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“Rebecca Stanhope!” Barb shouted. “How dare you say such a thing!”

James stood up, probably trying to use his six-foot height to intimidate the five-foot-two-inch Bec. Mila could’ve told him that was pointless, no one intimidated Bec. She’d gone into law because she liked fighting, not backing down.

“If you were my daughter, I’d—” James’s threat was cut off when he started coughing and collapsed back down into his chair.

Mila rushed to get him water, but Em grabbed her and pulled her aside. “No, Mila! Let Mom get him some water and make sure he takes his meds, or the hundreds of other things neither of them want to bother with.”

“I’m not doing anything but getting some water,” Mila protested.

James’s cough died down, and he glared at Em. “Why are you turning against us? We pay for your college!”

Em turned to him, putting herself between Mila and James. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to pay for it anymore. I’m dropping out and moving to LA. I’m going to become an actress, and I don’t need college for that. Mila showed me that you have to follow your dream, so that’s what I’m going to do!”

If Mila thought Bec’s insult had been a grenade, then Em’s statement was a block of C-4!

Her parents and the siblings all exploded into words, desperate to talk Em out of her plan. Mila backed away, unsure what to say or who to support. Suddenly, Gio and Carter were on either side of her.

As the family argument raged, the three of them didn’t stop moving away until they were behind the kitchen island. They watched the drama play out from as far away as they could get while still being in the same room.

“So this is what it’s like to have a family these days,” Gio mused. “I see a lot of similarities to growing up in the 1880s.”

Carter snorted. “I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

Guilt swamped Mila. “I’m so sorry. I never thought this would happen. Mom and Dad never go anywhere except to veterinary or livestock conventions. And my other siblings all have busy lives. I don’t know how they found the time to come here!”

Gio wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “They love you. We find the time for people we love.”

Gio’s words made something occur to her. Did that mean her parents didn’t really love them? No, she wasn’t going to think like that. Love came in a lot of different forms. Her parents were here to protect her, that had to count for something. Even if they were doing it out of a misguided impression that she’d lost her mind.

“We don’t have the room for them to stay here,” Carter said,

“I’ll book them rooms,” Gio said.

“And a car service,” Carter added. “I didn’t see any new vehicles in the driveway, so I don’t think anyone rented a car.”

Gio nodded, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, then left the room to make arrangements.

Carter stayed by her side, wrapping both arms around her as the fight raged on.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured. “We’ll figure everything out.”

Chapter 25

Gio

It was hard, but Gio fought the temptation to put Mila’s family under thrall to calm them down. As much as it would make things easier, he knew Mila wouldn’t approve. Besides, using thrall on that many people at once was tricky. It would be better if he could get them alone and he’d tell them what to do one by one.

James and Barb were the ones that needed their attitudes put in check more than anything. How could they not realize what a special and wonderful daughter they had?

He sensed a feminine presence a few seconds before Bec spoke.

“Gio, can we talk?”

He turned and held up a finger. He was on the phone with Hotel del Coronado trying to book rooms. They were lucky, there were several rooms free. Two of the siblings would have to share, but they’d also be staying at one of the most famous and luxurious hotels in San Diego. No one should complain.

Ending the call with the hotel, he gave Bec his full attention.

“If you’re going to say anything insulting or defamatory about our arrangement, I invite you to keep your words to yourself,” he said. Mila might be willing to hear what these people had to say, but he wasn’t.