He poked his head in the kitchen before looking in my bathroom and heading into my bedroom. I followed him, hot on his heels, half-terrified that he was about to find James naked inside my closet.

“What are you doing? My room’s a disaster.”

Thankfully, he walked back into the living room before facing me. “You’ve always had a crush on him.”

“No, I haven’t,” I tried to argue, but it felt useless at this point. Apparently, I hadn’t been as good at hiding my emotions as I’d thought.

“Anyone with eyes can see the way you look at him. The way you’ve always looked at him,” he said accusingly.

I flushed, knowing that James could hear every word.

“He’s not what you think,” I started to explain, wanting my dad to give him a chance, to maybe see things differently for once.

“Is he a Russo?” my dad cut me off, and I nodded. “Then, that’s all I need to know. Why can’t you just listen? Russos cannot be trusted, Julia. Do you think this boy actually likes you?”

My mouth fell slightly agape as I struggled to find the words to combat his accusations without confessing my sins from last night.

“Oh, you do. That’s rich. You think he actually cares about you?”

My dad laughed, and I couldn’t remember ever feeling so small or stupid before. It would be one thing to hear this crap from a jealous girl or a guy like Todd Lestare, but to hear it from my own father was a little more than unnerving and hurtful.

“He’s a good man.”

I half-wished James would appear at my side and stand up to my dad with me, but I knew that would only cause further chaos. This was something I needed to do on my own. Plus, the poor guy was probably rocking in the corner of my closet, wondering how he’d gotten into this mess in the first place. James was going to bolt and never look back after this and I wouldn’t blame him.

“Anything that boy does is for his own benefit.”

“Why would you say that? You don’t even know him.” I plopped down on the couch, my feelings all over the place. My head spun with words like betrayal and disloyalty while my heart beat with the exact opposite, happy I had finally given in to it.

“And, after one dinner, you think you do? Russos lie and manipulate to get what they want. It hasn’t worked in their favor yet, and I’ll be damned if it works on my watch!”

“What can James possibly want from me?” I asked through my wonder.

“Our vines,” my dad growled in response.

I refused to accept his opinions so easily. Not this time. “He has his own.”