Elowen glares at me from across the table. I’ve just explained to her that I’m going to begin dating. I’ve met a woman, and I enjoy her company. I’ve asked her if she can come to dinner this evening. Elowen’s only response has been to glare.

“I cannot believe you’re telling me this, now, three hours before dinnertime,” she screeches.

My eyes widen in surprise. I expected her to voice her anger about another woman, but instead, it’s the timeline. “I haven’t asked her to join us yet, I can cancel,” I offer. “If you’re not ready to meet someone. That’s okay, there is plenty of time.”

The stab of disappointment at not being able to bring Giovanna into my home, to meet my children, it’s more than I had anticipated. I hadn’t planned on introducing her at all until Shaughan texted me and told me that I’d fucked up, and I’d done it royally.

He told me to fix it. I don’t know exactly what I need to fix, but I have a feeling a dinner introduction with my family is a start.

“It’s not that I’m not ready,” she sighs. “It’s that the house isn’t clean enough, and I need to figure out what I would even serve. I need to hire a caterer or something,” she mumbles.

I let out a bark of laughter and Elowen’s eyes narrow into small slits. “I’m not laughing at you, not really,” I chuckle. “I don’t think Giovanna needs a big dinner party. I was hoping for just something easy, small, intimate,” I explain.

She frowns. “Giovanna?”

“That’s her name, Giovanna. I call her Vanna for short sometimes.”

Elowen leans forward a little. She looks so much older than just fourteen, and that is my fault. She’s always had a lot on her plate. First from her mother, and now from me. She has to be the woman of the house, and though she should start to take up some responsibilities to prepare her for her future, she shouldn’t have to shoulder all of them quite yet.

“I’ll order dinner. Takeout from somewhere,” I offer.

Elowen’s shoulders hike up. “What will she think of us if we have takeout, Dad?” she gasps in horror.

Leaning forward, I wrap my hand around my daughter’s and give it a squeeze. “She’ll think that I’m a busy father of four, and I can’t cook for shit. She won’t care, trust me, Wen.”

“If you like her, if you really do, then I think we should meet her.”

I grin, giving her a wink before I lift my hand to her nose and touch my finger to the tip. “Tell Caleb and the other kids for me. I have to go and run a few errands. I’ll pick her up on the way, okay?”

“Okay.” She nods. I stand and begin to walk toward the door when she calls out to me. Turning around, I face her. “Do you think she’ll like us?” she asks.

A smile forms on my lips, one that I couldn’t hide even if I wanted to. “No, Wen. I don’t think she’ll just like you. I think she will love you, all of you. Giovanna doesn’t have a family of her own. I think she will love ours.” Elowen gives me a genuine smile before she turns and hurries up the staircase.

Leaving the house, I head toward my car. I send Shaughan a text before I go.

Starting the engine, I wait for him to reply. It seems like I’m staring at my phone for much longer than I should. I start to get antsy. My phone finally announces the new message. I quickly swipe my thumb across it and read his reply.

My eyes find the clock, and I notice that it’s only three in the afternoon. No way in fuck do they have Giovanna’s house handled yet. What the fuck are they doing over there? My mind starts to race, and luckily my drive is almost finished, so I don’t dig too deeply into what could be happening.

Shifting the car in park, I hurry toward the small house. I bought this place a few weeks ago. It was a great deal, and I had planned on doing exactly what I’ve just done. Moving Giovanna in. I knew that I wanted her closer only after a few times inside of her. I had no idea that I would buy her for myself, to keep her.

Shaughan is standing in the living room when I walk inside. It’s bare and I frown at the sight. I don’t know how I’ve fucked up with Giovanna yet, all Shaughan told me was that I fucked up and that I was a fuckup. Now, looking around at the completely empty house I have a feeling I’ve done more damage than I realize.

“The furniture being delivered?” I ask.

Shaughan snorts with a shake of his head. “I’m outta here. Tell Giovanna I’ll see her tomorrow for round two,” he grumbles.

“Round two?” I ask, trying to ignore the intense fit of rage that instantly flows through me.

“If you can get her to buy anything tomorrow, I’ll take her around again,” he states.

My frown deepens at his offer. “Why would you offer that?”

Shaughan shrugs. “She’s a sweet girl. Seems like she needs a friend.” Without another word, he turns around and leaves the house.

