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Minty grabbed my elbow, pulling me to a stop.
“Are you seriously fucking kidding me right now?”
“What?” I gasped.
“Rupert is so besotted with you he can hardly see straight.”
I shook my head. I would hardly know. Since Dexter had secured the inheritance, Rupert had secured himself into meeting after meeting with clinical advisors, rehab experts, property consultants and holistic therapy providers. On the few occasions I’d seen him, he’d been preoccupied, distracted. I was the last thing on his mind. “Don’t be–”
Minty’s eyes flared. “He’s doing this for you.” The strength of her stare stopped me from arguing. “Of course he wants those who are suffering at the hands of his family to be well again and cured. But he wants you to see him do it. He will never admit it but he’s ashamed of the situation he’s in. Hector is too, but Rupert was always more embedded in it. He values your opinion above everyone else’s and he wants you to be impressed. He wants you to see him as someone who’ll go to the ends of the earth to protect the ones he loves and leads.”
“I am impressed,” I whispered. “I’m so impressed, I feel unworthy of him. I mean, what have I done? I fled this place. I left it all up to him when I could have done more. I delivered a message then tried to run again. I’ve been a coward all the way through. And sooner or later, he’s going to see that.”
Minty’s eyes softened, and instead of pulling me towards the lounge door, she tucked me into the wall and whispered. “You’re forgetting what attracted him to you in the first place, Viv. He loved – loves – your defiance and your strong will. Your ethics and values. You bring something out in him that no one else ever has, and that is irreplaceable.”
Her eyes burned holes in mine as I swallowed her words.
“Now, are we finished with this nonsense?”
She cocked a demanding brow and I nodded.
“Good, because we’ve got a damn party to get to.”
She quirked a smile and winked, then threw open the door to the lounge. At first it appeared to be pitch black. I was about to ask if we’d got the right day, when suddenly, lights blinded us and the squeals of a room-full of people yelling ‘Surprise!’ destroyed about eighty percent of my ability to hear.
As the shock of being forced to jump completely out of my skin subsided, I noticed the crowd had formed a half-circle around two people in the centre. Em and Peggy.
“What?” My jaw hit the floor as they raced toward me and scooped me up in their arms. “How? When?”
My questions were swallowed by music pumping loudly and glasses being clinked and refilled.
My heart thudded and my head felt light. As a shadow appeared beside me, I knew exactly why. “Happy birthday, baby.” Rupert’s voice was deep and low, and I didn’t dare look into his eyes. I flicked my lashes up at him then away quickly, for fear I would collapse. He pressed a hand to my hip. A reminder that I was his and he would make it known deep inside my core the second he got chance. It had been a while since he’d possessed me like that. I welcomed the promise like a ravenous dog.
He bent low, bringing scorching hot lips to my shivering ear. “Give me ten minutes.”
“Until what?” I asked.
He leaned forward again brushing hot air against my face. “Until I can resume my rightful place by your side, butterfly.”
My breath escaped, then he was gone. Disappeared into the crowd.
“It’s so good to see you,” Em gushed, planting soggy wet kisses to my cheek. “This isn’t Caspian House though, right?”
I laughed a little too loudly. “God no. That place is almost deserted now.”
“Really? I so wanted to try out that sauna,” Em said, with a mischievous wink.
“Will we get to see Blackcap Hall?” Peggy said, her brows arched innocently.
I hoped my wince gave it away, but just for good measure, I laid it out. “I would never take you there in a million years. It’s now the home of Iris Thorn and Iris Thorn alone.”
“What? No staff? No butlers? Chefs?”
I shook my head. “No one. Now the Consortium has made it possible for the islanders to earn a fair wage and have more freedom to work wherever they choose – even the mainland if they want – no one has wanted to work for Iris Thorn.”
“Funny that,” came a voice over my shoulder.
I grinned and pulled her into our small circle. “Em, Pegs, this is Minty. This is the human who kept me sane while I was working here.”
