Page 12 of Mine for the Holidays
“I’m sorry, Nate. I…I didn’t realize this was...I didn’t think—”
“I’m going to take a walk.” I hold my hand up to stop her, grabbing my shirt and tugging it back on before I head for the door, shoes in hand. I need to calm the fuck down.
“Wait.” She stands and crosses the room, the blanket around her. “What if someone sees you?”
“Then they’ll think we’re a couple having an argument. Your secret is safe, Delaney. Don’t worry your pretty head about the hired help.”
“That’s not what…Nate!”
Her voice follows me as a whispered hiss as I stalk down the hall, but it disappears entirely by the time I get to the stairs. With my blood pumping through my ears, I quickly descend the marble steps, heading out through the side doors into the lawn area we played bocce on earlier.
“Fuck,” I mutter as I drop my weight in one of the lawn chairs. I’m still barefoot, and something about putting my fucking shoes back on pisses me off even more. I toss them, one by one, throwing the second harder than the first because it just feels good to put that power behind it. I just came from almost having sex with Delaney and I’m frustrated and…I’m hurt. I honestly thought I’d made it clear to her that I, Nate Charmers, was interested in her when we were in the bathroom earlier in the day, then again when I kissed her on the lawn, touched her in the sitting room. Sure, I’ve been playing the part of her boyfriend all day, but besides a few basic facts about who I am and how we met, the rest of it was just me.I’m the man who wants her.
But does she want me?
“Did you just throw your shoes?” a voice asks on my left, causing me to jump since I thought I was alone—seems I’m getting a lot of things wrong today. I turn my head and find the orange glow of a lit cigarette, my eyes making out the outline of one of Delaney’s brothers.
“Tommy?”
The orange light glows brighter as he inhales. “The one and only. Couldn’t sleep.”
“A lot of that going around,” I say, as he gets up and moves to sit in the chair beside me.
“Well, you’re still dressed for dinner, so I’m guessing lover’s tiff. Especially since your shirt is hanging out and the buttons aren’t straight.”
I look down and realize my collar is askew and I’ve missed a couple of buttons entirely. “Just a misunderstanding,” I say, looking at my palms as I replay the moment over and over in my head.Please, Liam. Please.
“I know all about those.” He chuckles as he shakes out another cigarette and lights it off the butt of the first one. Then he offers the pack to me.
“No thanks,” I say. “Don’t smoke.”
“No one does, anymore,” he says, blowing his stream of smoke in the opposite direction to me. “It’s why I do it in the middle of the night so no one ever sees me. I trust you’ll keep this to yourself.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“As is yours,” he says, and my gaze snaps to his as he relaxes back and inhales deeply.
“What secret?” I ask, my brow knitting.
“The one where you’re not a dentist, but an actor called Nathanial Charmers she hired to play the dutiful boyfriend.”
“She told you that?”
“No. I just thought you looked really familiar. Took me most of dinner to place you. See, I kept picturing you in an orange jumpsuit, and I didn’t know why. Then it hit me—my wife loves legal dramas. You were in an episode of Law & Order. So I looked you up. Impressive resume.”
“I don’t know if I should be flattered you recognized me or threatening you to keep your mouth shut for your sister’s sake,” I say. Despite my current situation with Delaney, I’m still protective of her.
“That’s Tony you’d need to threaten. Not me. I’ve got plenty of secrets of my own to worry about, I don’t need to be outing Del for hers. To be honest, I’m glad she brought you along. Lord knows they’ve put her through enough with their incessant matchmaking.”
“Why do you think they do it?” I ask, noticing the scent of whisky mixed with his tobacco.
“Fucked if I know. They say it’s about our happiness, but I think it’s got a lot to do with control and money. Everyone wants a piece of this after the old Aunty is gone.” He nods toward the mansion behind us. “They all think that doing whatever she asks will get them a bigger slice of pie. But I don’t think that’s the case at all.” He frowns and looks at his cigarette, twisting it between his fingers. “Want to know an even bigger secret to trump the fact you’re an actor?”
“Lay it on me.”
“She’s leaving this place to charity. Specifically, the Children’s Defense Fund. Since she never had kids of her own, she wants her legacy helping kids who are less fortunate than the rest of us. She donates buttloads as it is, but in the end, she’s leaving this to them. The rest of us…” He laughs before he sucks on his cigarette. “We get nothing but a few knick-knacks and pieces of art.” The chuckle continues as he blows out the smoke from his lungs. “Don’t get me wrong here, I love Aunty Joan, she’s the most pure of heart human besides Delaney that I know, but when she passes, I’m going to enjoy watching the faces of my parents and brother when they find out that all that ass-kissing, all the bullshit pretense was for fucking nothing.”
“How did you find this out?”
