“You should stop interrogating Dr. Keller, Matt. It’s annoying,” I interjected, feeling heated. Neil coughed—apparently some caviar went down the wrong pipe—and I immediately slapped his back until he recovered.
“Selene! Where are your manners?” my father scolded me as though Iwere still five years old. Mia whispered something into his ear, maybe urging him to calm down. Meanwhile, I just watched him steadily so he could see the indifference on my face.
“Tinkerbell, I like it when you get aggressive, but now isn’t really the time. Save that energy for later…” Neil murmured, causing a flare of pleasure in the bottom of my stomach.
“It gets on my nerves when he does that overbearing asshole thing,” I answered under my breath.
“We both know how he is. Ignore him. Now’s not the time to make a scene…” he advised me.
“I’d say we’d better start eating down this mountain of food. Anyone want more caviar?” Logan cut in, serving Chloe a portion as she nodded enthusiastically. I smiled when her big gray eyes met mine and an odd warmth spread through my chest. The baby of the family had actually accepted me, and she told me she genuinely hoped that Neil could have a real relationship with me. Though, she added, she was well aware of how weird he was, so she wasn’t getting her hopes up.
She told me her brother would need time to bond with me, and I was trying to give that to him. I had no intention of giving up on him.
“I need a smoke. You want to come with?” Neil wiped his mouth and tossed his napkin down beside his plate before standing up. I raised my head to watch appreciatively as his muscles moved beneath his button-down and elegant suit jacket.
I was so proud of him and proud of the man I knew he’d one day become. He had the makings of a successful architect. I could practically see it now; he’d be respected by his colleagues and, of course, still adored by women.
Could he not see how much potential he had?
“I’d better not…” I said, clearing my throat. I knew that if I went with him, we’d shut ourselves up in the pool house and wouldn’t come out again. He seemed to know what I was thinking because he narrowed his eyes and fixed me with a stare of such overwhelming roguishness that it took my breath away. But he didn’t insist and instead just headed out the glass doors into the backyard.
“Thank you, Selene.” John leaned toward me, and I frowned, notimmediately understanding what I was being thanked for. Then I remembered: I’d saved him from the Matt Anderson Inquisition.
“You’re welcome,” I answered reassuringly. I would have defended him as a matter of course. I knew my father well, and I would never have allowed him to screw with someone like Dr. Keller.
He didn’t deserve to get raked over the coals by Matt for no good reason.
“Ahem, ladies, gentlemen, pardon me.” Anna poked her head into the dining room with her hands clasped in front of her. She looked hesitantly at Mia. “Ms. Lindhom, I’m so sorry to bother you during dinner, but there is another visitor here for your son.” She cleared her throat, and Mia turned her full attention on Anna, waiting to see who the visitor was. Mia’s eyes went wide when a tall, imposing man with glacial eyes and a disturbing kind of charisma walked in—William Miller.
“Good evening,” he smiled politely at everyone but especially at his ex-wife, whom he immediately moved toward. “I wanted to congratulate Ne…” His confident stride halted abruptly when he caught sight of John’s petrified stare.
“John?” William’s lips barely moved as he said it. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. John just clenched one hand into a fist, clearly trying to get a handle on himself.
“William,” he answered shortly, never looking away from the other man’s metallic stare.
“What…what are you doing here?” Mia attempted to insert herself between them, but the hatred, the bitterness, and the competition running between the two men was obvious.
They had a score to settle with each other.
“And how do you two know each other?” Matt pointed at them, asking a useful question for once. Logan and Chloe also seemed confused yet curious about the situation.
I was simply scared.
I felt that fear creep down my spine and wrap around me in an eerie embrace that made my skin crawl.
“Where is my son?” William asked with a seemingly benevolent smile that nonetheless boded no good, and under the table, my legs began to tremble.
Mia shook her head and got abruptly to her feet, drawing everyone’s eyes to her.
“Whatever you have in mind, William, he isn’t part of your conflict.” She attempted to put a hand on his shoulder, but the man backed away from her, still staring John down with a smile so sinister it would have given the devil himself chills.
I was glowering at him, trying to figure out what exactly he intended to do, when Neil came back into the room. He walked back over to the chair beside me and bent to scoop up the lighter that had slipped out of his pocket and fallen on the floor.
The moment he registered his father’s presence, however, he straightened up.
William smiled widely and approached Neil, like he’d been waiting to do it all day.
“What are you doing here? Who invited you? Fuck off.” Neil stepped back in disgust and gestured to the front door. William just shook his head and gave an amused chuckle.
