Only Mine (Honey Mountain #5)(38)

Dick.

Dylan walked inside, and her eyes widened as she took in the grand foyer. The circular table held a gigantic floral arrangement, and the oversized crystal chandelier that hung above created little designs on the black-and-white marble floors.

“Hi. Thanks for having me. This place is…” She twirled around and took it in. “Gorgeous.”

“It’s a little pretentious, am I right?” my brother said as he flashed her his award-winning smile. “But my mother manages to make it homey.”

I rolled my eyes.

Pretentious my ass.

The dude loved growing up in the grandest estate in the city.

“It’s just really beautiful.” Her eyes continued to move around the room.

“How’s this one’s mood today? Is he still pissed at me about Dez coming to the game?” He spoke to Dylan but glanced up at me and smirked.

“He’s fair to midland. You know… somewhere between broody and hateful and completely intolerable.” Her gaze locked with mine.

Seb’s head fell back in laughter. “Damn. This girl knows you well, brother.”

I shot him a warning look. “Is the boyfriend with the initial for a name here yet?”

“Oh, yes, they just got here. And it gets even better. Miranda’s here. She’ll also be joining us.” My brother could barely contain his excitement. Miranda was our cousin, and to say she was quirky was a massive understatement. But she was my mother’s only sister’s daughter, which made her our only cousin. Quirks be dammed. She wasn’t all bad, just awkward as hell, which made the conversation a bit painful.

“Who’s Miranda? Is that one of your ex-girlfriends?” Dylan quirked a brow at me, and I can’t say I minded the jealousy that she didn’t hide well at all.

“No.” Seb barked out a laugh. “This guy only has one ex, and she would not be welcome at the Wayburn household after what she did. Miranda is our cousin.”

Dylan’s gaze softened, and I fought the urge to throat-punch my brother because the dude just couldn’t help himself when it came to oversharing.

“Can we please drop the small talk and get this dinner over with?”

Sebastian took the bottle of wine from Dylan and hooked her hand through his elbow, waggling his brows at me.

“Yes. Here we go. May the odds be ever in your favor,” my brother said in a ridiculous accent as he beamed at Dylan.

She glanced over her shoulder at me and winked.

She was enjoying herself.

At least one of us was.





fifteen





Dylan





I’d never been in a home like the Wayburns’. Everywhere I turned, there were fresh flowers, high ceilings, and gorgeous chandeliers. I couldn’t wait to text my sisters tonight to tell them all about it. Long satin curtain panels hung beside the windows from the ceiling down to the floor, where they puddled on the marble flooring in the foyer.

When we entered the room that Sebastian called the parlor, there were turquoise velvet sofas and grand artwork hung above a gold-plated antique fireplace. Duke pushed to his feet and turned to the beautiful woman beside him. “Natalie, this is Dylan Thomas. Everly’s sister.”

“Oh, Dylan, I have been dying to meet you.” She stood up and moved toward me, wrapping me in a warm hug. She had blonde hair like Sabine, but her dark sapphire eyes matched Wolf’s.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I said. When she pulled away, I handed her the floral arrangement, and she beamed. She had porcelain skin, and her daughter looked so similar as they stood beside one another that it was hard not to stare.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Dylan.” Sabine hugged me tightly. She and Sebastian definitely got the warm genes in the family, while their broody older brother stood behind me as his mother wrapped her arms around him.

“Okay, well, this is my boyfriend, Z. Z, you’ve met everyone else, but this is my brother, Wolf, and Dylan, who just started working for the Lions.”

“Hi, Z. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said. He didn’t shake my hand. Instead, he clapped his hands together as if he were praying and bent forward, so I did the same.

An older woman wearing an apron and holding a fancy silver tray offered me a glass of champagne, and someone else followed her in and took the flowers from Natalie to put in a vase.

“Oh, thank you so much. Don’t mind if I do.” I chuckled and took a sip of the bubbly, watching as she moved toward Wolf.

“There’s my favorite guy,” she said. It surprised me the way his gaze softened as he took her in.

“Hi, Gweny, it’s nice to see you.” He reached for a glass, as well, and then leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Hmmm… he clearly had a soft side for some people. It was easy to see that he and his mother were very close, and it was impossible to miss the way she beamed up at him like he set the sun.

“Dylan, this is my niece, Miranda,” Natalie said.

The entire room went silent when Miranda smiled at me before belting out in song like she was in a Broadway production. “Hello, Dylan. Hello, Dylan. How are you? How are you?”

I glanced over to see Wolf watching me with a wicked smirk on his face. He didn’t think I could handle an awkward greeting? He’d clearly not spent a holiday with the Thomas family.