Page 65 of Brazen Obsession

My heart swells until it feels like my chest can’t contain it. “Shall we go in and help the others? I think Max is getting antsy.”

She turns to look over her shoulder at Max, one of the security detail protecting the house. He looks about ten seconds away from coming over and ushering us inside.

She nods and I follow her up the steps. Yes, this was my family’s house for a while, but it really wasn’t home until Sara, Wyatt, Finn, and Dante moved into it with me.

Chapter 22

Debt Forgiveness

Dante

Dinner at my uncle’s is never a simple affair. Sara is dressed in the green dress Finn’s father gave her and I’m in a suit and tie. When I step out of the car, I offer Sara my hand. We haven’t really talked, with the exception of her telling me about her afternoon with Drew on the car ride here.

Nervous energy flows from Sara. I need to prepare myself for what we’re about to walk into. My uncle has never come out and said he has plans to marry me off, but the intentions are there. When the butler lets us in, my mother meets us in the foyer with her hands outstretched.

“Dante!” Her smile is proper and forced. She takes my hands and I lean in to kiss her cheeks.

“Mother.” I step back next to Sara. “You remember Sara Morris. Tom’s younger sister. Sara, my mother, Helen Stone.”

“Of course.” Mom’s smile is frozen in place as she flicks her gaze to mine. Her hand reaches up to toy with her necklace. “David let me know you intended to bring her with you.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Stone.” Sara nods when my mother doesn’t reach out for her hand. It’s not a huge slight, but it’s a slight. I have vague memories of my mother before my father’s death. How warm and loving she was.

When we’re alone, occasionally I’ll see that woman in her, like a ghost of who she could have been, but somewhere she got lost in who she should be.

Mom smiles. “We should go into the living room. David is waiting for us.”

I rest my hand on the small of Sara’s back, drawing comfort from the familiarity of touching her. This is most definitely a setup, but my uncle allowed me to bring Sara. I’m not sure what his intentions are, but he likely wants to make it clear to Sara that I’m not available.

Last night she spent the night draped over me. I could spend the rest of my life with her in my arms, holding her soothes something wounded in me. That little boy who wasn’t good enough for his uncle. I always had to be smarter, more athletic, and politer than everyone else.

I gave him everything he wanted from me because he took me and my mother in when we had nowhere else to go. He still takes care of my mother and that’s his hold over me.

When we walk in, David stands at the bar pouring drinks.

“Come in. Sit. We have a few moments before the rest of the party arrives.” David doesn’t smile. This is usually when he lays down the law. When he tells me what the stakes are and why I need to be particularly kind to whoever’s daughter he’s about to force on me.

“Where’s Aunt Vi?” I ask, knowing perfectly well that she’s rarely in the same country as my uncle. That’s what he wants for me, a loveless marriage. A socially acceptable marriage that furthers the goals of his empire.

“Germany.” David doesn’t add anything more because she’s never his focus.

I lead Sara to the couch and sit next to her, keeping her hand in mine. My intentions are to make it clear to my uncle I’m not his puppet anymore. But to do that, I need my mom on my side for once.

Sara squeezes my hand as my mother sits across from us. She runs her fingers over her pearl necklace with a practiced smile.

“I’m surprised to see you…together.” Mom clears her throat. “Does Tom know about you two?”

She wants me to say we’re just friends. That it’s nothing serious. Anything to make tonight go easier.

“Tom knows. I’m very happy with Sara.”

Sara keeps her formal smile on, and when my uncle brings over drinks, she politely thanks him as she takes her wineglass.

“I hope you like red.” David hands me and my mother a glass before sitting with his own and taking a sip. “It’s a vintage I’ve been saving for a special occasion.”

Mom runs her finger along the rim but doesn’t take a drink. “Nancy seemed to have a lovely time at the fundraiser.”

I smile. “Nancy is a very sweet girl. Sheltered, but we had a good time getting to know each other.”