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In the almost week since the news of Jericho Beecham’s failed escape and subsequent death was told to us, I’d had time to digest it and shake off the bulk of the dark mood it caused.

I tried to hide it from Rian, but when I failed, I suggested he stay away until I wasn’t so in my head and bitchy.

I would snap and take out my bad mood on him.

However, I should’ve realized that Rian had no intention of allowing me to process anything alone.

He said that wasn’t what soulmates did. If I wanted to sit and not talk, he’d sit there and not speak.

If I wanted to yell and swear, he’d listen.

He’d let it roll off him if I snapped at him for no reason.

His stubbornness made me love him all the more.

Work was also busy, and I was still researching Clay Mathers and Kelvin Lyons.

Nothing had surfaced on Kelvin, but I was close on both.

The feeling in my gut told me that I was.

It was the one I got right before a huge discovery.

I was impatient for it to happen. However, the work helped keep my mind off reliving Jericho’s sick history.

My family and I were still stilted when there were interactions.

Rocco was the worst. I hated that it happened.

I still hadn’t told Rian about the Monday blowup.

I knew I should, and I swore that by the end of the weekend, I would.

But first, we had to get through the luncheon ahead of us.

We’d been invited to the Sunday meal at the compound.

This one would be at lunchtime, and I was shocked and apprehensive when Rian informed me that Darragh had asked my family to join.

I was told that it was to get to know them better.

They needed to know and trust each other to have a successful partnership.

I agreed, but was afraid of what would happen because of how my brothers had treated Rian.

When my efforts to talk him into having Darragh postpone it failed, I went to Papà .

I prodded him to back out until a later date.

He refused and said he thought it was necessary.

Seeing I was outnumbered, I resolved to spend a tense ass day.

I prayed it wouldn’t get ugly. I stayed the night at Rian’s last night.

However, this morning, I knew if I sat at his house, I’d go insane waiting.

And while his lovemaking was incredible, and I craved it as often as I could get, I was too nervous to give him the attention he deserved.

Instead, I went to the main house to see if I could assist with anything.

When I arrived, I found the massive kitchen buzzing with women.

Men and children were in the living room and a child’s playroom.

Everyone acknowledged each other. I was as warmly welcomed as Rian.

I was smothered in hugs and cheek kisses, but in a good way.

I told them I was there to help, and Rian told them how incredible my cooking was.

They grew excited and absorbed me into the chaotic kitchen.

The men were relegated to child-sitting duty. From what I saw, they didn’t mind.

As time passed, my spirits lifted. It was so reminiscent of cooking with Pia and Prima.

It made me sad that Pia was gone and we would never do it again, but I was more comforted to have a family of women.

As we worked, we chatted. I shared with them how Pia and Prima helped raise us and taught me to cook and bake.

There were a few tears shed, but they were overall happy ones.

Before I knew it, time flew by, and one of the guards notified Rian that my family had arrived. He came to the kitchen to tell me, and tension entered my body. Maeve leaned in and whispered, “Everything will be alright. Trust me.”

I wondered what she meant. No one knew how my brothers had acted earlier in the week. Instead of becoming more accepting, they remained the same or worsened. I dreaded them causing a scene here. If they did, I might have to beat them. Hopefully, they were too afraid of Papà’s wrath to do it.

Rian came, took my hand, and we went outside to the large veranda to wait for them.

Darragh, Sean, Patrick, Cormac, Ashlynn, Maeve, Brenda, and Cyndi joined us.

It made sense for the older couples, the head of the family, and his wife to meet them.

They took mere minutes to pull up and park near the house.

I noted that Luc was driving. The other two were in the backseat.

As they exited, I scanned their faces to see if I could get a read on them.

They wore bland expressions, which told me nothing.

Those were their practiced, professional faces.

Walking in the lead was Papà . He nodded and held out his hand.

“It’s good to see all of you again. Thank you for this chance to get to know each other.

