Page 32 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
“Ah, you’re the heir. You’ve got more responsibilities than me.” I grinned, scanning the ballroom. “I see my friends. Walk me over there, would you?”
“Mother is glaring at us.”
“I don’t really care.”
“What happened to you? You used to shrink away from her.”
“I hit my head so hard it knocked some sense into me,” I answered lightly. “Vivi!”
Vivi turned around and beamed at me. “Allie! Iknewthat dress would look stunning on you.”
I blushed. “Thank you. Oh, let me introduce you—this is my brother and the future marquess, Vincent. Vincent, this is Lady Vivian Trelawney.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Vivian.” Vincent kissed her hand.
She smiled. “And you. This is my fiancé, Lord Ivan Leavitt, the future head of the magic tower. Ivan, this is my dear friend, Lady Alicia Vermillion.”
Lord Ivan offered me a warm smile as he took my hand. “Lady Alicia, I’ve heard so many good things about you. It’s an honour to make your acquaintance.”
Look, I was well aware he was my friend’s fiancé, but I was only human, and my heart fluttered a little bit.
The man had silver hair, blue eyes, and a jaw that could cut glass.
It was a deadly combination, and I was a weak, weak woman in the face of a handsome man.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, also,” I replied, accepting the kiss he brushed against my fingers.
“Ivan, you aren’t flirting with another woman right in front of my sister, are you?”
Lord Ivan laughed brightly. “I would never, especially not with her best friend.”
Best friend?
That was new.
“Best friend?” The new man’s eyes twinkled. “I didn’t know she had friends, never mind one close enough to be her best friend.”
Vivi wrinkled up her face and smacked him on the arm with her fan. “Leon, don’t be rude.”
Ah.
The eldest Trelawney and heir to the dukedom, Lord Leonard Trelawney. He was the spitting image of his younger sister, but infinitely more masculine.
I was in handsome man heaven.
God bless fictional universes and the authors who created the men in them.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me, sister?” He turned to me with a smile playing on his lips, and Vincent tensed beside me.
Oho. Did he want to be the protective little brother?
How cute.
Vivi sighed. “I suppose I did promise you I’d introduce you. Allie, this is my eldest brother, Leon. Leon, this is Lady Alicia Vermillion.” She snapped her fan open. “There. My work is done, and you owe me a new pair of shoes.”
It was quite clear who was in charge amongst the Trelawney siblings.
Lord Leon wasted no time at all in taking my hand and kissing the back of it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Alicia. May I say how beautiful you look tonight.”
