“Of course, I apologize. Call it wishful thinking.”
I switched the discussion back to Storm. “If she’s so resilient, why did she leave town with her mother then after you dropped the bombshell?”
“She didn’t leave for that reason. Storm always goes to her aunt's house in Jacksonville when she needs to lick her wounds. My older sister is the only one who thinks Stormshouldn’thonor her duties or the promises she made.”
And now he’d lost me. “What promises?” Was this the stage where he told me they were all part of a cult or some shit like that? After the bizarre stuff that had gone down over the last few weeks,nothingwas off the table.
Dominic paused, leaning back in his chair. “You remember what I said about family and how important it is to maintain strong relationships, or should I say ‘partnerships’ with the right people?”
“Yeah, I got that part, marriage and all that crap, so what?” I knew what he said wasn’t a total crock of shit. I was aware that arranged marriages were still popular in certain social circles, just not in any that I belonged to.
“Well. Storm is trying to break off her engagement, and I wouldn’t allow it.”
What the fuck?!
Thatmade me sit up in my seat and almost drop my glass. Storm? Engaged?
“Stormsengagedto be married? She’s nineteen?” The words in my head made it to my mouth.
“Yes. She’s been engaged for years, Phoenix,” he replied, calmly sipping from his glass.
“To whom?”
“To the son of a colleague and dear friend of mine. We were at Brown together. We’ve been in business for years.” He talked about his daughter's future like he was discussing the weather.
“Jasper is the perfect husband for Storm and will follow in his father’s footsteps. They’ve known each other since they were children, and whilst it is still a business match, they get on well as friends. It’s always been on the cards. Why are you so surprised?”
“She’s never said anything, not to me or my…” I almost said brother, meaning Reed, but changed that to “or herotherfriends.”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t surprise me. Storm has always been a private person.” Clearly.
I found it unbelievable that I had never even heard the name Jasper. It wasn’t one you would forget in a hurry.
“Over the last couple of years, Jasper has been at college in Connecticut, and so things have been long-distance, but not for much longer. He’s due to transfer to Epic Heights after the fall.”
To the same college as Reed. Oh dear. That will go down well.
“They’ve been surprisingly loyal to each other. That’s why she doesn’t date.”
And then I realized that I had never seen Storm out with a guy. Apart from Reed, who it appeared really was her dirty little secret. Sure, she flirted with men and made a false play for Hudson, but nothing serious.
“So, you told her she isn’t allowed to date?” I found that archaic, which was a surprise considering I could be a misogynistic motherfucker.
“No, that was her choice. I’m not an old-fashioned man, per se. In all truth, I suggested that they sow their wild oats and get stuff out of their systembeforethey got married, but they both agreed to wait for each other. Everything was going smoothly, but ever since my and Rachel’s anniversary the other week, Storm’s been getting cold feet.” ‘Waitfor each other,’ did he mean sexually? “Something to do with a boy at college,” he added.
And that boy was more than likely my foster brother. So, there was an area of my father's life where he was clueless. He talked about his daughter like she was a virgin. Storm Summers was about as pure as an edible fucking thong.
Engaged? She kept that one quiet. And then my thoughts shifted to Reed again. Shit. Did he know? I really hoped he was just sleeping with her and emotions weren’t involved. I felt a surge of anger. Some college boy? Reed was the future poster boy for the NFL. Dude was going places; Storm could do so much worse.
I couldn’t imagine her settling for a Jasper. What type of dumbass name was that? It wasn’t quite as bad as Cash, but it was up there if you were asking to be bullied your entire life.
My father was still talking about what was basically another arranged marriage, even though he tried to rationalize it. He’d clearly not learnt from his own miserable experience. “Anyway, it’s all part of continuing the Summers’ legacy. We’re going off track. I know you’re not here to talk about Storm’s wedding plans.”
You think?
“I would like to talk to you about how you fit in with that legacy.”
I was partly relieved he wanted to steer away from the subject of his betrothed child. Getting involved in Storm and Reed’s drama was even lower on my to-do list. The guy was big enough and ugly enough to look after himself. I needed to park that news for now.
