Free Lucien by Elijana Kindel

know how Elise turned out normal when she had two parents as unique as Wyndemere and Moonbeam. Right?”
     
    Luc nodded.
     
    Raven saluted Luc with his beer. “That was my doing.”
     
    “I figured as much.”
     
    “Don’t get me wrong. Wyndemere and Mom were great parents to my baby sister, but they each had their own idea of what constitutes good parenting. When Elise was little, she went with the flow. Then when she got older and started questioning things, I stepped in and… made things easier for her.”
     
    “Whatever you did, you did it well.”
     
    “Thanks.” Raven glanced down at the bottle in his hands then looked Luc in the eye. “That spiel Elise used on Moonbeam about refusing to have an affair… was it the truth?”
     
    Luc met his gaze without blinking. “You of all people should know that your sister isn’t the type to indulge in an affair.”
     
    “Then your feelings for Elise are… how did she put it? Pure and deep felt?”
     
    Luc shifted in his chair and leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the table. “I could sit here all day describing the multitude of feelings your sister has inspired in me during the last six months and you probably still wouldn’t be satisfied.”
     
    Raven arched a brow and waited for Luc to continue.
     
    “Your sister means a lot to me and I hate to see her upset.”
     
    “She told you about the taxes,” Raven guessed.
     
    “She was crying.”
     
    Raven grimaced. “I never should have told her.”
     
    Luc took another swallow of beer. “She would have figured it out sooner or later. Elise isn’t happy with your decision to sell your bike tomorrow.”
     
    “I’m not too thrilled with it myself,” Raven muttered.
     
    “Like I said, I hate to see Elise upset. So I’ve made arrangements for the best tax attorney I know of to help and I’ll be paying whatever it takes to keep Moonbeam out of jail until a settlement is worked out.”
     
    Raven’s bottle banged against the table. “Mind runnin’ that by me again.”
     
    “My sister, Cindi, is a tax attorney and has agreed to take Moonbeam’s case. It’ll cost me, but you get to keep your bike and Elise is no longer upset. And everyone’s happy.”
     
    Raven shook his head. “As much as I’d like to take your money and run, I don’t take charity.”
     
    Luc nodded at Raven’s words. “I knew you’d say that.”
     
    “I’ll take a loan, but not—”
     
    “Enough. In six days, I’m marrying your sister and I’d rather not spend my honeymoon watching Elise worry about how you’re holding up after selling Aphrodite. There are a few other things I’d prefer her to be preoccupied with. I’m selfish that way.”
     
    “Do you realize how much money we’re talking?”
     
    “More than a fifty grand, knowing my sister’s hourly rate, but probably less than half a million,” Luc answered.
     
    “You say that as if you have that kind of cash lying around.”
     
    Luc didn’t feel the need to respond to that statement. Raven would find out soon enough that Elise wasn’t marrying a pauper.
     
    “All right. You win. I’ll let you pay for the attorney and fork over whatever ungodly amount the tax police decide Moonbeam owes.”
     
    Luc relaxed.
     
    Raven watched him with a thoughtful gaze. “You imply that you’re doing this for selfish reasons, but you’re not.” When Luc didn’t respond, Raven continued, “That’s all right. I understand.”
     
    “You do?” Luc didn’t have a clue what Raven was talking about.
     
    “Yeah. It’s a side effect of hanging around Elise.” Raven took a swallow of his beer then asked, “Did you know that my sister doesn’t find silver linings in clouds?”
     
    “She doesn’t?”
     
    “Afraid not. Elise has the uncanny ability to find gold lining in the clouds.”
     
    “Uh-huh.”
     
    “You don’t believe me?”
     
    “It’s not a matter of believing, but understanding,” Luc said.
     
    Raven laughed. “You