Page 36 of His Wicked Revenge

Those now-green eyes burned into the side of my face, and when she attempted to place her hand on my thigh, her touch seared through my slacks, and I swear it was like her skin was touching mine directly.

Subtly, I shoved her hand off of me, to which she let out a soft grunt and kept to herself for the rest of the drive.

We arrived at some fancy restaurant downtown about ten minutes ago. All of us were looking over the menu, Chloe snacking on her granola bar as she figured out what she wanted to eat for dinner.

I smile as I watch her slowly chew a piece of granola, her face scrunched up as if the decision for a meal was too hard to make.

I guess right now, she is always hungry, but sometimes the food doesn’t sound appetizing. Low music is playing overhead, so I can hear the soft hum of indecision leaving her.

Once the waiter comes to take our order, we are left with each other’s company. I don’t want to be the first to strike up a conversation, and thankfully, I don’t have to because Chloe speaks up.

“I know I mentioned doing something fun, not that dinner isn’t fun,” she adds the last part to ensure we understand that we will still have a good time while eating. “But I thought we could go bowling after! Leo, remember when Mom and Dad would take us bowling every Thursday nights?”

I plant a slight smile on my face at the memory. “Thursdays were when they had a live band, and children bowled for half price.”

“Yup!” Chloe looks away from me to speak to Veronica. “My parents loved live music. Their date nights would consist of going to restaurants where a band would play. It didn’t matter if it was a fancy restaurant or a dive bar. They just enjoyed the music and each other’s company.”

“That sounds like a fun date night,” Veronica tells Chloe with a smile.

“Thursdays were an official date night even though we tagged along,” I say before sipping my whiskey. “They would bowl with us for a little while until they went to the stage where the band was set up and danced with each other.”

I remember Chloe and I bowling on Thursday night. We still had to have the gutter rails up because she was young and would cry if her ball went into the forbidden ditch, which my dad used to call the gutters.

At that point, I was old enough not to need the barriers, so I made it into a game to roll the ball without hitting the rails. Every single throw went straight down the lane and never touched the guards.

After the ball hit the pins, I turned around to walk back to the seats when I saw my parents slowly dancing, even though the song was upbeat. The little heart in my chest swelled with so much happiness seeing them with those bright smiles on their faces. From a young age, I knew how much my parents loved each other.

They weren’t afraid to express their feelings in front of us, which only made me understand the type of love I deserved when I was older.

Chloe had bowled and came to stand beside me, watching our parents dance. I glanced down at my little sister, a wide grin spread on her face when she said, “Mommy and Daddy are just like a princess and prince dancing at a royal ball.”

She was in her princess phase then, but she was right. Our parents seemed to have been plucked right out of a fairytale to live their lives on Earth. Their love was magical.

I blink out of the memory, feeling my eyes have grown wet. When I look at Chloe, whose eyes are also lined with tears to match mine, she offers a small smile that I reciprocate.

Glancing to my right, Veronica is watching me intently. I clear my throat, ripping my gaze away from her.

“Mom’s birthday passed by already, but we planned on visiting her and having a birthday celebration,” Chloe announces as her plate of food is placed in front of her. “Whenever I don’t feel like I’m going to empty everything in my stomach, that is.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” I tell her, Myles nodding in agreement.

“Camille, you could come if you’d like,” Chloe offers.

When Veronica says, “I’d love that,” I blurt out a stern “No.”

Chloe looks at me with furrowed brows.

“The celebration should be family only.” I turn to Veronica and fake an apologetic expression. “I understand you’ve known my sister for a few months, but I barely know you.”

It’s already bad that she is around my family. I don’t want her anywhere near my mother’s grave.

“That is understandable.” Veronica nods.

“Well, what better way to get to know someone than over dinner?” Chloe adds.

Veronica wears a tight smile, which might come off as a nervous expression to my sister, but I know better. She doesn’t want to spend this dinner talking about herself, and she doesn’t want to be the center of attention, but that is too bad. I’d love to hear the lies she has come up with.

“Very true,” I respond to Chloe before turning to Veronica. “Tell me all about yourself, Camille.”