Chapter 11
SEBASTIAN
The house is lit up like a fucking resort when we pull into the driveway. Every window is glowing, and landscape lighting illuminates the architectural features and grounds. Mom insisted on this when she designed this monument to Drake wealth twenty years ago.
I feel Lennox steadying herself beside me in the truck as I open the door to get out.
“Breathe,” I say, my hand finding her thigh. “You handled my parents earlier. This is just more of the same.”
“Your entire family is in there judging me.” Her voice is calm, but I can hear the edge beneath it. “Deciding if I’m worthy of the Drake name.”
“True.” No point lying about it. “But you know how to handle this kind of scrutiny. I saw you do it at the resort a hundred times a day.”
“That doesn’t make it easier.”
“No,” I agree, squeezing her thigh. “But you’ll do it anyway. Because you’re mine, and I don’t think you’re the type to break. You would have already if you were.”
She turns to look at me, and in the dim light from the dashboard, I can see the conflict written across her face. Animosity and attraction are at war with each other, along with fear and determination. She is magnificent.
“Let’s get this over with,” she says.
I come around to open her door, offering my hand to help her down. She takes it, and I don’t miss the way her fingers tighten around mine. Nerves, probably. Or maybe remembering what my fingers did to her an hour ago against the stone wall of our house.
My cock stirs at the memory. Later, I promise myself. After we survive family dinner, I’ll have her again.
The front door opens before we reach it, and James appears, grinning like an idiot.
“The prodigal son returns!” he shouts as he bounds down the steps, all energy and easy charm.
At thirty, he still looks like a kid sometimes, dark hair perpetually messy, dressed in jeans and a button-down he probably threw on five minutes ago.
“And you actually got married without telling anyone. Mom’s been losing her mind all afternoon. ”
“James.” I accept his hug, then pull Lennox forward. “This is Lennox. Lennox, my baby brother James.”
“Welcome to the circus.” James takes her hand and kisses it with theatrical gallantry. “I’d apologize for my family in advance, but that seems premature. Better to let you experience the horror firsthand.”
Lennox laughs, actually laughs, and some of the tension in her shoulders eases. “I appreciate the honesty.”
“It’s my only redeeming quality.” James tucks her hand through his arm, effectively stealing her from me. “Come on, let me introduce you to everyone before Mom takes over and you run out screaming.”
“James,” I start, but he is already leading Lennox up the steps and inside.
I follow, watching my brother charm my wife with the easy warmth that has always come naturally to him.
The baby of the family, the one who’s never had to carry the weight of Dad’s expectations or Mom’s ambitions.
Just James, allowed to exist without the pressure that has shaped the rest of us.
And all the whiskey he can drink daily. Lucky bastard.
Inside, the soaring ceilings, marble floors, priceless art are all carefully calibrated to appear opulent to outsiders—but it’s cold, there is nothing that says a family lives here, it’s simply Mom’s palace to show off, designed to impress and intimidate in equal measure.
Voices drift from the formal living room, what Mom calls the “salon,” because, of course she does, and James guides us that way.
“Brace yourself,” he murmurs to Lennox. “Caroline’s already here, which means the knives are out.”
We enter the salon, and the conversation stops immediately. Every face turns toward us, toward Lennox.
Mom sits in her usual throne-like chair near the fireplace, still wearing the cream linen from earlier but with pearls added for dinner. Dad stands by the bar, whiskey in hand, looking more comfortable now that he is back in his kingdom. And there, on the sofa, is Caroline.
My sister inherited Mom’s blonde hair and Dad’s sharp eyes, along with a ruthlessness entirely her own.
At thirty-five, she runs the oil division with brutal efficiency, and I’ve heard rumors she is angling to expand into natural gas.
She wears black, always black, and her smile when she sees me is cool and calculating.
“Sebastian.” She stands and crosses to us, her heels clicking on marble. “So you finally conned someone into marrying you.”
“Caroline,” I say flatly as I accept her air kiss, then pull Lennox from James. “This is Lennox. Lennox, my sister Caroline.”
“The famous Caroline.” Lennox extends her hand, and I watch Caroline assess her with the same intensity she brings to oil field negotiations. Lennox doesn’t let Caroline’s hand go quickly, and I watch my wife read Caroline like a book in five seconds.
