Page 43 of Bitter Confessions

He swiped his badge and selected the appropriate floor. “Your father would be happy to know his daughters are celebrating...” He finally noticed Roth. His eyes flared before he faced forward without finishing his sentence.

Apparently, the staff kept up on current events. Terry either remembered Roth from their infamous rift or had read in the papers that he’d married into the family and was now intimately involved with Hennessy & Co.

Luckily, the ride lasted only fifteen seconds. As the doors opened onto Colette and Lyle’s gold foyer, she squeezed Terry’s arm.

“It was nice seeing you, Terry,” she said. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

Terry inclined his head and stepped aside so they could exit.

Mo and Johan handed over the bags of presents before the doors closed, taking her guards back to the lobby. Roth took in the painted ceiling, mini waterfall, and koi pond in silence. It was one thing to do business in an office setting, but quite another to sit at a dinner table with your former sworn enemies.

“Are you sure you want to...?” she began, but he didn’t let her finish. He placed his hand on the small of her back and ushered her forward.

The sound of running water disguised their arrival, so when they rounded the corner into the grand living room, her family was unaware. Like her arrival two months ago, they lounged in front of the gold fireplace, giving Jasmine time to take in the fact Lyle and Colette’s elegant home was nearly unrecognizable. Ariana wasn’t lying when she said Colette was trying to make Polara’s first holiday extra special.

There were life-size ballerinas flanking a Nutcracker-themed Christmas tree, with blush and silver ornaments. A garland made of pink-and-white candy canes, gingerbread men, and fairies decorated the mantel. It looked like a pastel Christmas wonderland. Her nephew rode a rocking horse with his hand in the air as if it were bucking, while her niece tried to imitate the stance of the ballerinas and was the first one to notice them.

“Aunty Minnie!”

Bailey streaked toward her, dressed in a purple velvet dress and tights, with a bow in her hair. Jasmine dropped the package so she could catch her niece, who she knew from experience packed quite the punch for someone so small. Even though she braced for impact, she still staggered. Roth steadied her as Bailey let out a hair-raising shriek and strangled her exuberantly.

Jasmine heard a cry and looked down to see her nephew, Kye, holding up his arms, demanding to be held. She tried to reach for him, but her arms were full of Bailey, who was in danger of kicking her brother in the head. Kye let out an angry cry and moved to Roth, tapping his thighs and jumping like he was trying to catch a ride. Roth edged back as if the toddler were dangerous.

“Kye!”

Ariana scooped up her son and put the little boy on her hip. Kye tipped backward in protest. Ignoring her son’s tantrum, Ariana gave Roth an uncertain smile.

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

Roth uttered the pleasantry in return as Bailey calmed enough for Jasmine to set her down.

“Presents?” Bailey squealed when she spotted the gifts peeking out the top of the package.

“I brought you goodies from our trip. After dinner, you can open them.”

“Hooray!” Bailey shouted and threw herself at Roth, giving his waist a squeeze and adding a hurried, “Happy Thanksgiving,” before she dashed off.

One look at Roth’s unnerved expression was enough to make Jasmine devolve into uncontrollable laughter. The big, bad wolf who carried guns and who didn’t hesitate to go head-to-head with the powerful elite was afraid of children. She took pity on him and slipped her arm around his waist.

“They don’t bite,” she teased.

He pinched her ass in retaliation.

Still giggling, she turned to her sister, who was watching their interaction closely. “Hi, Ari.”

Immediately, Ariana’s beautiful face cleared. “I’m glad you two made it back in time for the holidays.”

Rami came up beside his wife and took his thrashing son from her. Kye took after his father, with his dark coloring, hair, and eyes, while Bailey was fair, with her mother’s signature blue eyes and her father’s dark hair. Jasmine could already tell both children would be tall like their parents. She grinned when she noticed Rami and Kye were wearing matching sweater-vests.

Rami shook Roth’s hand before turning to Jasmine. “Welcome home.”

She kissed Rami’s cheek and started when Kye grasped her face with surprising force, demanding kisses of his own. She obliged with loud smacks that made Kye screech in delight. Ariana tried to tell her son it wasn’t polite to grab people’s faces or ask for kisses, but her lecture fell on deaf ears, and her sister’s broad smile said she was more amused than upset.

As Jasmine handed her coat to the housekeeper, she gave Roth a sassy look. In Lisbon, he’d said he didn’t want any males touching her. At the time, he said that included relatives. She silently dared him to make an issue of it in front of her family.

He held her gaze as he slipped off his coat but kept his jacket on to conceal the gun in his waistband. He pulled her close and dipped his head to say, “In this instance, I’ll make an exception.”

She snorted.

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