pte

in continued to fall, soaking through his cheap canvas jacket, but for the first time

of cupcakes from the rain with her own body, offering a hot meal to

a; Georgia

uke S

djusting his duffel bag as they

th clock ju

yway choked with roaring exhaust fans, stacked wooden pallets, and

orty feet above-a distinction Lucian knew intimately, having stayed in the Regency

oors, her shoulder bumping the crash bar. She moved with the practiced

id, her voice tight as she balanced t

r of the hotel's staging corridor. A pastry chef in a spotless, towering chef's h

oard, his eyes narrowing instantly as his gaze swept over Georgia's flour-dusted ap

, tapping a gold-plated pen against his clipboard. "And who is

e call from his desk would have had this mid-level manager stripped of his credentia

coordinator and Lucian, her head held

his is my assistant for the delivery. The forty custom sugar-crystal floral cupcakes are intact, unblemished, and chilled to exact specifi

three-tiered box under the clear protective film. The delicate, hand-sculpted icing f

toward her. "And get your 'assistant' out throug

egant stroke, accepted her receipt, and

, back out into the cold, drizzling rain, Lucian

t middle managers w

line of the delivery finally wore off. She rubbed her damp forehead with t

there's nothing left," she said softly, pulling her worn wool scarf tighter ar

treet-a neighborhood where streetlights flickered with unstable wiring

splay windows were now covered in heavy brown paper. A faded woo

narrow, creaking flight of wooden stairs that smelled fa

ispered, slipping her own scuffed sneakers o

The furniture was old, with faded floral fabric patched carefully at the armrests, but every surface was wiped clean. Hand-k

s that you,

called out from the doorw

The sharp, guarded edge she had carried on the st

toward a small, dimly lit bedroom. "I finished the

air and pale, cloudy eyes sat up slowly in a narrow bed. An oxygen concentrato

old woman asked, reaching out with a thin

her's forehead. "I brought someone back to help with the heavy flour bags for

a crack open, then turned back to Lucian, her eyes

f the room-a remnant of the old family business downstairs. Sitting at the far side of the table were two fourteen-year-old boys who look

their heads up a

the twins asked, dropping his pen

"He helped me keep the Regency shipment steady when I tripped

ms, eyeing Lucian's threadbare jacket and faded duffel bag with imme

beneath a dented aluminum pot. "And he's our guest tonight. Ray, clear

ystal chandeliers, served by white-gloved waiters who moved like shadows. Here, the room was cramped, steam from the pot was fogging the small window ove

ble, followed by a thick slab of dense, golden s

d, pulling out a wooden chair for hi

oon-it was light, stamped stainless steel, worn sm

reductions. But as the heat settled in his chest, Lucian felt something unspool inside him-a k

resh herbs, roasted garlic,

baritone voice quiet in the sm

hing him with a quiet, observant intensity. She took a small piece of

ing tonight, Luke?"

fway to his mouth. "I have a

weeks ago," Hayden chimed in from the counter, no

sture of his shoulders-the posture of a man who was clearly educated,

by how he handles a heavy load," Georgia said softly, her fingers tracing the edge of her wood

ing so her brothers wouldn't hear o

oposition fo

rowing slightly as he met her gaze. The game

ening," L

er hands clenching into small

said directly. "And I thin