Library

3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Finley

M idas's brother is staring at me like he wants to kill me. Personally, I'd prefer if he fucked me. But having sex with your sister's brother-in-law at her baby shower would probably be frowned upon. Not that societal opinions have ever stopped me before. If I thought I had half a chance with him, I'd probably take the risk and throw myself at him right here and now.

But his death-stare isn't exactly encouraging. And neither was our last encounter six years ago.

"Finally!" My sister waddles over as I reach the bottom of the stairs, Midas right behind her. The man barely leaves her side. They've been married for six years, and I still can't decide if it's adorable or complete codependency crap. I'm leaning more and more toward adorable, but it fluctuates from day to day.

Jess wraps me in a hug as if we didn't just see each other a few hours ago. "The party's already started. What took you so long?"

I shrug. "I fell asleep."

Jet lag will do that to you. I got in late last night, was wide awake at the butt crack of dawn, but by mid-afternoon I was exhausted and crashed hard, even though I'd intended to stay awake to help Jess get ready for the party. So much for that.

"I want you to meet some people." My sister wraps her arm around me, leading me deeper into the crowd.

When Jeslyn married Midas, her social life changed completely. She never had much of one before, but now she's turned into Miss Social Butterfly. It makes me realize how much she gave up when she was raising me. Her social calendar wasn't empty because she wanted it that way, like I always assumed. It was empty because she didn't have time for friends when she was working multiple jobs and trying to keep me on the straight and narrow. Now that I'm older, I can see how just paying the bills was exhausting for her back then.

I'm really glad that she doesn't have to worry about all that now. She has a community she loves and a husband who adores her. It's good to see her so well cared for. But after leaving my entire life behind in Prague, it's also kind of irritating. Like rubbing at a scab. It gives me an itchy, out-of-place feeling. Which only gets worse when Jess draws me straight toward the enigmatic man staring daggers at me.

He dips his head as we approach. "Ra'a."

"Cyrus, I'd like you to meet my sister, Finley."

A muscle in his jaw twitches. I hold out my hand to shake his, but rather than accept it, he clenches his fists. "We've met."

"Sharing an elevator doesn't exactly count as meeting," I snap back at him with a little too much venom. That brief encounter has plagued me for years. But there's no way in hell I'll let him know how much I've thought about the few minutes we spent together.

I knew he was older, probably by seven or eight years, but there was a spark there. And at seventeen, na?ve and thinking too highly of myself, I thought he was going to ask me out or kiss me or something. Instead, he cussed in my face.

"Wait, when was this?" Jess swings her head from me to Cyrus.

"When you and Midas went off and eloped." I give her a pointed glare. She knows how I feel about the beginning of her relationship with Midas. She'd never done anything reckless or irresponsible in her life and then, my senior year of high school, she up and tells me she's going on a vacation with a man she'd known for a week and when she comes back, she's fucking married to him.

It all turned out alright, but I'm still bitter about not being included in her wedding or even told about it until after the fact.

Midas loops his arm around his wife's waist and narrows his eyes at me. "Let it go, Fin."

"Eh, you've got another month of penance. The baby's going a long way toward helping me consider forgiving you." He doesn't miss the teasing note in my voice, and a rare smirk makes his lips twitch. I may not like how they started, but Midas has grown on me. He's a good guy, and he's taken good care of my sister.

"Why didn't you tell us you met Cyrus?" Jess asks.

"It didn't matter."

"It mattered," he says, voice rough and gravely. It shoots a shiver of heat right down my spine. Okay, maybe he wasn't as immune to that spark as I thought.

He clears his throat and his voice softens. "How are you, Finley?"

I hate that question. No one wants a real answer. They want me to say I'm fine, good, great, couldn't be better. They don't want the sob story that's been my life over the last year. But for some inexplicable reason, I can't bring myself to lie to him and give the pat answer he expects. I want to tell him everything, but I know I can't do that either, so I just stand there, staring.

His eyes bore into mine, penetrating, digging for secrets. He doesn't look any older than he did last time I saw him, but there's a depth in his gaze, a steadiness, maybe even sadness, that wasn't there before. For a moment, he looks… conflicted.

Jess nudges me, and I suddenly remember we aren't alone. "Oh, um, yeah, I'm… I just moved back to New York, so I'm still settling in, I guess."

