John got sick. I am so sorry, honey. I’ll make it up to you. I love you.
Lake squeezed her phone as hard as she could, trying to keep from crying. She had known when her mother hadn’t showed in the first five minutes that she wasn’t coming. She had already had a feeling it was all John’s fault. John had no reason to be there since Ashley was a junior, and he sure as fuck wasn’t coming for his stepdaughter.
Lake hit the button to reply.
It’s okay. I love you, too, Mom.
It seemed like, no matter what, she couldn’t help the fact that she did love her. Her mother was family. There was nothing else to it.
Hearing the first name read, she put her phone away. As the names went farther down the list, she couldn’t help thinking about how John had managed to ruin one of the most monumental moments in her life. Regardless, she decided to try to push it out of her mind as her best friend in the whole wide world waited on the steps to be called next. Lake was already primed to clap and cheer.
“Adalyn Ricci.”
Yay—what the…?
Lake’s attention was drawn to the men in black packed onto the bleachers. They were yelling, clapping, and whistling so loud she thought her eardrums were going to break. She couldn’t help laughing at the goons for making such a scene and clapping along as Adalyn retrieved her diploma.
It wasn’t much longer before Lake found herself waiting on the steps for her name to be called. She honestly wasn’t nervous anymore. Her dad was the only one who was going to be paying any attention to her, so her nerves were finally gone.
The man spoke into the microphone, “Lake…”
She took her first step onto the stage.
“Turner.”
Lake’s walking slightly slowed from shock as she heard another roar come from the suits, so much so she had to keep telling herself to keep walking.
When she took the diploma into her hands, she put on a smile for the camera then went straight back to her confused face. Why would they do that for me?
Walking to the other side of the stage, she could finally look at the men cheering for her. Every one of them was standing, and every one of them was clapping. A smile began to touch her lips as she watched a couple of them hit her father’s shoulder in congratulations.
When she got back to her seat, she realized she had completely forgotten that someone important was missing when she had been walking across the stage.
Thankfully, the ceremony didn’t last much longer. Before Lake knew it, it was her turn to sit in the bleachers. The day before she hadn’t wanted to, but after seeing them all cheer for her… It’s the least I can do.
After they hugged their parents, Adalyn started leading her to the middle of the bleachers. On the way, they received many nods from the men. It was their way of congratulating them. One of those nods had her freezing in place, however. She knew exactly who the man was when she met his ice-blue eyes. There was no doubt about it; he was the boss. Dante Caruso.
The man had an air about him, a don’t-fuck-with-me vibe, while being classy at the same time. He was chillingly dark, yet she found him way too handsome for an older man.
Lake quickly nodded back, though not out of politeness. Nope. It’s because getting whacked on graduation day would really suck.
Squeezing through the crowd, Adalyn finally stopped by a girl who almost took Lake’s breath away. The girl was drop-dead gorgeous with shiny gold hair, like an angel or a goddess. Oh, my God, she is like the girl version of Vincent.
“Congratulations, Adalyn!” The gorgeous girl stood to give her friend a hug. She was even tall, wearing a pale blue dress which showed her perfect body. Lake thought she was going to go blind any second by her beauty.
“Thank you,” Adalyn responded, hugging her back. After the hug, she turned to Lake. “Lake, this is Nero’s sister—”
“Hi, I’m Maria. Congratulations!” She pulled Lake into a hug, too.
Jesus, she’s incredibly nice, too? Lake gave her a hug back. “Thank you.”
“Maria, when are you going to learn that people don’t like to hug?” a younger male voice said.
“Sorry, I’ve been trying to work on it.” Maria pulled away.
Lake laughed. “No, it’s okay. You shouldn’t stop being nice.”
Everyone went quiet around her and started to stare.
The young male’s voice returned. “Did she say nice? No one has ever called a Ca—”
Maria hit his shoulder. “This is my youngest brother, Leo, who likes giving me a hard time.”
Leo held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Lake.”
Who the hell did these people descend from?
The dirty-blonde boy was already a charmer and way too good-looking for his age. She figured he was early in his high school years, but he was definitely much better-looking than the seniors in her school.
Lake shook his hand back. “Nice to meet you, too, Leo.”