The bitter pill of disappointment cracked on my tongue. What had I been expecting, a hug?

“I…” I forced myself not to look at Rhea. “I got a message from Annie.”

I felt bad about throwing her under the bus, but she was already fired. Rhea wasn’t, and Pen needed her.

Plus, I doubted my family would check with Annie. Once they fired someone, that person didn’t exist to them.

Caroline’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve never met that woman.” “That you know of.” I arched one brow. “How would I know who she was otherwise?” “Penelope could’ve told you.” “She could’ve. But she didn’t.”

“This is ridiculous.” My stepmother redirected her glare toward my father. “George, kick her out. She stopped being a Kensington the day she humiliated this family by leaving it—my God, the number of whispers I had to endure during my charity meetings after that—and she—”

“You can’t kick me out,” I snapped. “This is public property. You don’t own the hospital, no matter how much money you donate to it.”

“Perhaps not, but we can get a restraining order against you for lying to the hospital staff and intruding on a private family affair.”

“You can certainly try. My—”

“Enough!” my father thundered. Caroline and I lapsed into mutinous silence. “This is neither the time nor place to engage in petty squabbles.”

He turned the full force of his flinty gaze on me. “Sloane, you are legally a Kensington,” he said. “But you gave up all rights to participate in this family the day you walked out of my office. That includes contacting Penelope in any way, shape, or form. I made that clear.”

My nails dug into my palm. “She’s a kid, and she needs someone who—”

“What she needs is none of your concern. You have no more claim on her well-being than a stranger on the street.” Disappointment shadowed his face. “We could’ve solved this. I gave you an opportunity to make amends, and you ignored it. The consequences are yours to reap.”

His dismissal fell like an axe blade, severing my power of speech.

The beginnings of a storm brewed behind my ribcage, but as always, it was all sound and no fury. No rain, no tears. Just an endless, ceaseless pressure that yearned to break but couldn’t.

“Rhea, go inside Penelope’s room and stay there,” he said. “If anyone except myself, Caroline, Georgia, Bentley, or hospital staff try to enter, call security and let me know immediately.”

“Yes, Mr. Kensington,” she said quietly. She flicked a worried glance at me before she hurried past and disappeared into the room. “The doctor says Penelope is doing fine and in no danger,” my father told Georgia and Bentley. “Stay if you’d wish. I’m heading back to the office.”

“And I’m meeting Buffy Darlington at the Plaza.” Caroline gathered her coat tight around her. “We have a silent auction to plan.”

Neither acknowledged me nor checked on Pen on their way out. I wasn’t surprised they’d ignored me, but the way they bypassed Pen pissed me off. I guess I should’ve expected it; their parenting style was best described by the phrase “doing the bare minimum.” My blood hummed with the aftershocks of our confrontation.

After years of picturing the moment, it’d been both overwhelming and underwhelming, but it wasn’t over yet.

“I did not expect to see that show today.” Georgia tilted her head. “What did Daddy mean when he said he gave you an opportunity to make amends?”

Next to her, Bentley remained silent. He hadn’t said a word since he saw me, which was for the best. If he opened his mouth, I’d punch him in it. Twice.

“He emailed me about your pregnancy.” I smiled over the churn in my gut. I shouldn’t have eaten that chicken salad for lunch. “I would say congratulations, but I’m the only person here who doesn’t lie.”

Bentley had the grace to redden. Georgia didn’t.

“That’s okay,” she said with maddening calm. “The new town house Daddy bought us is congratulations enough. He’s thrilled he’s finally getting a grandchild. Speaking of which, are you still single?” She glanced at my bare ring finger, her patronizing tone grating against my already-raw nerves. “I can’t imagine why.”

Forget punching Bentley. I was inches away from punching my sister in her perfect, heart-shaped face.

“Neither can I.” The velvety interjection draped over me like a protective blanket. “That’s why I asked her out before those other idiots beat me to it.”

Warmth brushed my side. A second later, a strong arm wrapped around my waist, drawing me closer and grounding the storm brewing inside me.

Only one person had the ability to do that.

“Xavier Castillo.” Georgia straightened, her gaze sweeping over his tousled dark hair and sculpted body. He wasn’t the preppy boarding school type she’d always gravitated toward, but he exuded a raw sensuality few could match. That, plus his family’s fortune was triple that of Bentley’s.

I tensed, something green and ugly slithering through my veins at the way my sister eyed him.

Beside her, Bentley stiffened and placed a possessive hand on Georgia’s hip. She ignored him, her eyes sliding to Xavier’s arm around my waist.

“You’re dating Sloane?” Her question swam with disbelief. “Yep,” he drawled. “I chased her for months, but she finally agreed to go out with me.” He dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “Sorry that took so long, babe. Parking was a nightmare, and the front desk initially refused to let me up because I’m not family. How’s Pen?”

“A bit banged up, but she’ll be okay.” I leaned into him, playing up the girlfriend act. We technically weren’t lying; we were dating, albeit more casually than Xavier made it seem. “Thank you for coming here with me.”

That was a hundred percent honest. “Anytime, Luna. I’ll always be here for you.”

I glanced up, my heart stilling for a split second at the sincerity in his eyes. It surprised me no matter how many times I saw it, and it scared the hell out of me.

I knew how to deal with fake people. I interacted with dozens of them every day. But genuine people were rare, and they slipped past my defenses in a way that could be disastrous.

Then again, it might be too late where Xavier was concerned.

He—

Bentley cleared his throat, derailing my train of thought and dragging our attention back his way.

“Aren’t you his publicist?” he asked, earning a sharp glance from Georgia. My client list wasn’t a secret, but it was interesting that he was so familiar with it.

“Seems like a violation of professional ethics to date a client.” We stared at him.

Shit.

Bentley wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t going to explain the nuances of our situation to him. To be honest, I feared that, once I went down that road and passed all my justifications, I’d find no good reason for dating Xavier other than I wanted to. He was the kryptonite to my logic, my inhibitions, my rationality, and everything else I relied on to keep me out of quagmires like this one.

Similarly, I’d gotten so caught up in wiping the smug look off Georgia’s face that I forgot we were supposed to be keeping our relationship low-key in public. We weren’t hiding it, but we didn’t flaunt it either. We didn’t want to give the city’s gossip network any fodder.

“Who I date or how I run my business is none of your concern,” I said coolly. “I’d tell you to mind yours, but you don’t have a business of your own, do you?” A small tilt of my head. “It’s sad that your family can’t buy you deals the way they bought your admission into Princeton.”

Flags of color burned high on Bentley’s cheekbones. He worked in private equity like his father, but he’d gotten the job mostly because of his connections. He also hated reminders about being wait-listed at Princeton. The only reason he’d gotten off the list was because his family donated a building.

“This is absurd,” Georgia said. Without our father or my relationship status to use against me, she’d clearly lost interest in the conversation. “We won’t stand here and let you insult us. Come on, Bentley, let’s go. We have dinner reservations at Le Boudoir.” They didn’t say a word about Pen before they left. That was my family in a nutshell. Great at surface-level sentiments like showing up; shitty at actual sentiments like following through.

Honestly, I was surprised Georgia had showed up at all. She and Pen tolerated each other at best and rarely spent time together. Georgia didn’t care for children (which was concerning, since she was pregnant), and Pen thought she was “too narcissistic.” I didn’t know where she’d learned the word narcissistic, but she wasn’t wrong.

“You have such a wonderful family,” Xavier said after Georgia and Bentley were out of earshot. “I can’t imagine why you don’t want to talk to them.”