Perfect Together by Kristen Ashley

My attention rushed back to the second family huddle of the night when Sabre announced, “Some fuck attacked Nat.”

“Sabre,” I hissed. “What did I say about appropriate?”

“Oh my God,” Manon breathed.

“Are you shitting me?” Yves’s voice was kind of loud.

“Children,” I snapped.

“Shut it down. Immediately,” Remy rumbled, and as always happened when he used that tone, they shut it down. Immediately. “Sah, back off. Manon, you see to that. Yves, keep your brother in line. Now, we’re not whispering about this. Mingle.”

And with that, he took my hand and pulled me away.

“Did you know?” I asked out of the side of my mouth as we went.

“Beau told me. Jason lost it. Beau thought I might need to fly out. But Clare impressed on Jason that Nat needed her father, so he needed to get his head out of his ass. It didn’t happen to him, it happened to Nat. Honest to Christ, I don’t know how he did it because I felt his pain, but he got his head out of his ass.”

“How bad was it?” I asked.

“Bad,” he answered.

Damn.

I did not look at Natalya.

I watched Sabre and Yves huddle with the younger guys.

And then I watched Manon go for casual as she approached Natalya.

“You could have given us a heads up,” I chided.

“How could I know Sabre would be interested? She’s like a sister to him.”

“But she isn’t a sister. She’s a young woman who looks like Anne Hathaway.”

“She was pretty when she was little too, and he didn’t notice,” Remy pointed out.

“When a boy’s sixteen, and a girl is thirteen, you don’t notice. When a guy’s twenty-two and a young woman is nineteen, they notice.”

“My bad,” he grunted his concession because he knew all this even better than me.

“How’s your mom?”

“It was a blow when no one fainted at her beauty when she arrived, but she’s Mom. She survived it.”

“How are you?”

“I’d rather we were all in the courtyard at Bacchanal, drinking wine and shooting the shit with live music happening. But it’s good to see them however it happens.”

“Your mom and dad wanted you to have a comfortable night with friends.”

“Well, they delivered, if we can manage to stop Sah and Yves from rallying Jules and Lou to tear apart New Orleans to find the guy who did what he did to Nat. Bonus”—he looked down at me—“you in that dress.”

“You like?” I asked coquettishly, swishing my hips.

“I love everything I see.”

I frowned severely. “Stop. We can’t nip upstairs. You’d mess up my hair.”

“Not if I’m on my knees.”

That made my knees get weak, but I powered through it and retorted, “My intention was to be on mine.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “That would mess up your hair.”

Indeed.

He was far too dominant when it came to, well…everything. Especially that. He’d find it impossible not to touch my head when I went down on him.

Though, as a challenge…

“Miss the guys,” he said, taking me from my intriguing thoughts. “Haven’t seen them since I met them for their fantasy football kickoff in Vegas a couple of years ago. But I hope this thing ends early.”

“It won’t,” I warned.

“Good you’re a night owl.”

“You are so lucky.”

“Don’t I know.”

God, I loved this man.

I tipped my head farther back.

And Remy accepted my invitation.

He lifted his head to Beau, who remarked, “Maybe we should take a break, babe. Get the magic back.”

Clearly, along with Katy, they’d gotten close while we were talking.

Remy stiffened at my side.

Katy slapped Beau in the gut. “God, you’re a dufus. And hello. They were always all over each other.” She looked to us. “Pardon my husband. He has the social skills of a panda. All play, no brain.”

“Why is it hot when she insults me?” Beau asked Remy.

“Because she’s right and a smart woman is attractive?” Remy asked Beau.

“Right, that’s why,” Beau muttered.

They laughed with each other.

Katy and I laughed with them.

But while I was doing it, my gaze wandered to Guillaume and Colette.

I wished it wouldn’t have.

Not because Guillaume looked content and even happy that his son was having a good time.

But because Colette did too.





CHAPTER 23





The Moon





Remy





It was the end of the night and Remy was pissed off.

Because their friends had left and the family were all in the mural room having one last drink before heading to bed, and that family included his mom, which was not why he was pissed.

He was pissed because that family didn’t include Sabre.

After dinner, when the younger crowd all disappeared from the dining table to hang in the games room, Sabre had come to Remy to ask for the keys to the rental. And since he’d been palling around with Jules and Lou, Remy gave them to him, thinking this was NOLA, they were young, it was Friday night, clearly they were going into town.