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Chapter Sixteen
Brian
“Willyoupleasehelpme with this?”
Carol has her back turned toward me and her floral silk dress is zipped up to the middle of her back. She grabs her hair, still wet from the shower, and braids it loosely to the side.
“Sure.” At last, a task I’d actually like to do.
Yesterday, her game plan was to leave me horny and aching. Today, she’s using me as her personal servant, making me help with everything but the cleaning. If I hadn’t suggested swimming to cool down after the limbo contest, I’m sure she’d have found plenty of other things for me to do.
I hold the zipper between my fingers and pull it all the way down, enjoying her soft tremor.
“Brian.” Her breath is raspy as she says my name. “Up. We have a party to attend.”
I’m tempted to ask what she’d say if we didn’t have the party, but I don’t push my luck. I pull the zipper up and plant a kiss on her shoulder. Before she can protest about our lack of audience, I change the subject. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people so willing to ditch a bachelor party just so that they can hang out with their family.”
Emily and Jeremy are the definition of “don’t judge a book by its cover.” I knew of the Davidsons before we came here—they are an old, respectable family with investments in several companies on the East Coast, wealthy but definitely not flashy. And until to a few hours ago, I considered them extremely snobbish, like the rest of the world. As for Emily, I didn’t know much aside from what Carol had told me back then, but the investigator had reported that she was working hard at becoming a prominent socialite. It doesn’t seem like it. She does go overboard with her social media posts, but other than that, she’s more of a goofball.
Carol chuckles. “I know, they are both crazy. We do have age limits on this one though, so that’s something. Besides, I think most of their friends were supposed to arrive this afternoon. They are definitely going to be at the party.” Her eyes seem to darken at the thought.
“Your Ex, too?” I ask.
She shrugs but then looks down and I can see her biting her lip. “Probably. He’s dating one of the bridesmaids, and she’ll definitely be here.”
Right. The pain seizing my chest gets stronger. I can’t stand that she’s hurt about him being with someone else. Thankfully, my phone rings, preventing me from saying something stupid.
“Daddy!” Daniel chirps. He’s dressed in his pajamas, nested in Sunny’s lap.
“Hey, Buddy, ready to sleep?” I glance at the time. I’ve been checking on Daniel constantly these past two days, to the point that I’ve become a nuisance with my videocalls, and yet I forgot the most important one.
“Yes, and I wanted to say goodnight. I ate spaghetti for dinner, and we watched a movie, but Mary went to bed early.”
I raise my brows. “Is everything okay there, Sunny?”
“Yes, everything is under control. Mom was just tired, that’s all.” Sunny rests her head on Daniel’s shoulder, clearly sleepier than he is.
Carol comes to my side, careful not to be seen on screen. She knows that Daniel might get the wrong impression if he sees us together. For my son, this is just another business trip he cannot attend.
“You look good, Dad, I like your shirt.” He giggles at his own compliment. If I’m wearing a suit, like tonight, it always looks the same to him, so I suspect the comment was not aimed at me. All my dating these past few months has him on the edge despite my attempts to hide my search for a bride.
Sunny yawns behind him, forcing him to do the same.
“Thank you, Danny. But it looks like you’re both ready for bed.”
This time Daniel rubs his eyes and nods. “And you, Daddy? Do you have work to do?”
I glance at Carol and tell him I’ve got a few more things to do but I’ll get to bed soon. With that reassurance, we say our goodbyes. Missing moments like this is awful, and when he looks at me with those puppy eyes it’s ten times worse. Sensing my sadness, Carol sits next to me, her legs crossed. I put my hand on her knee, like I used to do, and turn to her.
“I’m—is he alright?” she asks, her eyes filled with worry and, perhaps, guilt. I don’t want her to worry, there’s no reason to. After all, if I’d even suspected that he would react badly to my absence, I wouldn’t have left. Having seen how sensitive Daniel is, though, I can see that Carol will only relax when I get back to my son.
“He’s doing great, rest assured. The only problem is that I’ll have to fix his eating habits once I get back. I suspect Sunny is spoiling him.”
“Sunny?” There is a slight annoyance there. Good.
“The nanny. She’s Mary’s daughter. And a good friend,” I add to check her response.
Carol purses her lips but quickly gives me a reluctant smile. “It’s good to know he’s in safe hands.”
