66. Matthias

66

MATTHIAS

F ranky met us as soon as we parked and entered the guesthouse at Vaulteneau.

As she looked between me and Ciaran, the concerned expression on her heart-shaped face told me something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" I asked without even saying hello first. I threw our bags on the couch as we made our way to her. "But also…it smells really good in here."

Standing in the kitchen like a mother hen, Franky put her hands on her ample hips. She was making smoothies and baking single-serve egg white and spinach breakfast quiches for the week.

On the counter behind her was a pan of brownies and protein-enriched banana bread.

At some point today she'd ground coffee beans. The rich aroma still lingered in the air. Literally, the guesthouse smelled like heaven.

Franky frowned. "You've got a lot of nerve asking me what's wrong, Matthias Vaulteneau, when it looks like you took a beating!"

"Oh," I said, cupping my palm to my jaw. "Got into a bit of a scuffle. That reminds me. Can you set up an appointment with my dentist? I think one of my caps is loose."

Beside me, Ciaran snorted.

Franky's gaze fell on him.

"And what do you have to say about the situation?" she asked Ciaran. Her eyes went wide when she detected the hickeys covering his neck. "Well now," she breathed out, placing a hand over her mouth. "Seems like we might have a couple of situations on our hands."

Franky glared at me with an unspoken question. Did you do that to Ciaran's neck? I nodded affirmatively and she let out an unhappy sigh. "This is unbelievable."

Missing the exchange entirely, Ciaran maneuvered around the counter to sniff the brownies, but Franky slapped his hand away. He cleared his throat. "Why don't you tell us which situation you're referring to."

"How about the one," Franky started, "where Davies was worried about you two this afternoon and notified your parents that you'd made an unexpected trip to Las Vegas?"

"Shit," I groaned, and rubbed my face. "I meant to reply to Davies but got distracted." My stomach dropped. "When did Davies tell them?"

"About two hours ago," Franky said. "When you didn't return by lunchtime, she got worried. You know that the staff never encroaches on your privacy, so we tried to reach you first."

"We were somewhat occupied," I told Franky.

Checking my phone, sure enough, there were several missed calls from Davies and Franky, and there was a text from my dad asking if everything was okay.

"Yeah," Franky quipped. "I can see that." She paused when Ciaran came to stand next to me, putting his arm around my waist. If it wasn't clear that he and I were an item, it would be now. "Your parents left New York City early and are on their way back. They'll land at LAX a little after ten tonight."

Ciaran's shoulders slumped against me. Groaning, he said, "I'll take full blame. It was my fault. I forced you to drive me there."

He showed me a text string with Theresa that pretty much asked the same thing, if he was all right, that she loved him, and that she'd be back in town tonight.

"No one is getting in trouble," I said. "And you didn't force me, Ciaran. I offered, remember?"

I kissed Ciaran's temple and I pulled him into a hug. He melted into me. It'd been a long two days for Ciaran. And it wasn't over yet, either.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the flood of ever-changing emotions flit across Franky's face. She'd never seen me this affectionate with anyone. It had to be strange to witness.

Stranger still that it was with Ciaran, my stepbrother.

Then Franky snapped out of it. She'd been working for the Hollywood elite long enough to have witnessed her share of insanity and this probably didn't rise to the top.

"Okay," she started as she cut up the brownies into small squares. Problem-solving Franky was back. The corner of her mouth twitched. "So I know where the hickeys came from. Let's set that aside for the moment." She placed brownies on small plates and handed one to me and another to Ciaran. "What about the bruises on your face, Matty?"

"Andy," I answered.

Franky nearly choked on her first bite of the brownie. "As in Andrew Jones, Miss Paulina's grandson?"

"One and the same."

"Stefon's not going to like that." Her jaw tightened.

"Yeah, well," I said, "in my defense, Andy was attempting to blackmail me and my friends."

She choked again and instead of taking another bite, Franky put the rest of her brownie in the sink.

"Just how many people are blackmailing you, Matty?"

"Two," I said with a humorless chuckle. "That I know of."

"Matty's not telling you everything," Ciaran blurted. "You see, I also know Andrew Jones, but I know him as Drew, my high school guidance counselor." There was a nervous edge in his voice.

With that, Ciaran filled in the details for Franky's benefit, and ended with, "Drew created an elaborate three-year plan to get me in his bed. The sad thing," Ciaran said, his voice cracking, "is that it almost worked."

