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And brave, like Buckets. I’m managing this party by myself. I hope Jalen isn’t worrying about me, even though I’m certain he is, as that’s been his job for years. But I’m doing okay, especially with my bodyguard by my side.
“Would you like another drink, Nai Nai?” I ask. “Maybe a cup of tea.”
She frowns at me. “More gin,” she says like I’m trying to swindle her out of a refill.
I grin and take her glass. “Coming right up.”
The kitchen is empty, as I assume everyone else is spread over the living and dining rooms, engaged in one of the several games going on. Donna follows me there, sniffing frantically all over the floor. I’m sure she’s searching for every crumb that’s been dropped there, but I don’t think a few little scraps will hurt her, so I let her forage.
I’m just rummaging through the bottle collection for the gin when I hear a raised voice coming from the entrance hall. I barely catch it over the music and all the voices, but I’m so incredibly attuned to even the first hint of an argument I know not to second guess when the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
I look around, but there’s no one else I think could have heard. It’s not my house and it’s not my family, so my first instinct is to just grab my drinks, head back to the conservatory, and pretend like nothing ever happened.
But then I catch just a snatch of a word, and I realize I recognize that voice.
It’s Andreas’s youngest niece, Isla.
And she’s upset.
Before I even know what my feet are doing, I’m walking quickly out of the kitchen toward the front door, Donna right by my side. The air is cold because Isla is holding it open, and on the other side is a grown man. The way he’s clinging to the doorframe suggests he’s been at the gin a lot harder than Nai Nai. But it’s the way he’s looming over the little girl that spikes fear into my heart.
“Dad, Mum already said,” Isla hisses anxiously. “You need to go! You’re supposed to pick us up tomorrow!”
“Isla?” I call out as I get closer. She turns around, and when she sees me, her shoulders visibly sag in relief.
“Colby!”
But that also draws the man’s attention to me, and I don’t like the way his eyes narrow one bit. Gregory. I’m sure that’s what Andreas said his ex-brother-in-law was called. He’s good-looking in a classically handsome way, I suppose. He’s wearing an expensive-looking suit, and the watch on his wrist looks very fancy. But the way he curls his lip at me is anything but attractive.
“Oh, so this is one of them, is it?”
My blood runs cold. He knows who I am? What does he mean by that?
“Dad,stopit,” Isla snaps. “You shouldn’t be snooping on my Instagram anyway.”
Her comment doesn’t make sense for a second until I remember that earlier she and her sister asked Jalen and me to take a photo together with a progress Pride flag they’d brought with them from home. They said they wanted to tell their mates about their uncle’s ‘cool new friends.’
I stupidly thought they meant in a private chat.
But what do I care if they made public posts? They’re very enthusiastic allies in ways that make me think they might be queer in some way they’re not even aware of yet. Or maybe they’re just sweet, open-minded girls. Either way, that’s not the problem. I’m proud to be out now that I’ve escaped my family.
However, the drunk guy currently sneering at me looks like he could be a problem. A big one.
“Isla,” I say uncertainly, addressing her rather than her dad. “Do you want me to get your mum?”
“Hermumis the whole bloody problem,” Gregory cries, stumbling over the threshold. Isla gasps and jumps back closer to me. But then she folds her arms and scowls as Donna yelps and growls by my ankles.
“I hate it when you’re like this,” Isla spits out. Goodness me. She’s about a hundred times braver than I’ve ever been with my own relatives and I’m over twice her age.
“That woman shouldn’t be exposing you to these sorts of perverts,” Gregory says, jabbing his finger at me.
I freeze. I can’t breathe. It’s like I’m right back in that awful church with all those terrible people yelling at me that I had to ‘pray the gay away’ or I was going straight to hell.
“Dad!” Isla yells.
“I-I’m not…” I manage to utter.
Gregory scoffs and flicks his suit jacket back to put his hands on his hips. “I never liked her brother. I always told her to keep him away from you, princess. He was bad enough. But now he’s a fucking pedo dating little boys. Youstay awayfrom my girls!”
