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“Because I’m a shit dancer, and when I realized it was her, my nerves got the best of me.”

“You? Nervous around a girl?”

“A woman,” I correct my sister and wink at Jules. “And yes. I knew she was way out of my league.”

“But…you dated the Kardashians,” Hannah chimes in next to me.

“I didn’t date any damn Kardashians. Jesus,” I growl.

Jules snickers. “I don’t know why he keeps denying it. Everyone saw him, right?”

She and the girls laugh.

My dad just looks confused. “You dated a Kardashian? When?”

“Never,” I groan. “You little shit,” I whisper to Hannah and get a huge grin in return.

“No one saw anything. You’re supposed to be on my side,” I say to Jules.

“I am. But you’re so much fun to tease.”

I narrow my eyes at her, and she only smiles wider. “I thought you were tired.” As if on cue, she yawns. Her eye widen as if she surprised herself, and she stretches. “It must be this amazing meal. I’ve never had Tex Mex before, but I think it’s my new favorite food.”

“Well, you’re in the right place. It’s basically our state’s official cuisine. And Rivers Wilde finally has a Tex Mex restaurant. They have music every third Saturday. We’ll go.”

“If I’m still here, I’d love that.” She meets my eye for just second, and I see the worry in them even though she’s smiling. “Do you mind if I go shower and have a lie down?” She stands and picks up her plate before she reaches for my dad’s.

I put a hand on her arm to stop her. “Don’t worry about that, you go get some rest.”

She shakes her head. “Layel made this beautiful meal, the least I can do is load the dishwasher.”

“Not at all,” my father says gently but firmly and looks at Layel. “Why don’t you make sure Jules has everything she needs upstairs? Omar and I will clean the kitchen.”

My sister’s jaw drops, and she gapes at my father. “Youare going to clean? Like with your own hands?”

I laugh at the incredulity on her face, but my stomach churns. She’s right, he’s not a modern man in the sense that he believes whatever else a woman does, the kitchen is her domain and not a place men belong. So I know this means he’s really desperate to talk to me alone, and I can only imagine what he’s got to say.

“What is she hiding?”my father asks just as I’m drying the last of the pans. When we came in here, I was sure he was going to grill me about Jules. Instead, he asked about the housein London and seemed proud of the fact that I’d done all of the work I could myself. We talked about my wanting to invest in the Royales’ new project and that I had a meeting with him tomorrow. He caught me up on what he’d been working on and his health, and I thought I’d only imagined the question in his eyes when he looked at her. Layel and Hannah stuck their heads in the kitchen to say Jules was settled and in the shower and that they were heading home so she could take Hannah to her tennis lessons.

I sigh and drop the dish towel. “She’s not hiding anything, Dad.”

“Okay, so what isn’t she saying?” he presses.

My head hurts, and I’m tired, but I want to get this over with. I’m not ashamed of her, but I don’t want to tell him anything she wouldn’t say herself. “She’s probably not going to be offered a tenancy at her chambers when she finishes her pupilage.”

“Why not?”

“Because I lied on my application, and when I told them, they fired me.”

We whip around in unison. “Beat, I didn’t hear you come down. I thought you were sleeping.”

“My shower refreshed me, and if I sleep now, I’ll be up all night.” She smiles like she didn’t walk in on us talking about her, and I wave her over.

“Jules, I’m sorry. I just?—”

“You love your son. It’s okay. I’m glad Omar has a family like this.” She tucks herself into my side and looks up at me. “I love him, too. And I don’t want you to have any doubts about who I am.”

“You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”