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That was another conversation I needed to have at some point. But not today.
Chapter Thirteen
Kennedy
"You and my son seem to have hit it off." Leo glanced into my cup. When he found it empty, he picked it up and placed it in the dishwasher. He pulled out two clean cups from the cupboard and started the coffee machine.
"I guess you could say that," I said carefully. I made a note not to play poker against either him or Mannix. I had no idea what either of them were thinking most of the time. Leo might be making casual conversation, and he might be about to ream me out.
He glanced at me over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't say that? I got the impression you two were getting close." He turned back to the coffee machine just in time to not see my face get hot.
"Is that a problem?" I asked. Was I poking a hornet's nest with a question like that?
"That depends how many cars you need. Cappuccino?" He paused with his finger on the middle button of the coffee machine.
"Yes please, and one is extravagant enough," I said awkwardly. "I only needed an old, secondhand rust bucket."
Leo pressed the button and the machine rattled away happily. He turned around and braced his hands on the top of the island. The look he gave me was so Mannix I had to hold back a smile.
"You're going to be my stepdaughter soon. A Cassani. We have a reputation in Dusk Bay that I prefer to uphold. That means no one in the family drives around in a rust bucket." He punctuated the statement by tapping a couple of fingers on the veined, white marble.
"I wouldn't want to embarrass the family, but a Porsche?" This wasn't an argument I could win, that was obvious. In the game of pick your battles, I wasn't going to fight this one. But I could make my point. "There's plenty of cheaper cars. Are you angry he spent so much?"
"It's only money." Leo straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest.
I hadn't realised until then Mannix was very much a younger version of his father. His older brother must look like their mother. Did he have the same stubborn arrogance? Probably; it seemed to run in the family.
"If you need a replacement on a weekly basis, then it will be a problem, but in the meantime, accept the gift and enjoy it. Most twenty-one-year-olds don't drive around in cars like that."
I grinned at the understatement. "That's very true. I do appreciate it, I’m just… not used to getting gifts like that." My mother liked to be extravagant, but never like this.
"If my son has set his sights on you the way he seems to, then get used to it."
The coffee machine fell silent. He turned to pick up my coffee and handed it over to me before putting his own cup under the spout and pressing a different button.
"Thank you." I could get used to having a fancy coffee machine like this. Not to mention the quality of coffee Leo preferred. I was a tea drinker until I moved in here. I still was, but a good cappuccino helped to get me through a long day of study.
"So you don't have a problem with Mannix and I?" I asked while I waited for my drink to cool.
"Should I?" Leo picked up his black coffee and sipped. Without sugar or milk, it must have been hot, but he showed no sign of discomfort.
If anyone was uncomfortable, it was me. I shifted on my stool.
"Well, you and Mum are getting married. Some people frown on stepsiblings having a relationship with each other."
"What do you think?" He seemed genuinely curious.
"I think," I said carefully, "as long as we don't secretly find out we’re biologically related, then it's not a big deal. But… if things don't work out between us, it could get ugly."
"And if things don't work out between your mother and I, the same could happen." He drank another gulp of coffee. "Things could get complicated. On the other hand, I've always thought life was too short not to take what you wanted, and worry about the consequences later."
"That sounds like something Mannix would say." I smiled.
Leo smiled back. "At the risk of being immodest, he learned from the best."
"Of course he did," I said. "It seems he learned well." In spite of being a closed book, Leo was easy to like. He was smart and respectful and obviously loved my mother.
"Where do the other two boys fit in?" Leo asked over the top of his mug.