"I'm so sorry, Ciaran." Franky hung on every word and shook her head with disbelief. "It's like a real-world soap opera and Andy is a real-life dickbag. Crime, betrayal, sex, fighting, matchmaking, large sums of money, and blackmail. Was there a car chase?"

"I knew something was missing," I joked. Ciaran didn't look amused. "Sorry. I know it's not funny."

"It's just that I'd hoped to have more time to ease our parents into, well, you know, the idea of us ."

"Will you tell your mom what happened?" Franky asked. "I know it's not easy to talk about that kind of stuff with our parents, but I bet she'd want to know, especially since Andy—er, Drew—used her as bait."

"Oh, God," Ciaran gasped. He sat on a stool and covered his crestfallen face with his hands. "What if…what if she tells Stefon, and it impacts their relationship? I refuse to be the reason their marriage breaks apart."

"Knowing Dad, it won't change his feelings for Theresa, but it will impact his relationship with Andy. Andy will lose all his connections to Vaulteneau Enterprises, to include the business dealings he conducts on my dad's behalf." I rubbed his shoulders and kissed the back of his neck. "That said, it's up to you on how much you want to tell your mom." He leaned back into me and I wrapped my arms around his chest. "I'll support you either way."

"Thanks," Ciaran murmured.

Franky watched our interaction. When her eyes softened, I knew she was in our corner. She might not understand it, but she had our backs, and it meant more than she'd ever know.

After a pause, I said to Ciaran, "We should get cleaned up before everyone arrives."

"Good point," Ciaran said.

"That reminds me, Franky, can you order ten large pizzas and ten boxes of wings?"

"Ten boxes!" she said in shock. "You can't be that hungry."

"The swim team is coming over tonight," I explained. "I'm going to tell them about Coach's blackmailing scheme. I have a feeling he might be doing the same to others."

"And what about Zoey? Is she on board?"

I lifted my phone. "I'm about to find out after I call her."

Franky grumbled, "She better, if she knows what's good for her."

"No mob antics, Franky," I said.

"Fine." She wiped her hands on a dish towel. "I'll inform Davies about the arrival of the swim team and then I'll order the pizzas. You're lucky I put up with you."

"You love me," I quipped. Franky's arched eyebrow suggested I was pushing my luck. "I mean, thank you, Franky."

It wasn't until Franky closed the front door behind her that I picked up my phone, placed it on speaker mode, and dialed Zoey's cell phone.

She picked up on the third ring.

"Matthias," was her less-than-pleasant greeting after picking up the line. I'd come to hate the way she pronounced my name, like it was poison on her lips. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Busy deleting videos from Coach's phone?"

It was a risk to lead with that, but we were running out of time. The swim team would be here soon and our parents would be returning tonight. I needed this wrapped up before it turned into a war.

"I haven't seen Coach today," Zoey said. "Which means I wouldn't have had access to his phone."

Hope flared bright in my chest. I stole a glance at Ciaran, who had remained quiet the entire time. His expression conveyed the same sentiment.

"Does this mean you're considering helping me?" I asked.

Zoey didn't answer right away. "Words are cheap in this town, Matthias. I'd want a formal written agreement between us drawn up before I decide."

Ciaran's gaze looked troubled. He hadn't overheard my and Zoey's previous conversation. At the time, she was semi-receptive to helping me. My goal at last night's dinner had been to separate her goal in Hollywood from her father's blackmailing scheme.

She'd been close to agreeing, but then Miss Paulina arrived to let me know that Ciaran was trying to run away. I wasn't about to let Ciaran know all this. He'd just feel guilty.

"I'm willing to discuss terms, Zoey," I said. "In person, though. Come over tonight, say eight thirty? I'll have Davies pick you up at your dorm, so you won't need to worry about transportation."

"Fine," Zoey said. "But the second it looks like you're bullshitting me, I'm splitting, and you can deal with all the consequences of your actions."

I wanted to argue with her, to yell and say that her father was a goddamn asshole, but that wouldn't serve my cause.

"See you tonight," I said instead.

After hanging up, Ciaran pressed a hand against my shoulder. "The swim team won't be gone by the time Zoey arrives."

"If everything goes the way I think it will, Zoey will realize the situation is bigger than me. I want to protect the guys on the team, too. If Zoey won't listen to me because she's burnt about my lack of romantic interest, maybe the team will convince her."

Ciaran surprised me by pulling me into a bear hug.

"I'm proud of you, Matty," he said into my neck. "Whatever happens tonight, just remember that."