Page 59 of Vow of Revenge
His low chuckle pissed me off. Brett knew I was affected by his cursed cousin. “He doesn’t come back that often.”
Syrah jumped in, shovelling me out of the uncomfortable hole I landed in. “What’s his problem anyway? He’s such a cold-hearted player.”
Brett’s eyes flickered. A raw nerve exposed. His fingers gripped the fork as he obviously considered a calm response. “Syrah, Kaleb is my family. I love him as if he were my actual brother. You wouldn’t understand our bond. He witnessed his father’s murder in cold blood. I’m sure that would be a heavy burden to carry as a kid… and an adult.”
My heart cracked in two. One half bled for me, the other bled for him. I understood his distance, his fear to get close, waiting to be left alone all over again. In the span of my life when she still breathed, I always waited for my mother to return. On the rare occasions that she came back to me I would kiss her pale face and tell her I loved her. Some days she crept into Bernie Richard’s house, the neighbour who she paid to look after me. It was always dark, but I remember her lying beside me on the sofa. She used to whisper how much she loved me and begged me to forgive her. It wasn’t the life she had planned for us, but she tried her best. I loved hearing stories about the fancy red car she used to clean and the young boy who spent most of his time in boarding school.
One night there was even promise that we would finally be together. I never saw her again after that.
Every night when I fell asleep, I would wait for her to return, but she never found her way back to me. That was until Kaleb found his way into my dreams and now my mother doesn’t come to me as often.
“Freya?” Syrah whispered, her voice spiralling into my ears, pulling me from memories.
I raised my glass and took a long gulp. “We understand your bond, Brett. I’m not a blood Beaumont. They adopted me. But she’s my sister, regardless of DNA.”
His brows flew up. “Wow! I didn’t realise. Looks like we have more in common, baby.” His wink sent quakes across the table, and I knew my sister had turned into a puddle. “So that’s why you don’t look like each other then.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” I grinned, hearing Syrah’s low gasp of laughter.
“Ladies, ladies don’t gang up on me.” Brett flashed a sexy smile, sporting bright white immaculate teeth.
I sipped the smooth red wine, enjoying the rich blackberry accent. “Malbec is my favourite grape. You should ask the Californian Vineyard to send him a few cases of our wine,” I said, tilting my glass towards Syrah.
“Good idea. Once I tell Dad about… ummm.”
Brett cleared his throat. “Your parents don’t know that you’re in a relationship with Brett De Courcy, the most eligible bachelor in Dublin?”
Her cheeks flushed. “So, we’re in a relationship?” The words waivered.
His fingers drummed the table. “Fuck. I just said that out loud. Well, I guess, yeah. I’d like to jump in if you would?”
“Yes! I would, Brett,” she said immediately without thought or consideration. Her head nodded subtly, but the vibrations reflecting from her body betrayed her composure.
“Fancy clay pigeon shooting tomorrow?” He placed his knife and fork together on an empty plate.
“Yes, I’d love to try shooting. That’s right up my street these days.” I slashed through the heated atmosphere and poked my head into their love cloud.
I drained a few more glasses of wine over a dessert of mini sweet waffles and Chantilly cream. Apparently, they were Tilly’s favourite. She always had the vanilla flavoured cream with waffles because it was part of her name.
“Why didn’t you bring your daughter here? She must love it.” Someone had to ask the questions around here because my sister was too love struck.
Brett smiled. “She does love this house, but not as much as her uncle and his dog.”
“His dog is really cute.” My fork nudged the last piece of waffle.
“They keep each other company.”
Once I practically licked the plate clean, I sat back and patted my stomach, feeling a whoosh of alcohol buzz through my veins. “Right, that’s me stuffed. I’m going to head up to my room and read. I doubt you’ll miss me.” I smirked and then offered a friendly wink at Brett as we all stood.
“I’ll escort you back to the guest room.” Brett strolled down the opposite side of the table, holding out his elbow with the grace of a proper gentleman as he drew closer.
“Thanks, but I remember the way.” I just wanted to have a nosey at the paintings, and maybe see if I could spot Kaleb in any.
“Don’t you want protection from the ancestors?” The left side of his mouth crept up.
“I’m a big girl, Brett. I can manage to fend off a few shadows.”
“Goodnight, Freya. See you at breakfast.”
