“They’re really normal guys. It’s more daddy daycare than rockstar life now.”
“Still cool,” Tavish states.
“You’re a stylist, Derrick?” Arran asks.
I nod. “I dress a lot of people, some famous, some not.”
Charlie comes in with the champagne and starts pouring drinks for everyone.
“Who do you think is the best-dressed today out of your brothers?” Callum asks.
“Oh no, you can’t ask me that,” I tell him.
“Come on, we need to know. You’re our brother now, you can’t let us walk out the door looking like shit, it would look bad for your brand.” Callum smirks.
“Ignore him,” Rowan states.
“Cal just wants free style advice. He is the one who needs it the most,” Arran shares.
“No, that’s Rowan. His wardrobe is full of the same items, and he just rotates them,” Tavish adds.
“I work in a fucking office, guys,” Rowan argues.
“So do I, but at least my suits are not dull,” Callum points out.
“I think you all have good style, and it suits your personalities,” I add, trying to break up the bickering.
“Boo. That’s diplomatic,” Callum teases.
“How about we cheers,” Rowan asks, holding up his glass of champagne, changing the subject. “Derrick, it is an honor to get to know you, and we hope we don’t scare you off after spending the weekend with us.”
We clink our glasses together and I take a sip.
“So, when are you coming to London next?” Callum asks.
“Not sure. It wasn’t on the cards,” I tell him.
“What are your plans for the holidays? Mum is dying to meet you,” Tavish adds.
“Really? I thought she would want nothing to do with me.”
The room falls silent.
“She knows you’re not your father,” Rowan tells me. “She really wants to get to know you.”
“Won’t I be triggering?”
Rowan shakes his head. “Our mum is one of the kindest people I know. She feels horrible that you were left alone in this world, she said if she had known, she would have come forward earlier.”
“I hate what my father might have done to your mother,” I tell them, twisting my champagne glass as my father’s sins cut me deeply.
“You can hate him, but she’s learned to forgive him because, like she’s always told us, she can’t regret the two of us. That as horrible as your father was, he gave her us.” Tears well in my eyes, and I try to hold them back but fail.
Callum gets up and sits beside me, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “We are sorry that you didn’t have the greatest parents.”
“Thanks.” I sniffle.
“As weird as this may be, our mum truly wants to get to know you. She has already called in the interior decorator and set aside a room for you.”
