Page 52 of Crocodile Tears
“Nope,” she said with a tight smile.
“Great, let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Deacon
I knew Dove Lachlan could handle snakes and lions and crocodiles, but now I knew she could handle the most dangerous animals of all: paparazzi. She was a natural. Now I was convinced there was no situation in the world that she couldn’t deal with—the same of which couldn’t be said for me. And damn if it didn’t make my chest ache watching her easily wade through the treacherous waters, unintimidated, beautiful, confident,everything I always wanted and never thought I would have.
Only the slightest pinch in Dove’s eyes let me know that she didn’t realize she was doing as good of a job navigating the red carpet and mingling through the fundraiser as she was. But truly, she was perfect. I should’ve known she would be. Despite never having any official media training, she’d been born into a family that was running a popular customer-facing business. She’d been handling thousands of people per day from all overthe world since she’d been old enough to give a bird talk. Now, she had a million diplomatic retorts and animal fun facts in her back pocket, skilled at bringing the conversation back to the charity at hand and away from reporters drudging up her viral video or questions about my dating life.
I could tell Cody, who stood a few paces behind us, was impressed too. Not once did he have to dive in and rescue her from a rogue question. He even gave me a thumbs-up when Dove managed to turn a question about what diet she was on into a heartfelt discussion about the importance of food abundance for critically endangered wildlife. It was truly masterful.
At the start of the night, I thought I would have to take the lead, but after a few hours, Dove was flying solo, navigating through the crowded ballroom all on her own. Meanwhile, I was downing more and more glasses of liquid courage, wondering if I’d ever have enough to cross the room and ask her to dance with me.
The emerald green complimented the purple in her hair perfectly, her figure on full display, the milky skin of her thigh peeking out of the slit in her dress.That fucking dress.I held my hand to my chest, feeling the familiar shape of the coin against my heart through my heavily starched shirt.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” a soft female voice said, sidling over to me. “You clean up nice, big brother.”
I turned, brows lifting in surprise as I took in my sister, Faith. “Wh-what are you doing here?” I asked, my smile stretching wider as I pulled her into a tight hug.
“Dove invited me,” she informed me, sweeping her long, wavy blonde hair over her shoulder. She wore a long-sleeve, floral-print dress, modern but with nods to her folk music roots.
“She did, did she?”
Faith eyed me. “I thought you knew.”
“You usually say no to these sorts of things,” I replied.
Faith pursed her lips, considering. “You know, I think Rusty Sky has enough of a name for itself now,” she said with a grin. “I’m sorry I had to go it on my own for a while there. I just didn’t want to be known as Lucky Role’s little sister. Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I said with a shake of my head. “You’ve been incredible. You’re a Grammy award winning band. Lucky Role could never,” I added with a chuckle. “Your music is amazing. You know how proud I am of you, right?”
“Thank you.” Her nose wrinkled as if she couldn’t quite take the compliment. “Does it make you want to pick up the guitar again?”
“Yeah,” I hedged. “Maybe one day.”
Faith cocked her head at me. “Maybe one day should be sooner rather than later.”
I hummed. “That would make a great song lyric.”
“Maybe we should cowrite it,” she offered. “An indie pop, folk crossover. People would love it.”
I smiled down at my little sister. She was the first person to give me hell for doing something stupid, but she was also the first one to pick me back up when I fell. Our relationship reminded me a lot of the Lachlan siblings. It didn’t surprise me that Dove had thought to invite her.
“Batman doesn’t write love songs,” I grumbled. “That’s what Cody tells me at least.”
“Cody is a narcissistic psychopath,” Faith replied with a sweet smile.
I guffawed. “Tell me how you really feel.”
She shook her head, taking in the room. “This is really nice, Deacon,” she said. “This charity was a great idea. I think it’ll be good for you. I’m proud of you too, bro.”
That meant a lot to me, especially coming from Faith, who never pulled her punches. My little sister’s gaze fell across theroom, and she let out a low whistle. “Wow, she is freaking stunning,” she said as her eyes landed on Dove.
“Easy,” I warned.
“Why? Is she taken?” Faith gave me a smug knowing look.
