The look J hit him with could have killed, but Madison’s face lit up with a huge smile.  “I love that idea, Nash.”

“Thought you might, babe,” he said, grinning at J.

“Fuck you, asshole,” J directed at Nash.

Velvet slid her arm across Nash’s shoulders and pulled him to her so she could say, “You’re a devious man, Nash Walker.  I like it.”

He turned his face to hers and kissed her.  “I know you do, sweet thing.  I keep that shit up just for you.”

As they continued bantering back and forth, I watched Scott.  He’d hardly engaged in the conversation today and sat staring into space.  It was pretty clear he wasn’t interested in what was being said and I wondered again what was troubling him.

“Will you come to the Christmas party, Layla?” Madison asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I dragged my attention from Scott to look at her.  “If I can get someone to work the bar, I will.”

“We could lend you some staff from Indigo if you need it,” Nash offered.

“Thanks,” I said.

J nodded.  “Yeah, we’ve got some good staff there who won’t let you down.”

I was amazed at their generosity.  They hardly knew me and yet they were offering to help me out and it wasn’t the first time they’d done that.  It wasn’t often I’d come across such giving people in my life.

Donovan whispered in my ear, “You okay?”

I turned to him.  “Yeah, I’m more than okay,” I said with a smile.

He nodded, and turned back to the conversation.  Looking at Madison, he asked, “So, what date are you doing this?”

J groaned again, and I had to laugh.

Warmth spread throughout me.

This was what family was.

***

Donovan’s hand rested on my leg underneath the table, and while I did my best to keep up with the conversation, his touch distracted me, forcing my thoughts to wander off in his direction.  Thinking about his hands all over me was not the thing to be doing while sitting across from his sister, so I pushed his hand away.

He turned to me as he moved his hand back to my leg.  I glared at him and pushed him away again.  He shook his head slightly, slid his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me close so he could whisper in my ear, “Don’t fight me, baby.  You tell me no, the more I’ll push.”

Shit, his words shot straight to my core, and I squeezed my legs together as the desire moved through me.  “Not in front of your family, Donovan,” I whispered back.  The lunch had been going so well, and I’d felt completely welcomed by everyone.  I didn’t want to risk ruining that.

“It’s time to leave then.”  Without waiting for my response, he directed his attention to Madison and said, “We have to go.”

She nodded although she did seem disappointed.  Looking at me, she said, “Thank you for coming.  It was so good to meet you.  And we’ll definitely have to do the girls night out thing at your bar soon.”

“I’d love that,” I said, as Donovan stood, dragging me up with him.

He quickly said his goodbyes to everyone, and we left.

“I really like your sister,” I said as he drove us back to my place.

“Yeah, she’s special.”

“Scott seems quite moody, or is it just because of his girlfriend problems?”

“He is a moody bastard.  For a long time, he wouldn’t have anything to do with me, but over the last few months we’ve been working together on something and it’s brought us closer.  I don’t think we’re going to suddenly be great friends or anything, but he has changed a lot.”

“That’s nice.  What’s Harlow like?”

He gave me a smile.  Interesting, he must like her.  “She’s the perfect woman for Scott.  Kind, caring, and she has a beautiful soul.  I have a lot of time for Harlow.”

“Well, I hope they can sort their stuff out because she sounds amazing.”

“Did you have a good time today?” he asked.

“I did.  Everyone was so welcoming and I was stunned when J and Nash offered to lend me staff for the bar so I could go to their Christmas party.”

“So you’ll come to the party?”

“Of course,” I answered.

“Good,” he murmured.

I turned to look at him.  “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

He kept staring ahead, watching where he was driving.  Giving me a quick glance, he said, “I wasn’t sure if today might have overwhelmed you.  Madison can be pretty full on, as can the guys when they all get together.”

“No, I loved it,” I said, softly.  “Coming from the shitty family I did, I craved that kind of get together because we never did that kind of thing.  And even when they were arguing, you could still see the affection they had for each other.”

“Yeah, I never had that growing up either.”  His voice said everything his words didn’t.  Donovan craved family as much as I did.

I reached across and ran my hand over his shoulders.  “I think you and Madison are lucky to have each other now.”

He gave me a quick smile before placing his hand on my leg and tracing a pattern.  His touch was gentle and soft.  We remained silent for a while before he finally said, “I’m lucky to have you, sweetheart.  I’ve never felt this kind of connection before.”