I lounge my butt against the counter, mug held securely between both hands. “Have you seen Alana this morning?” I ask, taking a sip and immediately scalding the inside of my mouth.
Andie gets situated on the stool next to Sarah and props her chin in her hand. “It’s actually five in the afternoon. Can I ask you a question?”
“Okay,” I say slowly, drawing it out.
I don’t really know her, which means I don’t know if I can trust her, cousin or not.
Before she can ask, the elevator doors open. It’s a clear line of sight from the kitchen, and I do a double take when Tristan’s doppelgänger steps out. There are obvious differences between Tristan and this man—the new guy is bulkier, and his eyes are hazel, not light brown, but their skin tone is similar, and the new guy carries the same air of authority that Tristan so effortlessly exudes.
This must be who she was gesturing at in the security camera.
The man approaches Andie, grabs her face, and kisses her in a way that curls my damn toes, and I’m not even the one being kissed. Andie notices me gawking.
“Keane, this is Aoife.”
Keane. One of her husbands. The new mob boss Tristan and Cillian were arguing about at the dinner table. I wiggle my fingers hello like a dumbass.
“Hey,” he says, then places a large hand on Sarah’s shoulder and asks, “Whatcha drawing?”
“Picture for Aoife.”
“For me?” I lean over the counter island to see what she’s doodling. “I love it,” I tell her at what looks like flowers. I’m not sure. She’s four, not Georgia O’Keefe.
Footsteps sound down the hallway, signaling the arrival of the guys. All three look freshly showered. Which reminds me…
“Do you have any clothes I can borrow?” I ask Andie.
“I’ll ask Pearson to get you some. He has an eye for women’s clothing.”
Thinking of the big, scary Russian I met last night, I stifle my snort of disbelief by taking a big swallow of coffee.
Hendrix ignores Andie and Keane and hip-bumps me out of the way, so he can take over because he’s a food diva who can’t ever let anyone else even make a sandwich by themselves.
Snatching up the box of Bisquick, he grimaces. “Hell no.”
“But—” I shut up, knowing it’s an argument I’ll lose.
Andie groans when Sarah begins quietly singing the ABC song using “hell” this time. Keane does a bad job of hiding his smile and gets flicked in the ear by Andie.
“Don’t encourage the behavior.”
I get a little mushy when Constantine sits down on Sarah’s other side. She passes him a sheet of paper and a red crayon and instructs him on what to draw.
Tristan curves a possessive arm around me, and I can actually feel the tension that takes over his body when he and Keane eye each other up.
“Nice to see you again, Alexsandria.”
“It’s just Andie.” She studies him for a second. “Tessa said we went to the same school, but I honestly don’t remember you.”
As brush-offs go, that one felt deliberate.
“We ran in different circles,” Tritan easily replies. “And you’re Keane Agosti.”
Keane’s eyes narrow. “Yeah.”
“Tristan Amato.”
Keane makes a grunt of recognition; however, Andie’s entire disposition changes, and she blisters Tristan with a look that could melt iron.