JAY JAY POV
The moment we stepped past the grand double doors and into the warmth of the chandelier-lit ballroom, I finally let out the breath I had been holding since the car door opened.
Surviving that red carpet was an Olympic sport in itself.
The wall of screaming paparazzi and blinding flashbulbs felt like walking into an active artillery zone, so having solid ground was an immediate relief.
Percy leaned down toward my ear, shaking his head with an exaggerated sigh of mock pity for the crowd.
“God, people are completely insane out there,” he whispered, smoothing down his tuxedo lapel with an arrogant smirk.
“I mean, who wouldn’t lose their absolute minds after laying eyes on this magnificent face?”
I didn’t even hesitate.
“Yeah, honestly, it is pure luck they didn’t all end up in a mental hospital from the trauma.”
Percy rolled his eyes so dramatically I thought they might get stuck in the back of his skull.
“Your jealousy is simply pathetic, little sister. Truly embarrassing.”
“Right, because I’m definitely jealous of a guy whose ego needs its own zip code,” I muttered back, looping my hand a little tighter around his bicep as the high-society vultures began turning their heads toward us.
I pasted on my most polite, radiant corporate smile.
Then I saw him.
The air vanished from my lungs so fast it felt like someone had physically struck my chest.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs, and for several terrifying seconds, I genuinely forgot how to take a breath.
Cutting straight through the parting sea of billionaires, politicians, and cartel elders was Mark Keifer Watson.
He was wearing a tailored tuxedo cut from the exact same deep, lethal burgundy silk velvet as my gown, perfectly sculpted to his broad shoulders, paired with an obsidian shirt that looked like liquid shadow.
He moved with a grace that makes entire rooms go still without him having to utter a single word.
His sharp, dark eyes were locked onto mine
Beside me, Percy leaned in, letting out a low, amused chuckle.
“Your husband-to-be has arrived,” Percy teased, his voice dripping with pure mischief.
Heat flared in my cheeks, half from panic and half from raw, unfiltered humiliation.
I snapped my head toward him, glared daggers into his smiling face, and discreetly brought the sharp pointed toe of my stiletto straight down against his dress shoe.
“Ow!” Percy hissed under his breath, wincing while trying to keep his charming gala smile intact for the nearby photographers.
“Don’t push me, Percy. I am already standing on the edge of a cliff,” I whispered furiously through my clenched teeth, my fingers digging into his forearm as Keifer closed the final few feet between us.
Keifer stopped right in front of us.
The space between us shrank until the scent of his expensive cedar and leather cologne collided with the amber suede on my skin.
He didn’t speak immediately; his dark eyes were just drinking in every single inch of my face and the curve of the burgundy gown like a man dying of thirst.
Before the silence could suffocate me completely, David stepped up with a calm, polite smile.
“You look stunning tonight, Jay,” David said warmly.
I seized the distraction like a lifeline, offering him a genuine grin.
“You look pretty sharp yourself, David. Look at you, all suave in beige and cream,” I teased, stepping forward to give him a brief, familiar hug.
Next was Honey, looking striking in her backless gown.
I stepped into her space and wrapped my arms around her.
“Looking seriously hot tonight, Jay,” Honey whispered with an arch, teasing eyebrow as we pulled apart.
“And what on earth am I supposed to say to that?” I laughed, shaking my head.
Percy immediately sauntered over, inserting himself into the conversation with that effortless, smug charm of his.
“Emerald green is definitely your color, Honey,” he said, giving her an appreciative once-over.
Honey crossed her arms, tilting her head.
“I honestly didn’t expect you to show up in navy blue, Percy.”
“Please, the man is pathologically obsessed with blue,” I chimed in with a smirk, elbowing my brother in the ribs.
Leaving Percy and Honey to bicker like they always do, I took a couple of steps back toward where Aries was standing like a stone sentinel with his champagne glass.
“They actually look kind of cute together, don’t you think?” I whispered to Aries, nodding toward Percy and Honey.
“Hmm. They do,” Aries murmured, not looking away from the room.
“Should I play matchmaker and do something?” I asked, my inner meddler waking up.
Aries instantly shook his head.
“Do not get involved.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Fine, killjoy. Where is Ella, anyway?”
“She will be here shortly,” he answered calmly.
Even while talking to my brother, my entire back was tingling with electric heat.
I could feel Keifer’s unblinking, heavy gaze boring into the side of my face
“Go greet him,” Aries murmured under his breath, leaning closer so only I could hear.
“The media is watching every move. It’s going to look suspicious if you ignore the man wearing your matching velvet.”
I whipped my head around and glared daggers at him.
“What? You are going to be living under the exact same roof in seven days anyway,” Aries pointed out with brutal practicality, placing a large hand between my shoulder blades and giving me a firm, unyielding nudge forward.
“Go on, Jay.”
I stumbled a half-step before catching my balance on my stilettos, my heart hammering violently in my throat.
Swallowing down the lump of panic and sheer obstinance, I forced myself to look up into those intense, pitch-black eyes towering over me.
“Hi, Keifer,” I said softly, my voice barely carrying over the orchestral music playing in the hall.
“Hi,” Keifer said, his voice dropping into that deep, raspy baritone that used to make my stomach flip when we were teenagers.
“Long time no see,” he added, his dark eyes never wavering from mine
I just nodded, pasting on a polite, tight smile for the cameras flashing in our peripheral vision.
He took a slow, deliberate step forward, closing the microscopic sliver of space left between us, and opened his arms.
It looked like a standard, elegant greeting between old friends for the journalists watching from the ropes, but the heat rolling off his chest was suffocating.
When his arms wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me in, the fabric of his burgundy velvet brushed against mine, perfectly seamless.
The sane, rational part of my brain screamed at me to stay stiff, to keep my hands pinned to my sides, and to treat him like the dangerous mafia monster he had become.
But the moment his familiar scent of cedar, leather, and smoke filled my senses, muscle memory betrayed me entirely.
Before I could stop myself, my arms rose on their own, sliding around his waist and locking behind his back, hugging him tightly against me.
I didn’t want to.
I hated that I was doing it.
Every ounce of my pride begged me to shove him away, but my traitorous body leaned straight into his solid, immovable warmth, craving the one boy who used to make the entire world feel safe.
I yanked my hands back like I had touched hot iron, quickly stepping away from his chest before my traitorous brain could make things even more humiliating.
I gave a quick, stiff nod toward the floor, desperately trying to cool the sudden heat burning across my neck and cheeks.
Keifer’s arms lingered in the empty space between us for a split second before dropping slowly to his sides, his dark eyes hooded, tracking every breath I took.
Before the suffocating awkwardness could swallow me whole, a familiar laugh cut through the chatter behind the crowd.
I looked up, and the relief was so sharp it nearly knocked me off my heels.
Sara Ford.
My best friend in the entire universe, looking like an absolute vision in an ivory silk gown that shimmered under the chandeliers.
“SARA!” I whispered-yelled, abandoning Keifer, my family, and the entire mafia political stage without a second thought.
Her face lit up the moment our eyes locked across the polished marble.
She picked up the hem of her dress, hurried past a pair of stuffy corporate executives, and met me halfway with open arms.
I crashed straight into her
“Oh thank god you’re here,” I mumbled against her shoulder, gripping her like she was the only real, sane thing left in this entire ballroom.