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“Toby,” Lucas started to say, but Toby snapped a hand up and silenced him immediately. He straightened his stance, flexed his neck, and smoothed down the lapels of his jacket. With the crowd behind him and Lucas by his side, intimidation was on his side, leaving me to feel very small.
“Scarlett, you don’t belong here,” Toby said coldly. “I don’t know what your game is, bringing this mess to a Charity Gala, but if anything, it’s proof of how much you do not belong here. Not just at this party but this world.”
“You wouldn’t call me back,” I tried to press. “What was I supposed to do?”
“Wait for a call like a normal person.” Toby’s words were sharp and cold, and he took one step closer as he fiddled with his sleeves and straightened his cuffs. “I want nothing to do with you, that’s why I didn’t take your calls. You’re a leftover reminder of infidelity that I just can’t stomach right now, and you should have gotten that hint. Instead, you come here and make a fool of yourself and embarrass me.”
“Hey!” Lucas suddenly surged forward and grabbed Toby's elbow, jerking him backward. “What the hell man? You can’t talk to her like that!”
“Was this you?” Toby snapped. “Did you bring her here?”
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Lucas ground out. “I don’t care how you might or might now feel; you don’t get to stand there and berate her like she’s nothing!”
Lucas’ intervention might have felt different if I wasn’t so confused by the shame coiling around me like a suffocating snake.
“She is nothing,” Toby growled. “To me, she is a stranger.”
“I don’t care. You’re supposed to be better than this. She’s your sister!”
“Is she?” Toby raised his voice suddenly, and I jumped. He glared back at me. “I don’t believe we could be related, not even a little.”
“Don’t be stupid—,” Lucas started but Toby cut him off.
“No. If you’re going to come here and make demands of me, then prove it.”
“Prove what?” I asked shakily, confusion swirling like fog around my mind.
“Prove you are who you say you are. I want a DNA test!”
11
LUCAS
Scarlett was Toby’s sister.
What was the fucking chance of that? The silence between me and Scarlett was palpable. After the argument with Toby, she had wanted to leave immediately, and rather than find the driver for the town car, I decided to drive her back to her hotel in my own car that had already been brought to the venue.
Scarlett didn’t say a word. She was incredibly subdued, and some of the light that I was so drawn to seemed to be snuffed out. One of her legs bounced slightly, and she’d removed her long gloves with a claim that they made her feel trapped. Now she toyed with them in her lap as I drove her through the city, searching for the words to make this better.
Only, there was nothing I could say. My crush, my sweet town girl was Toby’s sister and that was one hell of a can of worms to get tangled up in. Toby had been so angry, yelling about DNA tests and proof and Scarlett had been too stunned to say anything back. I didn’t know the details; after all, Toby had been pretty private about the whole thing but now the cat was out of the bag.
Francis had had an affair and now his long-lost daughter was in the city. It would be high gossip by morning light. I ached for her. I wanted to reach out and comfort her but my one attempt to take her hand had been quickly denied. Even in the car, she sat angled toward the door and stared out at the passing city as tears rolled slowly down her cheeks.
And I slept with her. Toby was going to be furious when he found out.
As Scarlett’s hotel came into view, I slowed the car somewhat and glanced over at her. Her tears had finally dried, and her eyelids drooped slightly, the only signs I had of the possible turmoil beneath the surface. She still looked beautiful, the dress had been perfect, but the night was utterly destroyed.
“Scarlett,” I began, pulling up outside her hotel.
“Don’t,” Scarlett replied in a rough voice. “There’s nothing to say.”
“Hey now, that’s not true. You… you shouldn’t be alone after?—.”
“I want to be alone.” Without looking at me, she opened the door and stepped out, aided by one of the Hotel Valets. “Can you text me the address of where to send the dress?”
I gripped the wheel, my heart heavy. “The dress is a gift.”
“Text me where to send it,” Scarlett repeated, then she walked toward the hotel. Her gorgeous silhouette captivated my attention until she disappeared through those heavy gold doors and vanished.
