“We are definitely stopping,” Tavia said with a grin. “I suddenly want one of everything on the menu.”
“Ugh, please tell me you aren’t pregnant,” Sofia grumbled unhappily.
The grin dropped from Tavia’s face, and at the loss of that brightness in the car, I wanted to grab the other girl by her pretty hair and toss her out the window. But Tavia shook her head at me as if she could read my mind. “I wouldn’t be drinking if I were pregnant, Sofia.”
During our picnic feast of Taco Bell drive-thru in the back of the decked-out limo, my dislike of the beautiful Sofia only grew. And by the time we got to the club where we were supposed to be spending the evening having fun, I was biting my tongue and balling my hands into fists to keep from slapping the bitch.
Tavia and I kept in touch regularly, mostly with a text or two throughout the day. She was closer to Monroe than me, but I still considered her one of our family. And right then, Sofia Volkov was upsetting one of my family. Tavia’s smile dimmed more and more as the other girl seemed to turn everything around to keep the spotlight on herself.
This was Tavia’s night. She was the bride; she was the one who should have everyone’s focus and adoration for the few hours we got to spend out. But it was obvious Sofia wasn’t a girl who liked the spotlight being off her for longer than a minute.
The Donati sisters seemed to be used to it, but I could tell they were getting irritated with their cousin. Proof of which was when Zariah point-blank ignored Sofia while she was talking to her. Ciana followed suit, focusing only on the rest of us while Sofia sulked and pouted.
Sitting on a couch in the VIP area of the club, I shared a look with River over Monroe’s head. Both of us grimaced. Well, this was fun. One girl was sulking like a toddler not getting her way, and another was lost in her own misery for whatever reason.
The music was decent, though, and a waitress kept bringing bottles of champagne and prosecco, topping off everyone’s glass each time before leaving.
I’d thought this was going to be fun. Getting to hang out with Tavia in a kick-ass club in New York City. A little drinking—that included something a hell of a lot stronger than weak-ass bubbly—and dancing my ass off with my friends. Instead, no one was dancing, drinking, or even smiling half the time.
Tavia didn’t look comfortable anymore. She kept glancing at Sofia as if she expected her to go off at any second, like a ticking time bomb about to explode in her face.
River’s phone vibrated on her lap, and she picked it up. Just from the way her eyes brightened when she read the message on her screen, I knew it was from my brother.
Leaning across Monroe, I hissed at River, “Please tell me he misses you and wants to join up with us.”
“Yes to the first, and while he wants to do the second, he can’t.” Her bottom lip pouted out for a second before she grinned. “But what if we went to him?”
“Hells yeah, baby.” My gaze drifted to the others, who were people watching and not paying us the least bit of attention. Fuck, they looked just as bored as us. “Find out where they are.”
“Already did,” River said with a sassy grin.
Chapter 2
Mila
Telling the others we were going to the bathroom, I pulled Monroe up beside me and steered her toward where Tavia said the ladies’ room was. But once we were out of sight, River and I guided Monroe toward the nearest exit. Not five minutes later, we were in the back of a taxi headed to where the guys were.
I felt a momentary pang of guilt for leaving Tavia behind on her special night, but she could either find us later or sit there bored off her ass and dealing with her spoiled future sister-in-law. I loved that girl, but I needed some fun.
And to find out what the fuck was going on with Monroe.
“Okay, spill it,” I commanded once we were in traffic. Stuck in the middle of River and me, Monroe had no choice but to answer our questions, because between the two of us, we wouldn’t give up until we had it all out of her.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Mil,” she said. Her hand went to her neck again, feeling for the medallion that wasn’t there. Each time her fingers didn’t wrap around it, she balled her hand into a fist and dropped it onto her thigh, but not before tears would glaze her gray eyes.
Each and every damn time.
It was maddening, and I wanted to shake her until she told me what was wrong.
“Why aren’t you wearing your necklace, Monroe?” River asked, her voice gentle compared to mine.
“I…” She inhaled deeply and slowly released it before starting again. “I left it at home.”
