Ivy’s pov
"Get what laptop?"
Yep, I was doomed.
I spun around, my back hitting the cold wall of the hallway, my heart trying to claw its way out of my ribs. But it wasn’t Gideon’s icy stare or Malachi’s predatory smirk that met me.
It was a stranger.
He stood in the middle of the hallway, dressed in a pastel orange sweatshirt and black pants, his black sneakers flexing against the marble floor.
His coffee brown hair almost matched the ridiculous amount of brown decor in the mansion, and his dark eyes gazed softly at me. In his left hand, his fingers gripped a brown leather briefcase.
Was there a fourth brother or something? Who was this guy?
He cocked his head to the side, his eyes roaming from my short hair to my black flats. "Get what laptop?"
"Oh!" I squeaked, my voice echoing slightly in the hall. My lips tugged into the best smile I could force. "I was just..." Think fast, Ivy! "Just school stuff. I need a laptop for a course I’m taking online. Excuse me, you are?"
"Milo," he replied, stretching his free right hand towards me for a handshake. "You must be the new housekeeper Roman cannot shut up about."
Heat flooded my cheeks as I took his hand briefly. "Really? Roman talks about me?" I shook my head; the ridiculousness of the whole situation was momentarily overriding my fear. "Please don’t tell me you’re another Knight brother."
He let out a loud laugh that bounced off the walls. "Oh, trust me, I understand your pain."
"I don’t think you could ever understand." A small, helpless smile tugged at my lips.
"I’ve been their best friend for over ten years," he clapped a hand to his chest. "Trust me. I know they’re a handful."
My eyes widened, and a surprised puff of air left my lips. "No way. Best friend for ten years? How are you still sane?"
"It’s all grace," he grinned. "Are they in?"
"Oh yes," I nodded, tucking my phone into my apron pocket. "They’re in the living room,,*
I led him back to the living room, pushing the door open.
"Milo!" Roman exclaimed, his hazel eyes shining. His entire demeanor had shifted; the cold, murderous look from moments before was completely gone and replaced by the golden retriever guy I was used to.
Bipolar much? That was a bit terrifying.
"I see you’ve met our lovely housekeeper," Malachi drawled from the sofa. He was sprawled out like a panther, one arm draped along the back, his eyes glinting with mischief as they raked over me. "Or should I say, my little kitten."
"I am not yours," I shot back, my face heating up as I stormed to the table I had been cleaning to pick up my forgotten duster. I had to get the hell out of here. Maybe even go to Gideon’s study and try to break in? I couldn’t keep Dad waiting for too long.
"No?" Malachi purred, a dangerous smirk playing on his lips. "Do you want another lesson in the laundry room to remind you?"
My mouth fell open.
He did NOT just say that. In front of his brothers. In front of freaking Milo. Humiliation washed over me, and I had to fight the urge to shrink into the floor.
"Wait, what?" Roman chimed in, his head tilting, his playful expression clouding with confusion. "Another lesson in the laundry room? What on earth happened while I was gone?"
"A story for another time, little brother."
"Little? I’m two minutes older than you."
"That’s not what the birth certificates show, dumbass-"
"Cunningham," Gideon’s deep voice cut the bickering between the twins. "Did you bring it?"
"Of course," Milo beamed proudly, stepping closer to Gideon’s armchair. He popped open the briefcase and pulled out three sleek, black envelopes. "Tickets to the Wisteria Starlight Gala. I got three."
THREE? That had to cost over a billion dollars. For just tickets? That was insane.
"We only need one of us to attend," Gideon stated, dropping his cracked glass of whiskey on a nearby wooden stool with a click.
Milo’s shoulders deflated. "What? Whyyy? It was so hard to get these tickets."
"Well, I’m out," Malachi leaned back, lacing his hands behind his head.
No one asked you, I almost snapped.
"What? You can’t be out!" Roman protested. "This is your kind of thing! You live for these events. It’s on January 31st; what other plans could you possibly have?"
Malachi just smirked. "I have plans."
Gideon didn’t say a word, just looked at Roman, which was answer enough.
"See? Gideon’s not going," Roman said, throwing his hands up in defeat.
"You know the day Gideon attends an event like that is the day hell freezes over." Milo sighed. "The last one he attended-"
His eyes flickered to me, who was still in the room, and he snapped his mouth shut. Great, my presence here was clearly no longer welcome. I wasn’t even done cleaning, but I wasn’t going to stick around for them to throw me out when I had plans of my own.
I began retrieving the cleaning supplies, dumping them into the cart while their conversation continued.
"Well, whatever. I’m not going either."
"Ro, one of us has to go," Gideon declared. "That was the point of getting it."
Milo sighed dramatically and flopped onto the couch, making the leather groan. "You know, after I pulled all those strings, after you three pressured me into getting this invitation just to prove we could... this is the thanks I get?"
"If you two don’t go, that defeats the whole purpose of showing those assholes we can get into their little tea party even when they didn’t invite us." I stole a peek to see Malachi’s brows furrowed in annoyance.
Wait, the knight brothers weren’t invited? Then how on earth did they get those... oh, who was I kidding? Of course they got the tickets anyway. They were the shady, heartless devils of Wisteria after all.
"Even if I wanted to go, where am I supposed to get a date on such short notice?" Roman grumbled.
"Why don’t you call Tatiana?" Milo suggested, and my brows furrowed in confusion.
"She’s out of the country," Gideon replied curtly.
Who on earth was Tatiana?
None of your business, I snapped mentally at myself, pushing the cleaning cart forward when I suddenly felt four pairs of eyes fix on me.
I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "What?"