"I just returned as well."

"Cyrus is going to fill in for Midas while we take our babymoon," Jess says, beaming at her husband.

I still don't know exactly what Midas does. Something about investments or other financial bullshit that goes way over my head. I guess Cyrus must be involved in the business, since he's going to help while Midas is gone.

Jess leans into me. "I still wish we weren't leaving so soon. You only just got back."

"You could cancel."

"No. We can't," Midas answers.

I've known the man for six years, and I've only seen him upend his plans twice. Once, when he met my sister and fell head over heels in a matter of days. The second time, when I called her sobbing a year ago because Tim broke up with me. The two of them were on the next flight to Prague and spent two whole weeks trying to cheer me up. I think that's when Midas really started to feel like family, like the big brother I never had. Even if the man is difficult and demanding as hell.

"Sorry," Jess apologizes. "This trip is really important to Midas."

"It's fine. But do you really have to go for a month?"

"Yes," Midas and Cyrus say at the same time.

Jess gives both the men a sharp look I don't understand. "Alright. It's time to make the rounds."

Before I know what's happening, Jess is dragging me off into the crowd gathered in their living room. Midas's best friend and personal valet—because yeah, he's got one of those—finds us first and gives me a big hug. His wife follows, asking me all about my flight and setting me at ease after the awkward conversation with Cyrus.

Lennox and Yeva are the closest thing I have to family apart from Jess and Midas. When my sister eloped, she left me with them for almost a month. They've been at every holiday and family gathering since. I've probably spent as much time with them as with Jess and Midas over the past few years .

"How long are you staying this time, filly?" Lennox started calling me filly after he took me horseback riding for the first time. He says my smile was so wide I looked ten years younger, which inspired the nickname.

"Permanently," Jess beams. "She's gonna stay with us to help with the baby."

"For a little while," I correct.

I love my sister, and I'm excited to be an aunt, but being around her and Midas can be a lot. Even after five years, they're still like horny teenagers. I thought it would be better now that she's pregnant, but apparently not. After I got in last night, I heard some serious pounding and sex noises. There's only so much of that I'll be able to take.

Out of the corner of my eye a movement catches my attention. Cyrus has shifted closer, not exactly following us or joining our conversation, but close enough I'm sure he can hear what we're saying. A woman is talking to him, but it's clear he's only giving her half of his attention. When she touches his chest, his gaze snaps down to her hand, and something raw and sharp scrapes across my insides.

This feeling is ridiculous. He means nothing to me. I have no claim on him. But a memory of catching Tim with our professor flashes behind my eyes.

"Excuse me," I say to no one in particular, already crossing the room toward the kitchen. I need a breather and maybe something to eat to ease my rolling stomach.

"Ah, you must be Finley," a man says, blocking my path. He's broad shouldered and muscular, like a football player, but the thing that draws my attention most is the wide, bright smile splitting his light, well-groomed beard. "I'm Jethro. I've been begging Midas to introduce us for years, and now I finally see why he's kept you hidden away." His gaze is appreciative. "You're just as beautiful as your sister."

He takes my hand and bends over it, planting a light kiss on my knuckles.

"Thanks, but not interested." I yank my hand away.

His smile widens, eyes dancing. "I want nothing more than your friendship, Ra'ia."

"Yeah, well, only my friends can give me nicknames, and we're not there yet." I put my hands on my hips.

His laugh is warm and inviting, and I find myself cracking a smile in response. Something about Jethro is too light for me to take him seriously. And I'm kind of impressed by how he handled my snarky bluntness. I might need to make him my new bestie.

"What's Ra-i-a mean, anyway? "

"Like you said, we're not there yet." He winks, then leans forward, a playful gleam in his eyes. "I have a feeling we're going to be good friends, though. And I think you have someone else you need to set straight about your relationship status." His head jerks to the side, and I follow the movement to find Cyrus staring again.

"What's his deal?" I force myself to look back at Jethro so I don't get trapped in those dark eyes.

"I've known Cyrus a long time and I've never seen him pay anyone so much attention." Jethro gives me a mischievous smile. "If our Ra'i gives you too much trouble, come see me, and I'll slap him upside the head."

I give him a genuine grin. "I just might take you up on that."

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.