Page 79 of Beautiful Sinners

“Thank you, but surprisingly, I feel fine,” I reply.

Some guy I haven’t met yet gives me a brief once-over and a chin jerk hello from the couch and goes back to watching an MMA fight taking place on the living room television. Jax sits across from him, completely focused on the screen of his laptop. If he didn’t have blond hair and glasses, he would be Constantine’s twin.

“Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

I walk into the kitchen where Andie is transferring pastries and donuts to a long serving platter and follow my nose to the freshly brewed coffee I smell.

“Not yet, but I’d love some of that.” I point to the still steaming mug sitting on the counter next to her.

“Be my guest. Cups are in the cabinet above the maker.”

“Where’s Sarah?” I ask as I take a crossword puzzle print coffee mug down from the middle shelf.

“Still with Declan. She usually doesn’t wake up until about nine.”

Andie looks completely different than she did yesterday. Her hair is pulled into a high ponytail, she’s dressed in form-fitting yoga capris and a pink tank top, and she’s sans makeup. She looks like the girl next door, or perhaps a soccer mom, but definitely not a mafia queen.

“You have the most stunning eyes,” I let slip as I study her while sipping my coffee.

She looks startled at my compliment. “Thank you. So do you. I’ve never seen that color of blue before. Guess unique eye color is something that runs in the family.”

Family.

Finding out about this family of cousins I never knew existed has been surreal. It’s a bit mind-boggling, to be honest. Papa and Mama didn’t have any siblings as far as I know—but that doesn’t really mean much since I apparently don’t know a lot about the people who gave birth to me.

“Grab a donut if you want and follow me,” Andie suddenly says and doesn’t give me any choice but to follow her.

I’m not a dainty coffee drinker. I guzzle it down, wanting that kick of caffeine as quickly as possible. I set my mug in the sink, eye the chocolate-covered donut sitting on top of the pastry pyramid, then decide against it.

“Moving in?” I inquire.

The layout of this floor is similar to the one we’ve been staying on, just different furniture and color scheme. There are a scattering of moving boxes lying around, some taped up, some half-filled.

“Moving out, actually. We bought some land and built a house out in the countryside away from everything. City life isn’t for me, and I wanted someplace Sarah could run wild.”

We enter a bedroom with the biggest four-poster bed I have ever seen taking up most of the space. It’s easily twice the size of a California king.

“I grew up on a farm, so I hear ya. Darlington isn’t much different. Very quaint and quiet and lots of stars at night.”

“How are you liking college?”

“Love it. I wear my nerd badge proudly.”

She comes out of the walk-in closet with an armful of clothes and dumps them on the bed. A metallic clatter draws my attention up to the metal rings dangling from each of the bed posts.

“What are those? Tristan has them on his bed.”

Andie bursts out laughing.

“What?” I ask, confused.

She flicks one of the rings, and it clanks like a door knocker. “I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”

That isn’t an answer, but I drop it.

“How long have you been with them? And those are for you,” she says of the clothes she just tossed onto the bed.

I finger the dark blue material of the shirt sitting on top of the pile. “We were friends as kids. The sleeping with them is new.”

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