I try not to read too much into his words, but I’m fucking irrational at the thought of my brother spending more time with Giovanna, even if he seems completely devoted to his own woman.

With swift steps, I make my way into the bedroom where I assume she is. I’m surprised to see that there is a neatly made king-size bed in the center of the room, two nightstands, and a dresser. It isn’t barren like the rest of the house, which I had anticipated it to be. Giovanna walks out of the bathroom and freezes at the sight of me.

“Aidan,” she whispers. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were coming. I’m not ready for you,” she admits.

“Ready for me?”

She inhales, her pretty dark eyes lifting to meet mine. “Prepared. Not only am I not naked, I haven’t taken a shower since this morning,” she states.

Closing the distance between us, I cup her cheek in my hand, tilting her head back. “Don’t worry about it, A rùnsearc. I am a little concerned as to why this is the only room with furniture in your place. I told Shaughan to take you shopping for an entire house, not just one room,” I murmur.

Her dark blue eyes widen before they drop down. “I don’t need furniture.”

“You don’t?”

When she lifts her eyes again, there’s a bit of fire I’ve never seen before in her gaze. She’s angry, and she’s not hiding it. I smirk, finding it sexy. My cock hardens, pressing against the zipper of my slacks at the sight.

“I’m here for you to fuck when you desire. All I need is a bed for that. I don’t need any clothes because your orders are that I stay naked. What’s the point of dressing up, of pretending that this isn’t just a place you’ll be popping by for an hour here or there when you get the chance?”

Releasing her, I take a step back. I shouldn’t be surprised by her words. They’re exactly what I had originally planned for her. Even when I bought her from Timofei, my plans hadn’t changed.

Something shifted inside of me though. There was something that changed between taking her out of the Oleandr and this morning. I don’t know what it is, but I want more from her, more than just some quick fucks in this bedroom.

“You’re meeting the children tonight. Do you have something suitable to wear?” I ask, keeping my voice gentle and soft.

I hear her gasp, her eyes meeting mine, widening and her mouth dropping open slightly. “Children?” she asks.

“Nothing fancy, just dinner. The six of us. I talked to my oldest, she’s nervous to meet you.”

Giovanna snaps her lips closed. “Why would you want your children to meet me?”

I don’t know exactly how to explain it, because I don’t completely understand it myself. I do want her to meet them, and maybe, one day when we’re all ready, we can be more. All I know is that I don’t want to keep her hidden away. She isn’t shameful, and I don’t want her to think that she’s nothing but a dirty little secret for me.

“You’re in my life, Giovanna. They are my life. It’s only natural the two should meet.”

I watch as her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “Okay,” she nods. “The only dress I have is the one I wore to the restaurant the other day. Other than that, I have a few jeans and tees but they’re all dirty.”

“We have a few hours, let’s go,” I grunt.

I stare at him as if he’s got two heads. The man is crazy. I’ve never met someone who was as hard to read as Aidan O’Neil. Here I am again, completely dumbfounded, and in shock, by the words he’s telling me. How on earth could he want me to meet his children? He bought me. How is he going to explain that to them?

Aidan wraps his hand around mine and gently tugs me out of the bedroom. “This house is going to look like a fucking home, Vanna,” he growls as we walk past the empty living room and dining room on our way to the front door.

“Why?” I ask.

He stops, turning to me, pulling me against his chest in one quick move. One of his hands cradles the back of my head while the other wraps around my hip. He lowers his face, running his nose alongside my own.

“Because it’s your home, Vanna. Yours. Because you’re mine, and I want you to be comfortable, A rùnsearc.”

I gulp, unable to look away from him. His cool blue eyes hold me captive. “Because you own me?” I ask.

“You own me, too, Giovanna.” He shifts his head, his mouth brushing mine. His tongue peeks out and taste my lips before he says, “Forget the arrangement we had. It’s all changed. You’re mine, and I’m yours, and that is the long and short of it. None of the other shit matters.”

“It doesn’t?” I ask, because all of that shit, it always matters—always.

He sighs, his breath fanning my face. “It doesn’t.” His words speak a finality that I’m unable to question. He truly believes that nothing else matters.

Unfortunately, I know that to be a lie. What was—the past—it will always matter, and it will always come back. For a moment, I close my eyes and allow him to kiss me, pretending that it doesn’t matter, that this moment on is all that truly means anything. That the past will just float away. It’s not reality, but obviously I enjoy torturing myself with dreams that will never come true.