The rest of the family laughed and took bets on how long Catie and Danny could keep it up.

The longest bet came from Charlotte, who said, “They’ll go all the way.” The hazel of her eyes sparkled behind the clear lenses of her spectacles.

Everyone else told Gabriel’s gentle, strong wife that she was going to lose all her money.

“O ye of little faith,” Danny said. “Catie and Charlie and I are going to take all your money. Put it on the line if you’re so confident.”

They all did except for Jacqueline, who just raised a single eyebrow. “Caitlin is my child. She will ensure Daniel follows through.”

Ducking out of camera angle by pretending to reach for something, Danny mouthed a dragonish roar.

Catie gave him a smug smile.

Charlotte, meanwhile, was laughing, Gabriel’s deep voice tangling with the sound as he tried—and failed—to convince her that she was throwing away her money. Charlie might be the quietest member of the extended family, but she knew how to hold her own—especially with her big, brash husband.

“So you’ll all back the story in public?” Danny asked after returning into the shot.

“Of course” was the response from so many throats that Catie couldn’t separate them out.

Not that the backup had ever been in question. The family might razz them in private, but in public they’d be an impenetrable wall. It was only after they’d hung up that Danny said, “You didn’t add your dad to the call.” His gaze was gentle.

Irritated, she shoved off the blanket and swung her legs to the floor. “Clive would sell the story to the highest bidder.”

“Hey.” Danny reached out to grip her arm, his hold warm and loose enough for her to break at will. “I wasn’t poking at you. I thought I heard that, you know, he’d gotten a bit better. Not the money stuff obviously, but the rest.”

Catie shrugged off his hand, but she couldn’t keep up her anger. Because it wasn’t about Danny. Dropping her head, she shoved her hands through her hair. “He’s older, not wiser, Danny.”

Catie would never trust Clive—and that hurt her heart. But she had enough of Jacqueline in her to understand that emotion couldn’t reign supreme—not when it came to something this important. She’d always love her father, but trust was out of the question.

“The whole leopards don’t change their spots thing?” she said, staring at the wall rather than at Danny. “That’s Clive in a nutshell.” She wished she was wrong, that her father was a better man, but she wasn’t and he wasn’t. “I stopped expecting more from him a long time ago.”