Page 6 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck

He eased back from me slightly, keeping a hand on my upper arm. His attention slid to our uncle. “Nile, tell her she should be here, with us, where she belongs.”

“Yes,” said Nile, his voice lacking warmth, his expression heated. “She should.”

I swallowed hard. “Is Amice here?”

Nile stiffened, an artificial smile covering his face once more. “She’s upstairs putting the child down for the night.”

By the child, I knew he meant Astria—my brother’s one-year-old daughter.

Nile wasn’t big on children.

Henry gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “Amice has been positively beside herself with excitement about you coming home. You really should have let us meet you at the airport when you got back from London. We could have helped you get settled into your apartment.”

“There was no need for you both to drive into the city for me,” I said. “I packed light, and since you insisted on keeping the apartment that I’d been staying in prior to leaving, nothing needed to be moved.”

“The apartment was an excellent investment,” said Henry. “I’m planning to hang on to it even after you finish school.”

“Is that so?” asked Nile, taking a keen interest in the topic. “The city is full of vagabonds and miscreants. The crime rate is astronomical. I’m frankly amazed our dear sweet Rachael hasn’t been a victim of a tragedy there. Especially with the way she likes to parade around with everything she has on display. She dresses to tempt the opposite sex.”

My fingers curled into fists, and I honestly considered striking the man. Not that it would have done any good.

“Uncle,” said Henry sternly. “The apartment was a good investment. The area that it is in is seeing a surge of new businesses.”

I noticed how my brother avoided commenting on Nile’s remark about how I dressed.

“But of course, nephew,” said Nile. “You would know best which investments are worth keeping. Not I.”

The only source of contention I knew that existed between Henry and Nile was the fact that my father had left Henry in charge of running the Frankenstein estate and various businesses. The investments were controlled by Henry as well, who had gone to school for finance and had been a child prodigy. He excelled at anything to do with money.

Nile had plenty of money that was his own, but the Frankenstein family had spent generations amassing a fortune, and I’d always felt Nile had his eye on it all. I wasn’t entirely sure what Nile did. I knew he spent most of his time in the manor’s basement. He came and went at all hours of the day and night. He normally avoided speaking to me, choosing instead to glare at me whenever possible. And he absolutely forbade me from venturing into his area of the basement. The one that was locked away behind a thick steel door.

Since I had no desire to be down there, I never let it bother me. What got under my skin was how, after my father passed away, Nile had gone through the house, systematically removing all traces of him.

He’d even had the nerve to try to take over the study. Thankfully, Henry hadn’t let that happen. It didn’t stop Nile from using it all the time though.

I removed my coat, and Henry helped to ease it off me before hanging it near his.

His gaze slid over my outfit, and he froze.

Nile grunted and had the nerve to curl his lip at the sight of my jeans and T-shirt. As if my outfit confirmed everything he’d said before about how I dressed and the crime rate in the city.

Nile was a big believer that women should never wear slacks of any kind. That dresses were the only suitable form of attire for the “fairer sex.” But nothing too revealing. Modesty was important to him.

“Perhaps you should head up to get ready for dinner tonight,” suggested Henry.

“Yes,” said Nile firmly, his gaze sliding over me slowly in a way an uncle should never look at his niece. “That shirt is far too snug on you. So are those jeans.”

I nearly reached for my coat to put it on once more.

ChapterThree

Rachael

“Rachael,”said Henry, giving me a quick embrace once again. “Head on up and get changed for dinner.”

With a measured breath, I kept my gaze locked on my uncle. “Iamdressed for dinner.”

“No, you’re not,” Nile countered. “You should wear the white dress I bought you for your last birthday.”

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