Page 52 of Blood & Lace
The collective look of relief on their faces made me want to laugh. Instead, my attention was stolen by what they had been working on. It was a shelf, but not just any shelf. It was antique, gothic looking as if it had been popped right out of a chapel and put into my living room. The best part, however, was the fact that it now connected to my office instead of the door.
"You press this switch to open and close it." Lucero showed me. "You were yelling at the bookcase a few days ago because it was too full, and I thought I'd get you a new one and hide your office better. You have really important things in there."
"I do," I whispered as my fingers trailed the shelf. "This is… a lot of work."
"Damn straight it was," a man grunted as he stood up with a hammer in his hands. "Took fucking forever. But it looks good," he said before he stuck out a hand. "Nash."
"On—"
"We know," they all said in unison.
My face heated as I turned to the last guy I had only met briefly. He looked just like Emir, except he had deep blue hairthat brushed his shoulders and he was, in fact, wearing a blue dress with a high slit on the side.
"Don't mind the dress." Elia smiled. "I got wrangled into this project right after a date and Lucero is a big baby so I couldn't say no."
"I am not a baby!"
"Sure," Elia said, laughing. "You almost just threw a tantrum and stomped your foot."
Lucero snagged me against his side. "Shut up. Well, what do you think? Really?"
I love it.
Honestly, it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I swallowed around a lump in my throat.
"It's nice," I whispered.
Lucero whooped. "I told you he would love it!"
"It's nice?" Elia repeated as he popped a hand on his hip. "That's all we get after working our asses off?"
"You are so easily impressed," Damian told Lucero.
Lucero just hugged me against his body more tightly. "You don't know him like I do. He loves it."
I really do.
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As soon as Lucero's family was gone, I sagged against the door. They were exhausting, my stomach was so full I felt like I would burst, and my house was put back the way it was. Okay, that wasn't so bad. The kitchen was clean and the living room tidied. It was like they had never even been there. If I didn't want anything to do with this insanity, it could kind of be the perfect family.
I pushed off the door as I padded to the kitchen. Lucero was dutifully putting the leftovers away in Tupperware containers, fully concentrating on his job so much that he didn't notice me. For a while I stood there, staring.
"Your mom said you met me at some gallery. That I talked to you? What did I say?"
Lucero glanced over his shoulder. "It was a long time ago. You were kind of drunk."
I blinked. "Me? Drunk? At an event?"
Now, that didn't sound like me at all. I was always on top of it. When had that happened? I tried to rack my brain, but nothing came up.
"So, you called your mom on me," I said as I stepped closer. "That was a bold move."
He gave me a guilty grin. "I didn't know what else to do. She always knows."
I had to give him some credit; it had, in fact, worked. After the flowing wine and the delicious meal, I felt more relaxed than I had in years. When he walked up to me, I didn't retreat. Instead, I gazed up at him.
"You should take your family name back," I said. "They really seem upset by it."
