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A smirk slid onto his face before disappearing quickly.

Attikus said nothing as he led me to the front door. A pretty wreath of spring flowers hung on the door.

His finger reached for the doorbell, but then the door opened.

CHAPTER TEN

VANESSA

“Well, hello there!”A woman with a friendly smile beamed at me and Attikus. “Come in.”

She gripped Attikus’s arm, dragging him into the marble foyer.

She smiled at me and reached out her hand. “I’m Ellen, Attikus’s sister. You are . . .?” Her voice trailed off as she looked at our joined hands. Then she whipped a look at Attikus. “Have you been hiding your gorgeous girlfriend from Mom and me?”

I studied the siblings and didn’t see any resemblance. Attikus had dark hair and brown eyes, whereas Ellen had fiery hair and ocean-blue eyes.

“Ellen, this is Nessa Lambert, my fiancée.”

“What?” Her mouth dropped as she looked at me. “Nessa Lambert, the artist?”

I nodded.

“Oh, my God!” She embraced me, then drew back. “I love your work. I have theDive into Hopepainting.”

I’d sold that abstract painting at an auction years ago.

“Thank you. I’m glad you love it. It was one of my favorites.”

Ellen smiled, inhaled a deep breath, pouted,and slapped Attikus on the arm. “What the hell? You have a fiancée and didn’t tell me?”

“I’m telling you now.” He looked at me. “Would you like anything to drink?”

I wasn’t thirsty, but I needed to hold something in my hand. “Water would be great. Thank you.”

Ellen lifted a hand. “Let me get her the water. This ismyhouse.”

“That I paid for,”he retorted calmly.

“Because you love your big sister and your mom so much.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t make me look like a poor host.”

She opened the fridge and took out two bottles of water, gesturing for us to sit at the kitchen table with six chairs. “Let’s chat.”

“We won’t stay long.” Attikus pulled out a chair for me to sit on. “I’m here to pick up dinner.”

“I’ll give you dinner after I introduce myself to my future sister-in-law.” Ellen sat downbeside me. “So, how did you guys meet?”

Attikus knew this was going to happen. I sipped my water and placed it on the table. “We met on a dating app called Heartstrings.”

Attikus flicked me a look, probably wondering how I knew about it. Vivian told me that her sister, Kaylee, had developed the app while attending Whiz Kidz. It was a program by her husband, Arrow Holt. Arrow was one of Attikus’s billionaire friends. He had taken over the dating app since it was first developed.

“I can’t believe this.” Ellen’s eyes flashed. “If I had known you were actively looking for someone, I would’ve backed off. I’ll tell Mom Gig to cancel the blind date with Mary’s daughter.”

Attikus rolled his eyes. “It’s only a blind date if I didn’t already know Daisy. Now you can stop trying to be the matchmaker.”

I couldn’t imagine him being with someone named Daisy.

When his mother entered the kitchen with groceries, the mystery around Attikus Mount ballooned. Unlike Ellen, who had red hair and fair skin, Gigi possessed olive skin and blonde hair. Even if she had dyed her hair black or red, I couldn’t see any resemblance to Attikus.