𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐑 || 𝐋.𝐌 ✓

➢Chapter 19- The ties that bind us

The hearty, rich sound of male laughter made Y/n smile. Lucius and Regulus had moved from the bar to a pair of chairs next to a stone fireplace. Scotch glasses in hand, they sat and talked about stories from when they were kids.

It was a rare occasion to see Lucius so open and warm...like when she learned he was ticklish. His laughter ebbed and the smile lines stayed on his face briefly before fading. Her heart wrenched. She'd liked seeing him with his guard down.

"Chardonnay," a soft voice announced next to her.

Y/n accepted the glass from a cute waitress. She wore a tiny black dress and strappy heels, her black hair pulled into a ponytail. She'd been here since dinner, clearing dishes and doling out drinks. How did someone land a cushy gig like this, anyway? Her job was to hang out on a billionaire's porch and serve drinks to the five people left: Regulus, Lucius, Abraxas, and Rachel. Y/n had talked to Rachel briefly. She was Abraxas's personal assistant, around his age, and almost exclusively spoke to Abraxas. And the lovelorn look in her eyes when she did it suggested Rachel had been looking at Abraxas like that a long, long time. Abraxas, on the other hand, didn't appear to have a clue his PA had the hots for him.

Men. Seriously.

Clueless.

"Excuse me." The waitress came closer to the barstool where Y/n sat. "I know this is really inappropriate"—she looked around the porch before continuing—"but is there any way you could introduce me to the guy sitting beside Mr. Malfoy?"

"You want to meet Regulus?" Y/n's eyebrows went up in surprise. The other woman had to be at least twenty-one to serve the drinks, so at least they were in the safe zone there.

"I could lose my job, but..." She bit her lip and gazed over at Regulus, hearts blooming in her eyes. "God, he'd be worth it, I bet."

Regulus was laughing, Adam's apple bobbing. His casual button-up shirt was open one more button than necessary, revealing the top of his golden chest. His hair was down and ran a little above his shoulders, he had those haughty good looks that could attract women from a mile away.

"He is very attractive," Y/n said as the waitress, still staring, gave a mute nod.

But when Y/n's eyes tracked to Lucius, leaning back, feet crossed at the ankles and his hand gripping the arm of the deck chair, her mouth watered and heart stuttered. If that was anywhere near the way this sweet college-aged girl saw Regulus, then she was right. Hell yeah, he'd be worth it. How long would she have the dumb job anyway?

"I'm Y/n," she introduced.

"Bridgette." Her dark eyes swept over to Regulus and she sighed with longing.

Adorable.

"You've never worked for the Malfoys before, I take it?"

"Oh, yeah. But..." She wrenched her eyes off Regulus but it took some effort. "I've never talked to him."

Maybe it was the wine, or maybe Y/n felt bold since Abraxas had told her she fit in here, but she decided to make this girl's Cinderella dreams come true.

"Lucky for you, I know him well." Y/n stood and looped her hand around Bridgette's arm. "Ready?"

Bridgette blushed, her smile dazzling. "Ready."

* * *

"You baited him," Lucius said, feeling loose after way too much to drink. It was nice relaxing with his best friend and father. In this house of all places. And Y/n had let him do it. Not once did she ask to go home, or excuse herself to bed early. At the end of the night when Regulus vanished with one of the waitresses, she came to sit with Lucius by the fire. He'd sat, his fingers woven with hers as Abraxas told a war story he'd heard a dozen times. Y/n was rapt, orange firelight bouncing off her gorgeous face, her hand lazily resting in his.