“Sebastian’s told me about your work with the oil division of the businesses.
Impressive. I’m sure being a woman in a male-dominated space hasn’t always been easy.
” Lennox smiles sweetly at Caroline, who just blinks for a moment as she stares at my wife.
My sister speechless isn’t something I’ve seen often, and it’s very entertaining.
“Has he?” Caroline lets Lennox’s hand go and takes a step back. Lennox slips her hand into mine and moves to my side. “I’m surprised he talks about family business at all, given how little time he spends here.”
First shot fired.
“I talk about the things that matter,” I say smoothly. “Caroline’s brilliant. Dad would have her running the entire operation if she asked to.”
“If I asked,” Caroline repeats, her smile sharpening. “But I prefer the oil side. Less messy than cattle.” Her eyes cut to Lennox. “Though I imagine you’re familiar with that world. The Briggs operation in Montana is quite substantial, from what I understand.”
“Twenty thousand head,” Lennox says easily. “My father built it from ten thousand over the last two decades. We’ve had good breeding success with our Red Angus program.”
“How impressive.” Caroline’s tone suggests it is anything but. “And you left all that to work in guest relations at Sebastian’s resort?”
“I wanted to see something beyond Montana.” Lennox’s voice remains steady, but I feel her body tense against mine. “Experience life outside the ranch.”
“And you certainly did that, didn’t you?” Caroline’s smile is all teeth. “Guest relations to wife in, what, six months? That’s quite the promotion.”
“Caroline.” Dad’s voice cuts across the room, sharp with warning. “That’s enough.”
“I’m just getting acquainted with our new sister-in-law.” But Caroline steps back, her point made.
“I’m sure I could have easily found something to utilize my business degree, but I wanted a carefree year before figuring out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Lennox says, making Caroline’s face turn red with embarrassment.
It’s easy for my sister to put down someone she believes is beneath her, but Lennox just flipped the script, and I am quickly becoming enamored by this woman.
But how do I not know that she has a college education? I am going to have to check in with the PI I hired to look into her. Obviously Phil is missing a step these days.
“Where’s Nathaniel?” I ask, scanning the room.
“Putting the girls to bed.” Mom finally stands, crossing to us with that cultivated grace she’s perfected over decades. “They were so excited about meeting their new aunt that they refused to nap. By dinner time, they were absolute terrors.”
“I’m sorry I missed them,” Lennox says, shifting her attention from Caroline to Mom.
“Oh, you’ll meet them soon, I’m sure.” Mom’s hand settles on Lennox’s shoulder, and I watch her carry out the same assessment Caroline just finished. “They’re curious about you. We all are.”
“Okay, enough, how do we know you aren’t after his money? We all know how you got here, so let’s quit pretending you’re some happy couple in love,” Caroline says as she slams her glass on top of the wet bar.
Lennox moves closer to Caroline and stands toe-to-toe with her.
“I assure you, I have no interest in his money; I have more than enough of my own. You see, four thousand head of cattle of the twenty thousand my father has are mine, and of the land he owns, fifty thousand acres of it is also deeded to me. I don’t need anything from the Drake family.
I’m very self-sufficient without Sebastian.
” She locks eyes with Caroline and doesn’t blink.
I really look at my wife. I hadn’t known about her cattle or land; that also wasn’t disclosed when I looked into her.
Caroline studies her for a long moment, then laughs, sharp and short. “Well, I suppose time will tell if you still feel that way in a year.”
“Give me two.” Lennox smirks, but I catch the bitter edge underneath. The remainder of her contract.
“Drink?” Dad asks, breaking the tension. “Lennox, what can I get you? Wine, a cocktail?”
“Whiskey, please.” It is only then that she breaks eye contact with my sister and looks over to my father. “Neat.”
Dad’s eyebrows rise. “A woman after my own heart. Sebastian, your usual?”
“Yeah, thanks, Dad.”
While Dad pours drinks, footsteps sound in the hallway. Heavy, measured, tired. Nathaniel appears in the doorway, and I am struck by how much older he looks since I last saw him. Almost a year since his wife’s death, and he still carries it like a millstone around his neck.
“Sebastian.” He crosses to me, and we embrace briefly. “Heard you got married. Congratulations.”
