Page 106 of Lavish

Too damn close. But I reached for the little charm on my purse. I flipped it over to where there was a light blinking.

Yes.

It had recorded our entire conversation, and I was one step closer to getting rid of Jenese.

CHAPTER 24

Miles

“You’re late,”Serena said as she opened the Kings’ front door. “Dinner is being served.”

Fuck, back here again.

This place was practically my second home. I knew where everything was. I’d slept here as a kid after video game marathons with Erik and as an adult after one too many drinks at a party. I knew where Serena’s room was on the first floor on the other side of the mansion, and how to get in without being seen.

“I had to handle some things at the site,” I muttered as she shut the door behind me.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

I looked down at her, noticing the way the sunlight caught the strands of her hair. She bit her bottom lip, her hands twisting nervously as she looked at me with a forlorn expression.

“We can go if we need to. That property is an investment for us, and we cannot?—”

“You’re overthinking again,” I said quietly, with the smallest tug at my mouth. “You get that crease in your brow when you’re doing it.”

I pressed my finger to her skin, gently smoothing away the frown lines, feeling her softness beneath my touch. As much as I didn’t want to be here, at the least I could do was push down what I was feeling and be here to support her.

I remembered dinners at the Kings’. Sometimes I would nudge Serena under the table with my foot, just to make her look at me. Sometimes she’d play back, brushing her leg against mine like she wasn’t doing a damn thing, like she didn’t know exactly what that did to me.

I leaned down before I could stop myself, moving a strand of hair behind her ear.Just for comfort, I told myself.

Then I kissed her.

It started soft—just my lips to hers. But when she didn’t pull away, I pressed a little deeper, and she opened to me like she’d been waiting. Her mouth was warm, and she tasted like wine and everything I hadn’t let myself want.

“The faster we eat, the faster we can go home.”

Her head tilted just slightly—barely a shift—but I caught it.

And I felt it too, the quiet weight of that word.Home.Not my place. Not hers.Ours.

Serena extended her hand, her fingers intertwining with mine, her skin soft and warm.

The scent of old books and polished wood filled the air as Serena guided me down the hall, though I knew where to go. In the dining room, a massive crystal chandelier cast a glittering light onto the highly polished mahogany table. Deep, plush velvet clothed the high-backed wooden chairs, gold trim glinting softly in the dim light.

Yvonne King was at the head of the table when we entered.

“There’s the man of the hour,” Vincent said next to her, and he offered a tight smile as he glanced back warily at Yvonne. “Didn’t think you were going to show. Good to see you, Miles.”

I forced a jovial tone. “Vince. I wouldn’t miss it.”

To my relief, Laurene and Reese were seated at the table as well. They would definitely make tonight more tolerable. I gave Laurene a hug, her belly protruding even more since I last saw her a few weeks ago, and before she released me, she murmured, “Try not to start a war at dinner, hmm?”

I stepped back and gave her a grin.

Giving Reese a quick dap, I was surprised to spot Noelle, Laurene’s best friend, at the table too. “Wassup, Short Stack!”

Noelle rolled her eyes at me, but she was another little sister, and she hugged me anyway. “I told you to get a better nickname to call me.”