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I looked around me with interest as we entered the small room. Small for Arlo’s house, at least. It was cosy, all dark wood panelling and thick, soft carpet on the floor, with lamps providing soft light, and a group of squashy sofas and armchairs clustered around a large coffee table. A huge bookcase covered one wall, overflowing with hardback books.
“I haven’t been in here since…” Weston’s voice trailed off, and I knew what was left unsaid.
Arlo crossed to a large cupboard next to the window. “I thought, since we’re resurrecting old traditions, we should have the food in here. Like we used to.” He crouched, opening the sliding door, and pulled out a slim rectangular box. “Remember this?”
“My old Monopoly set. I didn’t realise you still had it.” Caiden’s voice was quiet. He stepped closer to me, and I squeezed his hand, letting him know I was there for him.
“I have all your old games. There’s more in the attic, too.”
Both boys fell silent, and I suddenly felt like an intruder in a private family moment. “Bathroom,” I whispered, slipping out of the room and heading down the hallway to give them a moment of privacy. I paced up and down, trying to gauge how much time to give them, knowing that Caiden would come looking for me if I stayed away from him too long.
As I re-entered the room, the three of them were seated, Arlo and Weston deep in conversation, a takeaway app open on the tablet that rested on the coffee table.
Caiden indicated the space next to him on the sofa with a tilt of his head. I sank down next to him, and he leaned over, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. Turning to him with a smile, I leaned forwards to press a soft kiss to his lips.
The sound of a throat pointedly clearing made me realise where we were. Caiden and I jumped apart to see Arlo staring at us and Weston cringing next to him.
Fuck.
“Do either of you have something to tell me?”
“Ah…” Caiden groaned, scrubbing his hand across his face. “Oh, fuck it,” he muttered, before he reached over to grasp my hand and met Arlo’s eyes.
Okay, we were doing this.
“I’m in love with Winter.” His voice rang out, clear and sure, and I almost fell off the sofa in shock. I didn’t know what I’d been expecting him to say, but a declaration of love hadn’t been it.
“I see.” Arlo took off his reading glasses, taking his time folding them and placing them on the coffee table. He finally looked at us both, his inscrutable gaze boring into me, and I tried not to fidget in my seat. “Do you feel the same way?”
“Uh…yes?” I croaked, mentally slapping myself when my words came out sounding like a question. I took a deep breath and tried again. “Yes, I do. I love your son.”
He was silent for a long while, eyeing us both, his face giving nothing away. Then he sat back. “Okay.”
“Okay? That’s it?” Caiden stared at him in disbelief.
He sighed. “I won’t tell you that it fills me with joy. Not the two of you together—of all the people that you could have fallen in love with, Caiden, Winter is head and shoulders above the others.” I blushed at his praise. “If only you weren’t stepsiblings. There are people that would seek to drive a wedge between you.”
“I—” Caiden began, but Arlo held up his hand.
“Let me finish, son. I had an inkling that something has been happening between the two of you for a while now. More than an inkling, in fact. The first time you were here, Winter, I knew that there was something there between you.”
Really? I thought back to that first awful meal, where Caiden had insulted me and stormed out of the house. Maybe there really was a thin line between love and hate.
Arlo was still speaking, and I came back to the conversation to hear him saying, “There were one or two other incidents, but I hadn’t realised it was anything more than a minor infatuation. Caiden…well, you haven’t been known to have serious relationships. It’s…surprising. But I’m happy for you both.” He gave me a smile. “If you could keep this quiet until the deal has gone through, I would appreciate it.”
“We already are.” Caiden’s voice was firm and reassuring, as he caressed the palm of my hand with his thumb. “We’ve been careful.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“Our friends. Some of the people at university, but they wouldn’t say anything. This deal is important to a lot of people, not just us.”
“Then we’ll say no more.” He picked up his reading glasses, placing them back on his face, and pushed the tablet towards us, the conversation over. “Choose whatever you want to eat on the app, and we’ll order it.”
There was silence for a moment as we scrolled through the menu on the tablet.
“By the way, it’s best that you keep this quiet around your mother. I’m assuming she doesn’t know?” Arlo watched me carefully from behind his glasses.
I shook my head, although it wasn’t true. She had known, but I couldn’t tell him about her paying Joseph to split us up. Not yet. Not until we had more evidence of everything.
