from Josh's mouth. "I was under the impression this was a st

vent, huh?" Josh ret

able. "In my book, a social event involves drinking. Let's make a dea

ily was not L

unharmed seemed unlikely with

d more than a mere sip of vodka. She wouldn't ge

e, Lena asked, "If I d

nk more," Josh proposed, his ey

but she still said, "I tru

the room on her, weighing her next mo

w rested on

om, where a man's silhouette lingered almost unseen in

waiting for Roderick to save you?"

! All Bartons are bastards

adowy figure, Lena shifted her focus a

was just about to touch her lips when a calm, commanding voice interrupted the te

ularly loud, but it exu

ned to stand out, their presence

gnized the speaker. He managed a strained smile. "Ah, Mr. Barton. Just a bit of fun,

e that had suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth. Moments later, the flame disa

Collin remarked, "You s

h a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm simply pursuing a woman I've been in

burned, Collin's attenti

Josh. It was on Lena. "Woul

the air around Lena. She promptly sho

rned away from her, addressing Josh with a

ithout sense. He began to understand tha

-standing infatuation with Lena fueled his

hardened. "You've just returned and might be out of touch with local affairs. Your elder brot