn’t surprising if you knew me. I much preferred real-life experiences to book learning.

That was why I had actually been excited to stop scanning competitors’ magazines and past issues ofBellissimaand go with Maria on assignment. The key here was that Ihad beenexcited—past tense (very, very past tense). Why, you ask? Oh, maybe because I was currently sitting in a fashion designer’s studio, workshop, whatever you wanted to call it. Honestly, what we should have called it was a mess. It looked like she’d gone dumpster diving, been unsuccessful, brought the dumpster back here, and proceeded to expel all of the contents like it was a new interior design trend.

“I still don’t understand why I’m here,” I whispered, leaning over so my lips were close to Maria’s ear. The last thing I wanted was for the designer, Karoline Jerrard, to overhear. Not that she could anyway because she was currently elsewhere, dealing with some kind of fashion emergency. Which felt a little much to me, but what did I know?

I must’ve been missing something. I just didn’t see the fuss about any of this. They were just clothes. I wore them every day. It didn’t take a degree to look in your closet, pick something,or two somethings, and get dressed. “Maybe I’m not the right person—”

I was about to sayfor this job. For the hundredth time. But Maria put a hand up, keeping her other one in her lap, steadying a notebook—still didn’t know what that was for—and shut me down. “When I first started, Mom brought me here. I always knew I wanted to be the magazine’s fashion editor, but being here and seeing this made me realize that I was right and this was all I ever wanted to do.”

Okayyy. That was Maria, though. I never wanted any of this. Then again, I never wanted to be a personal assistant to a billionaire. Life was funny that way. See, I didn’t think I’d amount to much—everyone had always told me so—so I gave up and realized that I was just another body taking up space on the planet. I added one more digit to the total population, big whoop. I wasn’t like my half sisters, or even Red—I didn’t have a goal. Never had. Don’t go feeling bad for me. It wasn’t a big deal. Lots of people didn’t know what they wanted to do with their lives. This much I did know—you made your days what they were. So that was what I did.

“What are we waiting for?” I questioned, clearing my throat as my eyes remained transfixed on Karoline, who finally reentered the room.

Maria shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable as she rubbed her belly. “She should be ready soon. Karoline is very meticulous. You know, she was one of Mom’s closest friends.”

I sighed.Regina.She was a weakness for me somehow. I wanted to think she would be proud that I was her daughter, wherever she was up in heaven. A part of me thought it was cool to have this job, like Regina would approve or something. Maybe she was smiling down on me, I wasn’t sure. I also wasn’t one to think things like that, but I supposed I’d been thinking about her more and more now with my new position. Not that it changedmuch. I still didn’t know her. Or my biological father since he’d died, like Regina and my adoptive parents had. But I wasn’t one to dwell on these things. Life was a bitch. I got it and learned a long time ago to move the hell on.

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