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Personally, I could never understand the point of having that kind of patience. I grabbed the slides and yanked them apart, tearing the paper down the middle.
Inside was a teddy bear the size of my arm, from my elbow to the tips of my fingers. He wore black trousers, red shirt, gold suspenders and a black, red and gold bowtie. His smiling face looked up at me, begging to be cuddled.
"He's so cute." I drew out the last word. I picked up the plush toy and wrapped my arms around him.
Zachary grinned. "The moment I saw him, I thought of you. I know you like those colours and you're probably homesick. Teddy bears make everything better, especially homesickness. I'm assuming here, because I've never had a teddy bear in my life." He wiggled his brows slightly.
"That is such a lie," I said with a laugh. "I remember Mr Snuggles. And that huge purple elephant you used to have. And the plush cockatoo. And—"
He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. You caught me. I'm a sucker for soft, squishy animals. Especially brightly coloured ones. Happy now?"
"I'll be happy when you admit to sleeping next to one of them," I said slyly.
He dropped his hands, letting them slap on his thighs. "I will never admit something like that. Anyway, I prefer my soft, squishy bed mates to be alive. And human," he added quickly when he saw me about to suggest he fucked animals.
I wrinkled my nose. "I don't think I want to hear about your bed mates. There are things a girl doesn't want to know about her brother." I would always see him that way, regardless of what happened between my father and his mother. That was their business. My relationship with Zachary was mine.
"Shame, because the details are juicy." He grinned.
I pulled a face. "I'll take your word for it." I doubt he wanted to hear about my sex life any more than I wanted to hear about his.
"Does he have a name?" I nodded down at the teddy bear to change the subject.
"You'd trust someone who calls his bear Mr Snuggles to name yours?" Zachary gave me a lopsided smile.
"Good point," I said. "If it was up to me, I'd name him Ted E Bear."
"In that case, let me think of something. How about Reginald?"
I snorted a laugh. "I'm not calling a teddy bear Reginald."
"Fine," Zachary drawled. "How about Francisco? Laurence? I know, Terence. You could call him Terry Bear."
I aimed a kick at the front of his leg, even though I was too far away to reach. "I swear, these suggestions are getting worse."
"You try then." He lifted his chin in challenge. "What would you call him, Brantley?" Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before I could pin down what it was.
"It's a better name than Terry Bear." I could just picture the expression on my father's face if I named the plush that.
He’d be only slightly less horrified than he would knowing I was still with Hunter and Parker. Some day that penny would drop and I was dreading it. That revelation had to wait until after my father chose me to head the family. Otherwise, he may choose Chloe instead.
I was almost certain the only reason she hadn't told him was because she was screwing a DiMarco. In the eyes of my father, that would be just as bad. He probably had some ally of his lined up to marry me, but that wasn't going to happen. Not if I could help it.
"I think I'll name him Herman," I said finally. That was cute and wouldn't raise any eyebrows or cause any trouble.
"Herman it is then," Zachary said. He glanced down and I knew he was finally ready to talk about what he'd really come here for.
I waited.
He looked back up. "I heard about your father pitting you and Chloe against each other. Herman is kind of a peace offering. Before you say anything, I got one for Chloe too. I have no intention of coming between you two, or taking sides one way or another."
"Do you wish he chose you?" I asked gently.
Zachary was older than Chloe and me, and male. If he was dad's biological son, he would have been the logical choice. Chloe and I would have been put to good use on behalf of the family, in some capacity or other. Whether that meant being married off or trained to work in some particular arm of the business, I didn't know. Maybe both.
There was a time when I thought Dad might insist Chloe or I marry Zachary. Then he could legitimately hand the business over to him and whichever one of us he married. But as time went by, the possibility became less and less likely. Just as well, I didn't want to hurt Zachary by refusing. There was no way Hunter, Parker and Slade would share me with him as well. Even if I was inclined to ask them to, which I wasn’t.
"Sam would never have chosen me," Zachary said. "Even if he and Mum were still together, I'm only the step kid."
