Page 19 of These Sinful Kingdoms

Kingstonopenedmydoor,his hand brushing over my arm as if he needed an excuse to touch me. The Mendez house was huge, lights on and a welcoming scent of fried onions wafting through the air as we knocked.

Squeals from children echoed behind the door and Liam was the one to open it, smiling down at Fabian who looked full of teen angst at being dragged to this event.

“Hi, Liam. I didn’t know if you wanted us to bring anything, so we brought some wine.” I handed him the bottle as he moved to let us through.

“Wine is always welcome in this house. You will have to excuse the noise. We are babysitting Isabella’s kids tonight.” I followed the sounds of laughter through to the open-plan dining area to find the entire Madden family spread out, Serena and Elsie sat at the kitchen counter with glasses of wine in front of them as Alejandro made his way around the kitchen.

“Tio! I want to watch Mulan, but Declan is saying I can’t watch it.” A little girl pouted at Dante, and I watched with amusement as he pointedly stared at Declan.

“Is that so? Well, Declan doesn’t get to say what we watch in this house. How about you watch it twice?” Dante said, making Connor cackle from his spot on the floor with their baby girl.

“I told you, Dec.” he said as Declan shook his head and walked over to Elsie.

“I can’t watch that movie one more time. I would rather poke my eyes out than suffer through it again.” He said as he wrapped his arms around Elsie from behind and kissed her neck.

“Aurora! Come and sit. Grab a glass.” Serena called as she stood and shooed Declan away.

“Go do man things with the others.” She teased as Declan raised an eyebrow.

“Actually, I would love to talk to you and Theo if you don’t mind.” Luca said, drawing all eyes to him. I watched as they shifted from relaxed families to businessmen in an instant.

“Sure. Let’s go to the office for some quiet.” Theo kissed Serena’s cheek on his way past stopping when Alejandro grabbed his arm and swung him around for a kiss as well.

I wanted to look away, the heat between them was intense but I couldn’t stop watching. It was kind of hot.

“See something you like?” Kingston whispered in my ear, distracting me from my thoughts as I swallowed and shook my head.

“Come on, Fabian. Let’s go sit down next to Alfie. He looks like the sensible one.” Kingston said as he gestured to the man in question, sitting in a chair and watching it all unfold. Benjamin sat across from him with an amused expression as he watched Connor with Aisling.

“He has so many tattoos. And he is huge!” Fabian said a little too loudly, pulling Alfie’s attention. He smiled slowly, looking fucking insane as he did.

“He can kill a man with his bare hands too.” Connor chimed in from his spot on the floor. Fabian's eyes widened even more as Kingston muttered something under his breath.

I left them to it, feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of being included in their lives. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been to events before, but this felt more casual, more intimate than others.

“How are you holding up?” Serena asked as she poured me some wine. I took it gratefully, taking a bigger sip than I intended.

“As well as I can, I guess. Thank you for the loan of your apartment, Elsie. I don’t know what we would have done without that.” She smiled and waved a hand.

“It’s no big deal. I’m happy to help. How’s Evelyn getting along with your case?” I hesitated, the conversation from earlier today left me feeling uneasy.

“she said they are pushing back. She met Rocco personally. He paid her a visit at her office today and told her if she knew what is good for her, she would back off.” Serena snorted and shook her head.

“I have only met her once but from what I have heard, Evelyn doesn’t scare easily. She knew what she was signing up for.” Serena squeezed my hand as Elise hummed her agreement.

“She works with Chris. I know him well and I know that he wouldn’t hire someone to be part of his firm who doesn’t have a backbone. She will get everything owed to you back.” Elsie said as she sipped her wine. They both studied me, and I got the impression that Alejandro was listening from his spot in the kitchen too.

“What is it that you want? Are you going to take the Italian seat?” Serena asked.

“I don’t really know. I never saw myself as the head of the family, but I also know that I can’t escape it entirely either. I guess it will all depend on the moves that Rocco and Nicolo make. If they let me walk away, I will.” I shrugged, knowing that was the truth.

“So. I saw the way Luca and Kingston were looking at you when you came in. Spill the tea, girl.” Serena gave me the change in subject I needed.

“It’s kind of new. They may have confessed their feelings to me, and we agreed to try being together. It helps that both of you have given us something to work toward.” I glanced around the room, seeing Fabian talking to Diego as they pointed at something on his phone. Kingston was watching them but talking quietly to Alfie.

“It’s nice to not feel like you have to choose between people. I don’t think I could have ever made a choice between my guys.” Elsie said with a sigh. I watched as Serena leaned forward with a wicked smile.

“So, tell me about your priest. It didn’t escape our attention at the wedding that he looks at you like you are a forbidden piece of fruit.” Elsie’s eyes widened as she leaned forward too. I wanted to groan inwardly, the memory of my conversation with Caleb today sending a wave of heat to my core.

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