Page 48 of Hush Money
Mac pulls the car up around the circle to the big front doors and puts the car in park. He zooms around to grab our door, but Keaton is already out of the car, holding a hand out for me. He helps me slide out, straightening out the bottom of my gown for me then giving me his arm.
“You ready?” he asks me. I look up at him, our eyes locking, and for the first time since we decided to come here together, I feel confident. I do feel ready, because Keaton needs me to be. So that’s what I’ll be. I nod and smile, squeezing his hand.
“Let’s do this,” I tell him, and he leads me up the big, over-the-top stone staircase that leads to the main doors. Two doormen exit the building, holding open the big, cathedral-style doors and waving us inside. Keaton greets both of them with a smile, leading me through the doors.
I draw in a long, slow breath as I take in Bedell House, refamiliarizing myself with it. It looks largely the same. Everything is massive and looks untouched despite the thousands of people that walk these halls every year. He leads me farther into the house, and there are people everywhere, carrying trays of drinks and hors d’oeuvres. There are big, beautiful rose bouquets on every table, and music fills the halls, sweeping its way down to us from the grand hall, which Iremember is in the west wing. There are guests standing around, sipping their drinks at the cocktail tables, ordering from one of the four bars that are set up around the main level, chatting with each other and looking like they absolutely fit in here.
I don’t, but I never really felt like Keaton did either.
I think that’s what gave me hope for us in the first place.
And then Cato squashed it.
But that was then.
This is now.
And now, Keaton needs me. Hewantsme. He has chosen me, and there is nothing Cato Everett can do about it.
Keaton leads me into a smaller room off the grand hall that doesn’t feel any less grand. I remember the huge three-story fireplace. This is where the Everett’s family tree was set up every year, not to be confused with the forty-foot one they set up in the main foyer for guests. Back in the day, Keaton’s grandfather would select five charities or non-profits, and then visitors could make a small donation to one of their choosing. When they donated, they would get an ornament that they could add to the tree.
When his grandfather died, Cato did away with the tradition. He told the boys that they weren’t in the business of playing “banker” and collecting money for other “businesses.” I remember Keaton drank himself silly that night in my bedroom.
When we walk in, the first person I lay eyes on is Sawyer, and I am instantly at ease. Maybe misery loves company, but I know Cato doesn’t like her and thinks she’s a “gold-digging bimbo,” as she so eloquently put it. I also know from Keat that she put Cato on blast in front of all his rich buddies at his wife’s birthday party a few months ago. So she might be one of my new favorite people.
Keaton tightens his grip on me as he leads me through the crowd, smiling and nodding politely at all the people who stareat us, just craving any attention he will give them. I hate that for him because I knowhehates it. He wants to be as far away from Bedell House as he can be.
Just as we approach them, I hear someone from behind us.
“Well, well, well,” the voice says, but I don’t recognize it. “Who do we have here, big brother?”
We spin back around, and I see a much taller, broader, much more handsome Brooks. His eyes grow wide when he sees my face and realizes that it’s me. His eyes bounce from me to Keaton, over to Julian, and back to me.
“Do my eyes deceive me, or has the girl who crushed my brother’s heart waltzed back into our lives?” he asks me with a coy smile. There is a beautiful blonde on his arm, who is looking around the room, sipping a glass of champagne. She doesn’t belong here either—I can tell. But she is pretty desperate for no one to know.
I smile back at him just as I feel Keaton tense up next to me.
“That’s because I heard that his pain-in-the-ass little brother wasn’t around much, but I guess I was the one who was deceived,” I say. Sawyer scoffs from behind us, and Keaton and Julian choke back laughs. Brooks raises an eyebrow but smiles down at me as he looks between us again.
“So you’re back, then, huh?” he asks. I nod and smile.
“You can’t get rid of me this time,” I tell him. He looks at Keaton, then looks back at me, then takes a step toward me and pulls me in for a hug.
“In that case, get in here,” he says. I hug him back, but it lasts longer than I’m prepared for. He rubs my back gently and makes a soft humming noise, like he’s eating something he likes. When I realize what he’s doing, I let go of him, just as Keaton playfully shoves him off.
“Nice try, dick,” Keaton says. Brooks backs away with an innocent shrug.
“Hey, I was just a tyke when she dipped,” he says. “She might want to make sure she’s chosen the right brother.” At that, the blonde whips her head around to us.
Keaton rolls his eyes, and I put my hand on Brooks’s shoulder.
“Aww, nice try, Brooksy,” I say, “but you are forever ingrained in my brain as the kid who pissed himself on the Ferris wheel. You are forever eight in my mind, honey.”
This makes Julian laugh out loud, which I consider a win. He’s so much more serious than the other two. It’s nice to break down that wall. When the blonde realizes I am not a threat, she turns her head back to the crowd, back to people-watching.
Brooks takes his defeat like a man, laughing along with his brothers.
“Alright, alright,” he says. “So, what is this, then? Didn’t you ditch the Everetts to go get hitched or something?”