“Why?” I demanded. From the time she’d gotten that damn thing, she hadn’t taken it off. Not once, not even to shower.
When her chin trembled, I turned, grasping her by the shoulders and lowering my head so I could look into her eyes. The passing lights were plenty enough to see her wet lashes. “What did he do, Monroe?”
“Nothing!” she exploded. “He hasn’t done anything. Why are you harping on this? Huh? I thought you would be glad I took it off. I’m letting him go, Mila.”
“Why would I be glad that you’re so miserable?” I half yelled at her. “When you hurt, I hurt. When you cry, I want to destroy what caused it. Yeah, okay, I’ve never felt comfortable about you wearing that thing. But it was because you seemed obsessed with this guy, Mon. It wasn’t healthy.”
“I wasn’t obsessed,” she muttered, her chin trembling yet again.
“Whatever. Call it what you want, but he was constantly on your mind.” I released her and sat back, turning my gaze out the window. “Maybe I was a little jealous of him. I don’t know.” Looking at her again, I reached out and pushed her hair back from her face. “But that was only because you’re my other half. If he makes you happy, then I wouldn’t ever want you to stay away from him.”
A single tear fell down her face, and she closed her eyes. “He doesn’t want me.” Scrubbing her hands over her face, she made a pained sound in the back of her throat and lifted her lashes. “Please, can we not talk about this tonight? Let’s have some fun. Since we’re going to be with Maverick and the other boys, Daddy won’t freak out as much, so we can have a better time than with the spoiled little rich girl.”
“Ah, so you haven’t been completely out of it,” River said with a grin.
“Oh, please.” Monroe forced a smile. “A coma patient would have been able to see that she was a stuck-up bitch who was too used to getting her own way. She wouldn’t even eat. Who doesn’t like Taco Bell?”
It wasn’t long before the taxi pulled up in front of the club where my brother was hanging out with our cousins, Theo, and Theo’s own cousins. The oldest Donati brother, Zariah’s twin brother, Zane, met us outside. The bouncer didn’t say a single word to us as Zane stepped forward once we were out of the taxi and ushered us through a side entrance.
River took one of Monroe’s hands, and I took the other, the three of us linking fingers as we followed Zane through the club and back to the VIP where all the guys were having a considerably better time than we had been.
Theo turned from where he was talking to Jack and Kingston. His eyes narrowed as we approached. “So, you just left Tavia? Nice, ladies.”
I shrugged. “If we could have snuck her away with us, we would have. But we couldn’t. And trust me, it was a good thing we did. Because if I’d stayed, your sister would not have looked so pretty in all those wedding photos you’ll be taking tomorrow.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he growled.
“Oh, please. She’s your sister. Don’t tell me you aren’t aware of what a spoiled little bitch she is.” Understanding filled his face, and he pressed his lips into a hard line. “Girl needs to take five minutes and realize she’s not the center of the universe.”
Sighing, he pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll take care of it.”
“How?” I asked, curious.
“There’s a reason why I have an entire army of men watching out for Tavia.” Lifting the phone to his ear, he spoke into it. “Ivan. Take Sofia home, and tell Yury to bring the others over here.” When he was done, he slid the phone back into his pocket. “The bar is open, girls. Order whatever you want. Do whatever makes you happy. Just don’t leave this area. My men can’t protect you if you’re running all over the club.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I don’t need your men to protect me.”
“Be good, Mila,” Jack said, lifting his beer to his lips, looking so much like Uncle Hawk with that cocky as hell tilt to his chin.
He was only a few weeks older than me, but he acted like there were years between us. He, like Kingston, was an only child, but because we were all so close in age and our family was tight, that didn’t seem to matter.
I gave him a once-over. In tight jeans and a vintage rock T-shirt, he looked older than eighteen. His blond hair was always in need of a trim, it seemed, and his green eyes saw everything whether you wanted him to or not. Kingston looked a lot like Jack, so much so that they could have passed for brothers instead of first cousins.