“Uh…” Whatever she thinks is happening, I’m pretty sure she has the wrong idea. I’m going to need to have some more information, but now her attention is on flagging down the waiter for her check.
As I wait for her return focus, I scan the marina around us for details. I figure tonight’s event is either in the clubhouse or on one of the boats, and sure enough, I see Hadrian’s brother, Steele, with a beautiful dark-haired woman on his arm. And is that Samuel Seymour escorting a woman onto that yacht?
When I turn back to Adly, she’s handing the waiter her card. “I had a feeling,” she says to me, “but I know better than anyone not to believe what you read in the media, so I wrote it off as wishful thinking. But then when Hadrian punched Hunter over you—”
I blink, utterly confused. “Hadrian punched Hunter…over me?” I’m trying not to get ahead of myself, but I’m glad I have the table to hold on to because my knees suddenly feel weak.
“Oh, you didn’t know? After that shitty, shitty thing he said about you. I mean, bet**en you and me, my brother’s always been a bit of a f**k face, but that was a low blow.”
Actually, now I’m utterly confused. “Hadrian is a f**k face?”
“No, Hunter.” She must have meant cousin and accidentally said brother. The two and a half empty c**ktail glasses in front of her and the extra effusiveness suggest she might be a bit tipsy, and I’m too eager to hear what else she has to say, so I don’t stop to clarify. “He was the oldest when…” She shakes her head. “Anyway, it’s not you. It’s definitely him. He and Hadrian are always bumping heads, and usually Hadrian is the bigger man and lets all his antics roll off his back—I mean, he doesn’t really let it roll off his back. The p**ssure does get to him, but where Hunter is concerned, he usually can keep his cool. But then Hunter said that shit about you, and next thing you know, Hadrian is seeking him out at Spice and then slugging him in the jaw. It was a highlight of my life. I wish I’d recorded it. You know—Reid might have caught it on a security cam. I’ll make a note for myself to ask.”
She halts her rambling to pick up her phone and dictates into the microphone. “Ask Reid if he has footage of Hadrian hitting Hunter. Point being, I knew it then. Hadrian would never have bothered with Hunter if he wasn’t into you.”
She doesn’t put her phone back down, so it takes me a second to realize that she’s talking to me again. “Uh…what? I’m sorry. I’m not following.”
She giggles. “No, my fault, sorry. Truly sorry. I’m nervous about this whole thing tonight, and so I accidentally drank more than I should, and I know I’m a mess. Daddy’s not going to be happy, or you know what? Maybe he will be happy because apparently he’s found the love of his life, and he’s been on cloud nine since, and all I can think about is what if she’s like some Cinderella stepmom, and she hates me? I know. I’m a full-grown woman. It shouldn’t matter. But it does matter. You don’t know how Dad keeps us all jumping like circus monkeys. More hours on my psych’s sofa, I suppose. SNC pays for my insurance, and you better believe I use it for my mental health, because Daddy definitely deserves the bill. Oh, there’s Chase, my date.” She waves to someone behind me, just as the waiter brings her card back.
I look over my shoulder to see a tall, athletic man waving back.
“Want to walk down to the boat with us, or are you going to wait for Hadrian?” Adly asks as she signs the receipt.
I glance toward the boat that Samuel and Steele got on. No one else seems to be boarding it. How small is this event, exactly?
My stomach starts to sink as dread settles over me. “I think I’ll wait.” Really, I think I need to leave, but I don’t say that to her.
“Sure thing. But in case I don’t get another chance to say it…” She takes a breath. “I didn’t realize that you were into Hadrian back then, but since you’re here for him…I’m just really happy for him. He doesn’t let people in, you know. Especially not women, and he’s taking this hard, so I’m glad you’re here for him.”
She reaches over to sq***ze my hand. Hopefully she doesn’t notice how clammy it is. “I’ll see you on the boat.” With that, she leaves to join her date.
Holy f**k.
I try to process everything Adly revealed. Try to decide what to do next. Her half-drunk gin and tonic sits before me, and I finish it off quickly, but I don’t give it time to enter my bloodstream before I push myself into gear and walk back into the yacht club and back toward the parking lot.
I’m staring at my phone, opening the Lyft app when I hear my name being called. Looking up, I see Hadrian getting out of the back seat of a car. He signals to the driver to wait when he sees my exp**ssion. “What’s wrong?”
I wait until I’m closer to ask, knowing very well that there are always onlookers. “What the f**k is this tonight?” When his jaw tightens, I clarify my question. “Why does Adly think I’m your date, and why do I only see members of your immediate family here?”
For the first time since I’ve known him, Hadrian seems speechless. He runs a hand through his hair, searching for something—words, maybe—in the horizon before looking back at me with empty eyes.
“I can’t be your date to a family affair, Hadrian.” I’m astonished as I say it because the truth is there is a part of me that very much wants to be Hadrian’s date. To be someone that he cares enough about to bring into his inner fold.
But the other part of me knows this is too far. “What the f**k is wrong with you?”
“I can explain.”
“Then explain.”
“It’s…” He swipes his hand down his chin this time, and I’ve never seen him so on edge. “Just come with me. I’ll explain it all after.”
“No.” It’s sharper than I planned. “No, no. I am not getting on that boat. I’m sorry. That’s a family thing, and I am not…” Not qualified. Not available. Not…I’m not sure how to finish. “I am not… Why?”
That’s the real question, the one pleading to be answered.
“I….” He grabs my arm. “Come on, Brystin. I need you.”
Those are magic words where I’m concerned. Usually. He needs me? Then better believe I’m here for him.
Substitute any name from my past for that he/him, and it would be a true statement.
But Shiloh’s advice from earlier is still fresh in my ear—stop giving them part of you—and I force myself to stand my ground. “For what, Hadrian?” When he lets a beat pass, I push on. “You demand honesty from me while you hide behind your position? Tell me the truth for once.”
I feel his resistance as he looks from the waiting car to me to the marina back to me. His posture slumps when he makes his decision. “My father’s getting married. Uh. He’s introducing us to his fiancée tonight, and I’m…” He rolls his shoulders back. “I can’t do it alone, Brystin.”
“So you want me to be your distraction?” I let out a half laugh, backing away. “No. No.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?” I’ve been his toy since day one, his personal plaything. Thinking back now, how so many of the events he’s had me at were family related, maybe that’s what it’s all been about. An attempt to disengage from a toxic family environment. Is that why he needs me tonight? “Why is this even a big deal, Hadrian? Your dad’s getting married. So what?”
“Because he isn’t supposed to be able to love anyone again. Okay?” His voice is raw, and for the first time since I’ve known him, there’s a vulnerability that makes my heart trip.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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