I think it’s doubly important. We are joining together in a partnership, and my daughter and one of your sons are now joined.

It makes us family. I hope you agree,” he said.

Darragh shook his hand first, then Patrick.

When Rian’s dad did, he responded to the remark.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, Alphonso.

My family and I feel the same way. Gianna is now a beloved daughter to our family.

She will be loved and protected. And with her having the same from her birth family, she should never worry that no one has her back. ”

I caught my brothers exchanging looks, but they didn’t say anything or change their expressions. I wanted to know what they thought of the comments. I was beyond touched by Patrick’s. He smiled over at me. I couldn’t resist blowing him a kiss, which made him laugh.

This seemed to ease the strain, and the others exchanged hellos and pleasantries. Papà came over to Rian and me. He gave him a hug and a double-cheek kiss before hugging me in his bear-like arms and kissing me. As he did, I had to whisper.

“Thank you for saying what you did.”

“You’re welcome. And I meant it.”

“I know you do. Will the boys behave?”

“If they know what’s good for them, they will,” he growled.

From there, we escorted them inside to say hello to the others.

After they did, they joined the men in the living room.

Luckily, I stayed in the kitchen to assist in finishing the meal and preparations, although I was told to join my family.

I was told that the day’s goal was to eat, relax, and socialize.

The meal was served in their massive dining room. I was stunned at how large it was. It had two tables that could seat thirty each. It was more of a ballroom. When I told Rian that, he smirked and said that was what it originally was. I almost fell off my chair. Who had a ballroom in their house?

My family wasn’t the only guests. Malone and Martin, Miranda’s dad, Carmen, Karizma’s mom, and Bax, Carmen’s boyfriend, joined us.

That brought the adults to thirty-seven.

The oldest kids, Khloe and Cassius, joined us.

The babies were passed around or placed in a playpen if they were napping.

The playpen was in the corner of the dining room.

There was no foisting them off on servants to keep them quiet and out of sight.

The meal was scrumptious. Everyone had positive things to say about it, and praise was heavy, especially from the men.

After the meal, several dessert options were presented.

Along with the desserts, coffee or tea was brought in.

I’d discovered earlier that the Irish drank tea as much as the English.

And it had a different taste to it. I’d been invited to have a cup with the ladies as we took a break from cooking.

They explained its significance. I’d never had tea with milk, which was a must for most Irish. It wasn’t bad, just different.

As the desserts and various tea and coffee cups were passed out, I took a cup of tea with my dessert.

Once everyone was served, we sat there enjoying it.

I was chatting with Carmen across the table when I felt eyes on me.

When I looked around, the only one staring was Rocco.

His brow furled. When I met his stare, he glanced away.

Everything ran smoothly, and I was less nervous about the discussion part of the day.

I knew we’d have to discuss the Hounds and our work with them, but when we did, I wondered who would be involved.

We’d been seated for half an hour when the topic was brought up, and Luciano was the one who did it.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I understood the reason for today was to get to know each other and talk about our partnership.

The meal was terrific. And we’ve been chatting for a while.

When are we talking about the rest? And should we do this somewhere more private?

” His gaze slid quickly to glance at Bax and Martin.

Papà’s mouth tightened.

“As my brother said, we mean no disrespect. We’re just anxious to get to that part,” Rardo added.

“Well, since you brought it up, we should get to the next part of today’s gathering. If you take out your phone and go to the local newsfeed, I think you’ll find something interesting,” Darragh stated.

There was a lot of rustling as phones were retrieved.

I was curious to know what he meant. I opened the local news site on my phone and wondered how we were to know what he referred to.

I was about to ask when the headline caught my attention.

When it did, I gasped and looked over at Rian. He was watching me.

“Did you do this?” I whispered.

“I did. I’ll explain in a minute,” he whispered back.

Exclamations and murmurs were heard all around us. Most were smiling, but my brothers were less than pleased when they saw it. Rocco was the only one to say anything. He tossed his phone on the table before him and gestured to it.