“Oh, Carter. Where to begin with you? For starters, you’ve been the best friend a person could ever ask for. You’ve been bymy side for as long as I can remember, and almost every great memory I have involves you. From the first time we snuck out of the house, to our first orgy, to that beautiful day when my son was born, and I found out you had been putting on a disguise and fucking my little sister without her consent.”
Gasps fill the room, and if anyone was confused about what Henry meant in his speech, they all get it now. Groaning, I hide my head in my hands as he continues.
“Yes, yes, I know. I was just as shocked as everyone—”
“I knew,” Blanche tells Ivan, proudly.
“—I thought, surely not JohnFlynnCarter. The man who grew up like a brother to both of us. Surely, he wouldn’t do that. Then I remembered that he co-owns a sex club with me and is kinky enough to go through with just about everything. I beat his ass,of course.But he proved his love for our dear sister, and well, the rest is history. He helped bring my niece and nephew into the world, even if he hasn’t let me live down the fact thathe fucked two babies into his woman.On a serious note, seeing my brother-from-another-mother hold his babies for the first time was magical. Almost as magical as when he held Margot for the first time. We were seven at the time, and we were so excited to have a baby sister. I assumed we were both excited for the same reason, but I suppose he was just happy to have a wife. To Margot and Jack Sinclair!” Ledger winks at me, and I’m about to risk it all and start a brawl right here, but Margot grabs my hand.
This time, the cheers are less enthusiastic, but my sweet sister Lucy is up next, so I’m sure she’ll lift everyone’s spirits.
Just as I assumed, the room brightens just a little when she stands with a big smile on her face. “Hi, everyone! I’m Jack’s sister, but I technically didn’t know him until a couple of years ago. I actually became close with Margot first, so I feel like I got a true brother and sister instead of just a brother and sister-in-law. Your love for one another was the first thing I noticed whenI met you both. It’s a love so inspiring, it feels almost tangible in every room you guys enter. I knew from the moment I saw you together that what you share is a bond that transcends lifetimes. Yours are souls that find each other in every universe. I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to share in this one, and I hope I get to join you in all the others.”
Wow.Wow.I can’t help my tears, and a glance around the table shows I’m not the only one struggling to contain their emotions.
Lucy leans down as Sasha whispers something in her ear. “Oh, Sasha wanted me to tell you that he’s glad you went through all the weird stuff with Margot so that you wouldn’t get mad about him…” She leans back down as he whispers more. “Oh God, Sasha, I can’t say that…never mind. Sasha wants me to tell you congratulations! To my favorite brother and sister, Jack and Margot!”
Blanche finally stands again, tears streaming down her face. “Oh, my babies. Where do I even begin? I knew these two were written in the stars the day Jackie decided to hold baby Margot instead of going to play with Ledger. And I knew at that moment that my daughter would always be taken care of. Jackie was always there looking after Margot as she grew. Of course, it didn’t take long before Margot decided you were it for her, and we all know once that girl gets her mind set on something, she’s going to get it. I haveno ideawhere she gets that from.”
She pauses as the room laughs.
“The two of you were kismet, undeniable. The day we found out we were having Ledger, well, Daddy wasconvincedhe was going to be a girl. He was terrified. I think it’s one of the first times I ever saw that man on his knees in prayer, but he begged for an angel to watch over his baby. Wouldn’t you know, the very next day, my best friend in the whole world, Pam, told me she was pregnant. I didn’t think a thing about it at the time,just thrilled to be pregnant together. Then, of course, when we both found out we were having boys, we were elated. Your father forgot about all that worry as well. He was so excited for another little boy. Every day, he would tell Henry that Mommy was growing him a buddy to play with. It was the sweetest thing…”
She pauses again, and I don’t think there’s a dry eye in the restaurant at this point. Even the waitstaff are sniffling.
“Anyway…by the time we were pregnant with Margot, so much life had transpired. Pam was gone, leaving me with another precious son to help fill the hole her absence left in my heart. Your father and I were more practiced parents at that point, raising three boys, and he was less worried about her safety. She had Ledger, you see, so he felt confident nothing could ever hurt her with that maniac in her corner…It wasn’t until I saw Jackie with my baby girl that I realized my best friend was the one to answer our prayer all along. She gave us the guardian angel who has not only watched over our baby boy but also our little girl. Jackie, you are the most precious gift. You’re the only man I would ever trust with my darling Margot. I’ve seen a lot of love in my life, and experienced it to its fullest, but what you two share is the rarest of all. To my babies, Margot and Jackie Sinclair!”
Chapter twenty-two
“Are you sure we should be here? I know you said your parents are in France—”
“Monaco.”
“What?”
“They aren’t in France. They’re in Monaco. Imagine France, but more pretentious. Tax loopholes, yachts, de-throned European royalty with no money but centuries-old tiaras. Ghastly. But I promise you, they’re gone.”
We continue up the drive, a beautiful house coming into view. It’s what I expected for a family like the Sinclairs, but as stunning as it is, it lacks warmth. At least from the outside, it looks like a stoic, business-first home, and I tell him so.
“Yeah, my father hates flowers, so the landscaping has always been stark, which doesn’t help. But if you think this is bad…just wait until I take you inside.”
It’s worse than he lets on. The bones of the house are lovely, with hints of grand woodwork and high ceilings. But the word I would use to describe it now isgarish.
Henry stops us in the foyer as he mutters under his breath abouteven more chrome.
“The interior is the result of his yearly midlife crisis, maybe five years ago. A harpy of an interior designer caught his attention at a business convention, and convinced him that a trulymodernbusinessman would live in a home covered in chrome, with mirrors everywhere so he could keep an eye on everyone at events.”
I don’t think there’s a single drop of color in any of the rooms I can see from where we’re standing near the front door. Even the bulbs in the light fixtures seem to emit a colder-than-usual glow.
“She ended up with a massive check to renovate it all, of course, and she struck a nerve telling Father he wasn’t modern enough. That man would rather be anything but old, and he loves nothing more than the flattery of a younger woman. So now this is what we’re left with. A white wasteland, as my mother likes to call it. She doesn’t really spend enough time here to care, though.”
The practiced detachment in his tone is only there for a moment, and I realize I don’t really know much at all about what kind of life little Henry would have had running these halls. Based on everything I do know…I doubt it was very carefree.
“Well, it’s nice to see where you grew up. It looks like some of the original features are still peeking out in some places. Some of the carved mantel pieces through that archway seem to have avoided the white paint?”
“Ah, yes, that marble was deemedmodern enoughand allowed to stay. Let me show you…”
The next two hours are spent exploring every nook and cranny of the grand house, Henry coming alive bit by bit as he shares secrets of a childhood that did have at leastsomewhimsy. A narrow hallway behind the butler’s pantry, a fake wall in the closet of what was his upstairs playroom. The house warms withhis stories of playing hide-and-seek with the staff, and by the time we’re walking outside with a picnic lunch, he’s lighter than I’ve ever seen him.
