On The Beach (Modern Vintage)

23. At the Bottom of Hope

CHAPTER 23

at the bottom of hope

MICK

W alking into Les Sablons, I'd expected a quiet night with my cousin Darcy, who lived in Boston. What I hadn't expected was Belle, looking effortlessly stunning, sitting across the room with a couple.

I gave Belle a quick wave and—though it was subtle—caught her eye roll. She was throwing those my way all the time for the past month since I'd come to Cambridge. She'd thwarted every effort of mine for us to talk about us and insisted that the island fling was over. I had half a mind to get her back to the island so she'd fucking listen to me.

What was most disturbing about my situation was that I was enjoying myself in Boston. I liked…okay, loved—being back in a lab. I hadn't expected to feel this way ever again, but as I got into the rhythm of things, it felt more and more natural, like riding a bicycle.

"Who do you keep looking at?" Darcy wondered and turned around as her eyes scanned the room.

"The woman in green," I told her.

"Hmm…she's not your type," Darcy remarked. "So, maybe that's a good th ing?"

Darcy was a journalist at The Boston Globe and was one of the few people in my family I didn't mind spending time with. She was from the American side of my family—the Bottom side .

"I came to Boston for her," I confessed.

"Ooh, do tell. This is juicier than what's going on in the halls of the Senate." Darcy's beat was the United States Senate, which was a shitshow these days.

The couple with Belle was now watching us unabashedly, and Belle looked even more pissed than usual.

"I wish she'd stop being so angry with me." I drank some of the Chardonnay that we'd ordered as we were both planning on eating the Bouillabaisse.

"She's not angry; she's jealous," Darcy said, amused. She leaned into me and kissed my cheek.

"What the fuck, D?"

"Oh, yes, absolutely jealous."

"We're not in high school." I arched an eyebrow. "Jealous? Really?"

"Like a green-eyed monster humping a green dragon."

"I don't even know what that means, except…maybe I finally found a chip in that lab coat of hers."

"I think you should strike the iron when it's hot."

"Darcy.” I smirked. “Hold on to that thought." I got up and weaved through the tables toward my quarry. Belle's expression stayed flat, but her companions were smiling, blatant curiosity in their eyes.

"Belle," I said, stopping just beside their table and offering my most charming grin. "Imagine running into you here, Babycakes."

" Babycakes ?" the woman next to her, who I now suspected was her sister, repeated with a chuckle.

Her eyebrows lifted, irritation swarming across her face. "Cambridge is smaller than you'd think, and I want you to stop calling me Babycakes," she declared flatly, her voice all business.

Her companions, though, were eyeing me with open interest. The woman extended a hand. "Anna Volnay," she introduced, giving me a warm smile. "Belle's sister."

"Dr. Augustus," the man chimed in, extending his hand, too. "I've read some of your work. Dan Langston, I'm married to Anna."

I shook his hand, nodding as I registered his name. "Pleasure." I scanned my memory files. "Dr. Dan Langston? Are you the head of neurosurgery at Mass Gen?"

"I am. And my wife is a pediatric surgeon." He slid an arm around Anna. "But the star of our family is Belle."

"He's lying. They all think I'm the lesser doctor." Belle gave her brother-in-law a dirty look. "My parents are also surgeons."

"Oh please, we all think you're saving the world while we're struggling to make a difference one patient at a time," Anna quipped. "May I call you Captain Mick?"

She was flirting with me, and I flirted right back. "Dr. Volnay, you can call me anything you want."

"Oh my." She put a hand on her heart and looked at Dan. "I told you, he's perfect."

"For?" I inquired.

" No ," Belle groaned.

"For when we decide to have a threesome," Anna explained eagerly.

If I'd been drinking anything, I'd have choked on it.

"I mean, we're not propositioning you," Dan said seriously, "Are we, Anna?"

Belle dropped her face in her hands. "God! Kill me now."

"You said he gave you three orgasms in one night," Anna protested. "And he looks like this. " She waved a hand from my neck down, focusing on my crotch. This whole family, I decided was nuts. I could see where Belle got her quirkiness from. The serious scientist was for lab purposes only—outside of the lab, though she didn't get out much, she was surrounded by a sister and brother-in-law who openly talked about threesomes.

"Since it appears that you haven't had a menage before, I feel it's my responsibility to tell you that they're not as fun as you think they'd be." I was going to enjoy the hell out of this. I waved at Darcy, asking her to join us. I pulled a chair and sat down. "I think this discussion requires wine."

Darcy strolled over, glancing from me to the table with a bemused smile. "Mick, you didn't tell me we'd be socializing tonight."

I introduced her to everyone.

A server discreetly moved our wine to Belle's table and added a chair for Darcy.

"I love your articles," Anna squealed. "Don't you, Belle?"

Belle looked at Darcy balefully. "I don't even know who you are, no offense."

"None taken. I'm his cousin , by the way, so he's not ever giving me any orgasms," Darcy informed Belle, who was drinking water and spluttered some of it.

"Ah." I gestured to Darcy as Belle's sister and brother-in-law looked on with mild surprise. "Yes, Darcy is my father's sister's daughter. Well, stepfather, but he was my Dad for all practical purposes."

Anna's face lit up. "Belle said she hated you, but since you're a cousin?—"

"I'm going to go." Belle stood up. "You're all crazy. Nuts. Batshit?—"

"Sit your ass down." Anna grabbed her sister's hand and yanked, so she had no choice but to take a seat. "You know, you have to loosen up."

"You do need to loosen up," I added some fuel to the fire.

"I…I'm loose enough," she childishly re plied.

"No, you aren't," Dan agreed with his wife and me.

"Are too," Belle protested, and then her shoulders slumped. She looked at Darcy. "Are you sure you're his cousin? He mentioned he isn't close to any of his family and only talks to his mother sometimes and only out of guilt."

"Last I checked, I was… am his cousin." Darcy laughed. "He's insufferably distant most of the time, but he's family. I see him when I see him…last time was, what, three years ago? After you ended your engagement with the Dirty Whore?"

"Dirty Whore?" Anna was curious. "I need to know more."

"His ex," Belle mumbled. "She cheated on him."

"I never thought I'd see him moving back to Boston." Darcy patted my shoulder. "I'm glad you're here. I've missed you."

Belle's expression soured further, if possible. "Moved back? You haven't moved back."

I shrugged, savoring her irritation. "Whatever you say, Babycakes."

She cringed at the Babycakes. I didn't do it in the lab because that was a professional place, but here, I was going to take advantage and do everything I could to make her see that we made a fine pair.

"You live in Reef Harbor," Belle said touchily.

"What can I say? The city missed me." I flashed her a broad grin. "Besides, it's more fun when you're around."

Anna looked at us with barely concealed amusement. She turned to Belle, her eyes bright. "See, Belle, now you can tell Daddy he's not an unemployed bum."

Belle's lips pressed into a thin line, though her family was clearly enjoying themselves.

Dan raised his glass to me, smiling. "Here's to Dr. Augustus. Always good to see another man brave enough to win over a Volnay woman."

I let out a low chuckle. "Trust me, it takes work. "

"Tell me about it," Dan let out a long-suffering sigh.

Belle glared at her brother-in-law, her voice tight. "He's not trying to win me over, so can it."

I held up a hand, feigning surrender, but couldn't help the smug grin. "Now, Babycakes, you know I am here to woo you. Is it a challenge? Yes. Am I all in? Also, yes."

Belle shook her head, clearly done with this conversation, but her family looked on, smiling, as if they were already rooting for me. And if that annoyed her? Well, I was just getting started.