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“Yes?” I frowned, studying how a hundred emotions flickered across Lucas’ face. “Is that a problem?”
“I just…”
Whatever Lucas was planning to say died as he glanced passed my shoulder. I turned, following his line of sight and spotted Toby through the crowd. He had his back to us, but his hair and height were easily recognizable. Even more so when he laughed heartily, and the familiar grate of his voice reached my ears.
“I’m sorry, I have to…” Excusing myself from Lucas, I wove through the crowd toward my brother. My heart continued to flutter beneath my ribs, betraying my nerves, but the alcohol was thankfully keeping all of that to a manageable level,
Toby’s black suit was adorned with gold flecks that lit up the closer I got, and when I was a few feet away, he finally turned around, deep in conversation with an elderly man who was clasping Toby’s hand and nodding.
“—very generous,” the man said as I approached. “More than anyone could dare to expect and here you are, hitting all our goals at once.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Toby replied with a smile. “If nothing else, it’s tradition and I want everyone to know just how dear this Charity is to our hearts.”
“There will be no doubt,” the man replied. “And I must, again, offer my condolences to the passing of your father. He was a great man, and it was so sudden. I was so sorry to hear how he was taken from us.”
“I appreciate that, thank you,” Toby smiled. I slowed my steps, for the look on Toby’s face was similar to the one I often adored when facing down people who offered their apologies for my mother. It was a grief only those who had lost a parent would understand.
“Absolutely, my boy,” the man chuckled. “Absolutely.” With a final pat, he stepped away and a tall, slender woman in a figure-hugging gold dress adorned with crimson ruffles took his place. As she pressed a red lipstick kiss to Toby’s cheek, her poker-straight black hair cascaded over one shoulder like a waterfall. She was stunning. Her bright eyes were lined as dark as her hair, and they focused on me first as I finally reached them. A polite smile played across her lips.
“Toby?”
Toby turned abruptly and his soft face immediately hardened, his brows shooting high. “Scarlett? How the hell did you get in here?”
The tall woman’s face snapped cold, and her eyes narrowed to slits. “This is her?” she hissed low on Toby’s ear, and her long, red-painted fingernails gripped his arm tightly.
“I was invited,” I lied. “Sort of. I’m a guest here, just like you.”
“You’re not like me,” Toby snapped. Suddenly, he pulled free from the beautiful woman and grabbed my arm, bunching up the glove beneath his fist. Using his grip, he dragged me swiftly through the crowd, keeping me close to his body so it looked like we were just walking together. Only when the crowd thinned out did he release me, shoving me away from him.
“Tell me why you are here,” he demanded sharply, “or I will call security.”
My stomach twisted into knots, nausea clawing up my gut and threatening to make this sudden terrible situation worse. Forcing a deep breath, I tried to calm myself, but it proved impossible. I was shaking like a leaf, and that tremble worsened when I realized I couldn’t see Lucas through the crowd.
I was alone.
“Speak!” Toby snapped and I jumped. Then I clenched my hands into fists and glared at Toby.
“Alright, fine! You’re such a colossal asshole, you know that? I have been calling and texting you, trying to get in touch with you, but you have been ignoring me! It might be fine for rich, pompous assholes like you to tend to things on a whim and leave people hanging, unsure of what comes next, but I have a life to get back to!” The words spilled from me in a heated rush and tears smarted behind my eyes. Always a crier, I often found myself tearing up in high-emotion situations, and this was no different. I didn’t let it affect me, though and I pointed a finger at Toby.
“All you had to do was answer the fucking phone!”
“I was busy,” Toby snapped.
“Bullshit!” my heightened cry drew a few curious glances from onlookers, but I didn’t let that deter me. “You dragged me all the way out here to sign some papers, and I understand that- I understand that learning about me was hard for you, but you have no fucking idea how hard this is for me! An entire family history has been dumped in my lap, and I am doing my best. I’ve only asked for one thing, and it is the only thing I want. My home.” I caught myself, panting quickly as breathing became second to talking. “And suddenly, no one can answer the damn phone when I need them too!”
“Can you blame me?” Toby’s voice rose and he took a step forward. I mirrored it by stepping back. “You turn up here and act like I owe you something, but I have no clue who you are, and quite frankly I don’t want the world to know that my father fucked some tart a hundred miles away in the sticks!”
My hand reacted with a mind of its own. One second it was by my side, anxiously toying with the gemstones on my dress. The next, it was flying through the air and my palm collided sharply with Toby’s cheek. His head snapped to the side, and the sharp crack of the slap brought a hush over the small audience they had gained during their arguments.
“How dare you!” I gasped, losing the fight with my tears. A couple spilled over, rolling down my cheeks as my lower lip wobbled. “You brought me here. You did this, not me. Your father did this; he’s the one who cheated, he’s the one who abandoned the family he created, and the kick is, I don’t even care about him!”
Suddenly the crowd parted as Lucas fought his way through, and he stumbled to a stop just shy of Toby’s shoulder. He stared in shock from my tear-stained face to Toby’s red-flared cheek.
“What is going on”? he demanded.
Seeing him, my heart sank. If ever I looked terribly ungrateful and awful, it was now, and I could do nothing to change that. One hand clutched tightly at my purse, and my shoulders dropped as the flames of confidence slowly started to die. I’d never slapped someone before and that was almost too much.
“I just want my home. That’s all,” I said softly, sniffling. “I don’t want anything else. I don’t care for anything else. I want my home. That’s it. The rest is yours.”
