Page 41 of The Complication
Wait! How the fuck had he practiced?
My Saturday had sort of rolled along like that, with me barely keeping up. We’d debated Sebastian’s dinner party most of the afternoon. I’d told him to go without me. He’d argued that all three of us would go, which was silly. This was a rich, unmarried-guys dinner party. There were going to beno other kids. Bringing a baby was insane. The second I’d tried to back out, Declan had announced he was staying home as well.
Of course, Franks had sailed in at the perfect moment to offer to babysit with Donovan’s help.
It was hard to turn him down. He knew all Joy’s quirks and preferences, not to mention she was comfortable with Franks and Donovan. They’d both helped me more than once during the day with her.
Declan had glanced at me and smirked. I’d had no arguments left.
“You know, maybe we should have brought Joy,” I announced as he drove up Sebastian’s ridiculously long driveway.
“Why’s that? You don’t think the five hundred pictures on your phone will be enough to prove that she’s the cutest baby in the entire world?”
“Nowhere near enough,” I hissed at him. “But that’s not what I mean. With a baby, you’ve always got a ready excuse to leave early.”
Declan looked at me, his brow furrowing before he returned his eyes to the road. “Why do you need an excuse? Leave when you want to leave.”
“And this is why you’re perfect,” I muttered, rocking my head back and forth on the cushioned support.
He didn’t look convinced, and that was fine. Since moving in with Declan, I was noticing too many things that were making my heart give these annoying skips, which was a bad idea. We had a good thing going as friends and occasional fuck-buddies. Me catching feelings for a sexy-ass rich boy wasnota good idea.
“My friends can be a bit much. If you want to leave, tell me and we’ll leave,” Declan reassured.
“Nah, it’s fine. I haven’t been out and social in a while; I might be rusty.” I reached over and poked him in the arm. “Plus, the only rich person I know is you, so I’m not up on any of the yachting, golfing, polo chitchat.”
Declan snorted. “When have you ever heard me mention any of that?”
“Never.”
“And you never will.” He pulled his shiny black Porsche in to park next to a Mercedes, and what I swore had to be a Lamborghini. Really, I was outclassed already, and we hadn’t even gotten out of the car. But with Declan staring at me, a challenging look in his eyes, I felt like I could fucking handle anything. Declan was a “give no shits, take no prisoners” kind of guy. I’d follow his lead.
“So, you went to college with Rome and Sebastian?” I asked as he climbed the wide stairs. Of course, Sebastian Courtland had one of those colossal mansions, but where Declan’s was purely modern, Sebastian’s had a very classical, old-money kind of feel.
“I attended high school with Sebastian. Rome and Pierce, I met in college.” He stopped and grabbed my elbow, holding me back. His expression became grim, and I stepped closer.
“What?” I demanded in a whisper.
“Simon Miller will be here. In college, we were all friends with Sawyer Miller, but he died prior to the start of our senior year in a swimming accident. Simon is his younger brother.”
While everything he said made sense, there was something heavy in his tone that indicated that there was a hell of a lot more that he wasn’t telling me. But now wasn’t the time to go digging into all that. I got the hint.Don’t ask too many questions. Keep to safe topics like the weather and the local sports teams.
“Gotcha!” I gave him a finger gun and a wink, trying to wipe the worried look from his face. It earned me an eye roll, which was as good as a laugh in my book.
As we resumed our approach to the front doors, they opened to reveal a man in a navy suit who nodded to Declan.
“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Foster. It has been too long.”
“Thank you, Wilkins. This is my…my…” Declan uncharacteristically stammered. It was only now that I realized we’d forgotten to discuss how he would introduce me. Most people wouldn’t lead with fuck-buddy. At least, not for that initial introduction.
“I’m his new roommate!” I blurted out, thrusting my hand at what I assumed was Sebastian’s butler. “Parker Cain. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh. I-I, yes, a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Cain. I’m Wilkins, Master Sebastian’s assistant.” He took my hand and gave a quick shake, recovering from his shock pretty damn fast.
I glanced over at Declan, who was glaring at me, seeming to debate whether he wanted to strangle me now or wait until we got home. A big grin flashed across my lips, and my heart skipped. This was going to be a damn interesting night.
We followed Wilkins through the beautiful house to a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows, expensive furniture, and a stylish bar with shining black marble. Elegant and somehow masculine. There was only one person in the room I didn’t recognize, but part of me relaxed the moment I saw Byron’s face light up. He hurried away from the bar, Sebastian trailing behind him. Yes, I recognized Sebastian from the company website, but seeing him in person was startling. The pictures somehow didn’t come close to capturing the essence and life of this man.
“Declan! Parker! It’s so great to see you,” Byron greeted. He shook Declan’s hand, but as he came to me, Byron took an extra second and used both of his hands when he shook mine. An excited gleam flashed in his dark eyes, and I didn’t know whether to take this as a warning or something else.
