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In the pause that follows, Fabian smiles tightly at Cassandra. “I’m sorry to say this, but he watches far too much illegal porn to be healthy.”
Silence hangs in the air like smoke filling a room, and then we all try to talk at once. Javier’s face turns slowly puce: He’s not going to let the comment go.Be careful what you wish for, Kate. Fabian might well annoy my family, but he’s also perfectly capable of annoying everyone else as well.
“Don’t insult my fiancée like that or I’ll have you thrown out,” Javier’s clipped tone rings over the raised voices. Several heads turn from a group standing near to us.
“For telling the truth?” Fabian eyes him distastefully. “You’re insulting her way more than I ever would.” He turns to Cassandra again. “Check his computer, and if he tries to wipe it, he won’t be able to—it always leaves a trace.”
I’m watching Javier as Fabian says this, and I catch the twitch that runs across his forehead and his eyes before he attempts to hide it. Fucking hell, he’s worried. A bolt burns right to my toes. Fabianknowsthis?
But of course.
I’m so slow. Fabian is capable of hacking into anything; an individual computer would be child’s play to a person like him. I place a steady hand on my chest, studying everyone standing around as cold realization drips into me. How many people’s computers has he hacked into and how much does he know?Holy shit. What must it be like to be him? To have the skill to find out everyone’s secrets so easily? Is that awesome or terrifying?
Javier’s beady eyes land on me, and he leans forward hissing, “How could you bring someone like this to our wedding party, Kate? You’re a disgrace.” His eyes dart over us all. “Your whole family is an embarrassment, actually. My father always said as much.” He snatches Cassandra’s hand to sweep away, but Fabian’s hand lands on his arm.
“Leave Kate the fuck alone. The only one here who’s disgracing this family is you.”
Fabian’s eyes narrow as Javier shakes him off and stalks away, like he can’t escape fast enough, dragging Cassandra behind him. But no one is watching them: They are all staring at Fabian as if he’s a tiger that’s suddenly appeared in the middle of a shopping mall. Fabian stares after Javier’s retreating back with cold, dead eyes.
“I hope she checks,” he says. “That man is sick.”
I catch the unrestrained delight on Tod’s face just before he steps forward and claps Fabian on the back.
“I’ve endured that guy looking down on me my entire life. That was the best ten minutes I think I’ve ever had with him.”
My father pulls himself up to his full height, jacket rising up around his ears as he forcibly tucks his shirt into his pants.
“Tod,” he says in admonishment before turning to Fabian. “This is Javier’s wedding. That was incredibly rude,” he says. “I don’t know who you are, young man, apart from the fact that you’re a friend of my daughter’s, but I don’t think that gives you the liberty to come in and throw accusations at people when you know nothing about them. This is a family wedding, a special occasion. You have no right to …”
Fabian is watching him, face relaxed. “I know everything about him,” he interrupts quietly. “I don’t say things that aren’t true.” He shakes his head. “Especially not things like that.”
“Well, I don’t see how you can …”
Then he leans toward my father, voice quiet but the anger simmering under his skin like the hum of an electricity cable stretched tight.
“This is a friendly warning. I don’t know how familiar you are with the illegal deals your company is doing in South Africa, but you’re clearly in a senior position and you either need to be very careful or find out what’s going on.”
In the total silence that follows, the alcoholic redness in my father’s face drains away, replaced by a mottled flush that works its way up his throat. His eyes swing to mine, and two spots of color appear high on his cheeks as his lip curls. I realize with astonishment that his scorn is aimed at me.He’s disgusted with me?
“I never want to see this man again, Kate, and if he shows up at the wedding tomorrow, I’ll make sure he’s thrown out.”
His gaze swings to my brothers and sisters. They are all looking completely stunned like they can’t quite believe the car crash that has unfolded in front of us.
“I expect you to support me in this,” he says, eyes scanning their faces and not looking at Fabian. He turns sharply and stalks away. My mother’s hand is pressed against her throat, and with a darting look around us all she shoots off after him, heels clicking on the parquet floor as she follows my father out through the French windows. We all track the back of her dark blue evening dress as she disappears. Tod swings back to Fabian.
“Holy shit,” he says, looking down and swilling his whiskey in his glass before knocking it back. A group of people have gathered under the awning on the patio, and are eyeing us curiously. Fabian presses two fingers of one hand against either side of his nose.
“How did you findthatout? Is it all true?” Tod says.
Fabian squints up at the ornate ceiling, and then his eyes drop to meet mine. “Shit. I’m sorry, Kate.”
Tod starts to laugh. “I don’t know who this guy is, Kate, but I really fucking like him.”
Georgie grins as if she can hardly contain herself. Brad is staring at the floor.
Fabian shakes his head sheepishly, the tight flush of anger dropping away as quickly as it arrived, and he runs his hands over his face.
“I can’t bear men like them. I can never resist bringing them down a peg or two. I should never have come here with you, Kate.” He shoots me an apologetic glance. “I’m a liability with alcohol. I can’t keep my mouth shut when I’m drunk.” He leans into me and inhales my neck. His lips are warm and insistent on my skin.
