Page 26 of The Mermaid's Bubble Lounge
“I prefer valet,” he corrected.
“Tomato, tomahto.” I threw my keys, lip gloss, and phone in the small handbag and stood before Clive, my arms out. “Will I pass Benvair’s inspection?”
“You look gorgeous,” he said, ushering me toward the elevator. “Stop on the first floor and grab a bottle of wine from the fridge. I tried to get it for you while you were doing your mascara, but the curtains are open downstairs.”
“Oh, shoot. Sorry!”
He gave me a quick kiss and ushered me into the open elevator car. “Don’t be late.”
I shot out on the first floor, closed all the curtains, made sure Fergus was in and closed the back door, grabbed a bottle of wine, and was back in the elevator in record time. Fergus seemed confused, but he was stretching out on the couch as I headed down to the garage.
THIRTEEN
Not Feeling Too Welcome Right Now
The drive was short, and I was able to find a place to park right across the narrow street from Owen and George’s home. I checked the clock on the dashboard. Four minutes. Perfect.
You couldn’t see much of their home. It was hidden behind a wall covered in ivy. I went through the garden door, followed the path through their lush, fragrant front garden, and was knocking on the door before seven.
Owen opened one of the large double doors and gestured me in. When I handed him the wine bottle, he kissed my cheek and whispered, “You look perfect.”
Waving me forward, he led me through the grand marble entry, down a few stairs, and into a great room with cathedral ceilings and a window wall looking out over the ocean and Golden Gate Bridge. Waves pounded against the rocks at the property’s edge below. They had a patio off the lower level that ran out to steps leading into the water.
George and his brother Alec regularly swam in the ocean. It was one of the ways they were trying to help improve Alec’s strength and endurance after being held in a small cell for twenty years. The last time I saw Alec, he was looking more like his twin and less like a death camp survivor. He was on his way. Healing the outside, though, was a lot easier than healing the inside. Take it from me.
The home was elegant, without the dark, austere quality of Benvair’s mansion. Hers had dark, smoky gray walls and black wood floors, giving her house the appearance of a luxurious dragon’s lair. Owen and George’s home was lighter and more open, with creamy walls, blond floors, and furniture in off-white, ocean blues, and greens. It was a calm and restful home, which was probably one of the reasons Alec lived here with them. Owen said Alec had the lower level to himself, and while he used to hole up down there most of the time, he was now spending more and more time up in the light with the others.
In the great room, Benvair sat in a high-backed chair beside the marble fireplace. Regardless of it being a weeknight and her only having walked a few doors down to her grandson’s for dinner, Benvair was, as always, perfect. She wore a deep charcoal gray pencil skirt with matching heels, a gorgeous fire-red silk blouse, and had large rubies at her ears.
“Good evening, Benvair. It’s lovely to see you again.” I tried not to fidget in her presence. Tried and failed. “I hope you don’t mind my joining your family dinner this evening.”
Benvair, the queen of pregnant pauses, scrutinized me from head to toe and then took a sip of her red wine. “Of course. This is Owen’s home as well. He’s free to invite…others.”
“I’m grateful,” I told her.
Coco, wearing a simple black skirt with a white button-up blouse, sat alone on a bench near the window. As I was keen to put some space between Benvair and myself, I crossed the large room to greet Coco.
“I wanted to thank you for helping to take care of Fergus while Clive and I were out of the country.”
She waved away my thanks. “That was all Fyr. I just kept them company sometimes when he went for coffee.”
“If only Fyr could have had the night off as well,” Benvair said, “so he could be here this evening.”
“Sam.” George came out of the kitchen with a pained look on his face. He’d heard his grandmother and gave me a hug. “You look beautiful. I’m so glad you were able to join us tonight. Now that we’re done moving in, we want to have friends and family over more often.”
“You’ll need to finish furnishing the house,” Benvair told him.
Owen came out of the kitchen with two glasses of wine, one for him and one for George. “Sam, this wine is delicious. Thank you.”
“I’ll let Clive know you liked it. That was his suggestion.”
“I believe I gave you my interior designer’s contact information,” Benvair continued, not allowing the discussion to be derailed by wine talk.
George wrapped his free arm around Owen. “You did, Grandmother. Thank you, but Owen and I are enjoying doing it ourselves. It’s slower this way, but everything in the house is something we picked together, which means more to us.”
Alec walked out of the kitchen and for the first time, I felt like I was seeing double. The transformation was incredible. When we’d freed him from that dungeon six months ago, he’d been skin and bones. He couldn’t stand on his own, let alone walk. Now, he was almost as tall as George. Thinner, still, but he looked healthy and thriving in his faded jeans and a blue button-down oxford shirt.
Tears rushed to my eyes. “Alec,” I whispered. “Look at you.”