“Nathaniel, this is Lennox. Lennox, my older brother Nathaniel.”
“Warren Briggs’s daughter, I hear.” Nathaniel shakes her hand, and his grip is firm, calloused from ranch work.
Unlike Caroline’s calculating assessment or Mom’s social evaluation, Nathaniel smiles warmly, although it doesn’t quite meet his tired eyes.
“Your father runs a good operation. I’ve seen the animals he runs through the ring; in fact, there might be a bull or five here you might recognize. ”
“Thank you. He’d be pleased to hear that, and I might need to take a look at those bulls to make sure they’re doing the Briggs name proud.”
“They’re in the south pasture, make the city boy take you out there.
” Nathaniel grins, and for the first time in a year, it feels genuine.
“My girls are excited to meet you. Fair warning, they’re four, and they’re relentless.
They’ll ask a thousand questions and won’t take no for an answer.
” He smiles again and takes the drink Dad holds out for him.
“I have two younger sisters who also happen to be twins. I’m a pro at answering questions and dealing with the relentlessness.
” Lennox smiles, and something in Nathaniel’s expression softens with her ease where the girls are concerned.
“And besides the twins, I have three brothers. Chaos is very familiar.”
“Good.” Nathaniel takes a sip of whiskey. “Because Harper and Hadley are professional chaos agents.”
Dad returns with new drinks for Lennox and me, and we all settle into the salon’s midcentury modern, uncomfortable seating. Mom orchestrates seating like a general positioning her troops, ensuring Lennox is between her and Caroline on the sofa.
I take the chair across from them, close enough to intervene if necessary but far enough that the women can establish their own dynamic.
“So, Lennox.” Mom sips her wine, always wine, never whiskey. “Tell us about yourself. Your family. How did you end up in California?”
“There’s not much to tell. Fifth-generation Montana rancher. Grew up working cattle, learning the operation. I went to Montana State for my business degree, then came home and worked on the ranch for a few years.”
“And then?” Caroline prompts.
“And then I got an itch to see something different. My father began making noise about suitable marriages, neighboring ranches, alliances that would benefit the operation.” Lennox meets Caroline’s eyes steadily. “I wasn’t interested in being married off for land acquisition.”
Caroline gives a soft snort. “I can respect that.”
“So I left. Drove to California with a friend. We got jobs at The Drake in Monterey Cove.”
“And you found yourself married to Sebastian instead.” Mom’s tone is light, but the observation pointed. “Out of the frying pan, as they say.”
“The difference, Eleanor, is I chose to do what I did.” Lennox looks across at me. “My father would have chosen for me.”
The honesty of her answer seems to satisfy Caroline in a way a gushing declaration wouldn’t have. She nods slowly, some of the suspicion easing from her expression.
“Well.” Mom sets down her wine glass with a soft click. “I suppose we should head to dinner. I’m sure everyone’s hungry, and Martin has prepared quite the meal.”
We stand, and as the group migrates toward the formal dining room, James appears at Lennox’s side and pulls her ahead of me.
“You handled that well,” I hear him say. “Caroline’s tough to crack, but I think you just might have.”
“Did I?” Lennox sounds exhausted.
“Definitely. She only interrogates people she thinks might be worth her time. If she’d dismissed you, she wouldn’t have bothered asking questions.”
“That’s comforting, I think,” Lennox says flatly.
“It’s the Drake version of a warm welcome.” James grins. “Wait until you meet the twins. They’re much more straightforward in their judgments. If they like you, they’ll tell you. If they don’t, they’ll also tell you.”
“At least that’s honest.”
“Honesty is overrated in this family,” James quips, then catches my look and laughs. “But don’t tell anyone I said that.”
The dining room is everything Mom loves: a crystal chandelier, a mahogany table that could seat twenty, and enough china to seat fifty people.
Place cards indicate where we’re supposed to sit, and, of course, Mom has positioned Lennox between her and Dad at one end, while I’m relegated to the other end between Caroline and Nathaniel.
Divide and conquer. Mom wants Lennox without my interference.
Fuck.
But there’s nothing I can do without causing a scene, so I take my assigned seat and watch Mom begin her real interrogation under the guise of polite dinner conversation.
This is going to be a long night.
And from the way Lennox is gripping her whiskey glass, she knows it too.