Page 63 of Scandalous Kingpin

“I know, it didn’t take long. You can say it,” she muttered.

I let out a loud squeak. “That’s amazing. I’m so tickled for you. Davina is having a baby. You’re following right behind her. I hope—” Laughing, I stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her into an embrace. “I’m just so ecstatic. You’re going to be the best mom.”

“This might be almost as good as stealing money,” Juliette stated matter-of-factly as she joined the hug. “Maybe we can steal this yacht and turn it into a girls’ trip. We might not have many more opportunities with Davina about to pop out a boy.”

“No, this is better,” I said, smiling. “Much, much better. Nothing compares.”

“Besides, we’ll be better at having babies than stealing,” Wynter agreed.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

PRIEST

“You called the family meeting, Pa. Speak,” I said, gritting my teeth while my eyes were locked on Aisling.

It wasn’t often that my papà demanded a family meeting, but when he did, there was no denying him. So here we all were, piled up in the office on my fuckinghoneymoon.

I sat behind my desk, Papà and Aisling on the sofa, twin frowns on their faces, and Juliette sat stiffly in the chair with a staunch-looking Dante at her back.

“I’ve never sat in on a family meeting like this,” Ivy remarked nervously. She was propped on the edge of my desk, her legs crossed and her bottom lip between her teeth. “Does this happen when someone’s in trouble?”

“No, not necessarily,” my papà answered. “But we need to address some recent hostilities.”

I glared at him, then turned my eyes on Aisling. Ever since that woman had barged back into his life, he’d been getting increasingly involved. I liked him better when he was checked out of family affairs and out of my business.

“Let me guess. Mother dearest can’t handle the DiLustro family dynamic.” You’d be hard-pressed to miss the sarcasm in my voice. My papà clenched his teeth so hard I could hear his molars grinding. He glared at me while I feigned nonchalance. “But pardon me, you called the meeting, so please tell us what’s troubling you.”

“Watch it, son,” he snapped.

“Okay, let’s cool it, everyone,” Dante cut in, trying to be the peacekeeper.

I leaned back in my seat, placing one hand around my wife’s ankle. It was strange, but touching her always soothed me.

“I’m cool,” I said, flicking a glance at Ivy. “You good, angel?”

She glanced between us, obviously not sure where any of this was heading. Her slim, pale neck shifted as she swallowed.

“Yeah, I’m good, thank you.” She laughed, but it came out awkward.

“Good. Then, Dante and Christian, it’s high time we addressed the elephant in the room,” Papà insisted.

“We can’t keep avoiding each other,” Aisling pleaded, her voice brittle and her eyes falling downward. “Please. Whatever I need to do, just tell me.”

“Well, that’s easy.” For a moment, Aisling’s eyes flickered with hope, but I quickly extinguished it. “Stop trying. Stop coming around here at all, actually.”

Aisling’s gasp filled the room, and I felt Ivy’s body tense. It took no time at all for Aisling’s sniffles to start and crocodile tears to stream down her porcelain face.

Fuck her. Fuck my papà.

I really wasn’t in the mood for family drama.

I was getting ready to scoop Ivy up and get out of here when my papà’s booming voice stopped me.

“Enough!” His face turned red, his hand flexing on Aisling’s shoulder. “We cannot go on as a family. Not like this.”

“You can’t force people to get along,” Juliette said, her voice trembling.

“But I gave birth to him,” Aisling protested, her voice cracking. “My heart already broke once, and now he’s breaking it every time he treats me like a stranger.”