2. Keller
2
KELLER
"S o, who's the chick?"
I'm not surprised my sister asks the moment her daughter is out of earshot. Octavia's been home for an hour and in that time, she has simply not shut up about Claire. Claire this, Claire that. Does Claire like cake? Would Claire like to ice skate? Do I think she looks more like Sleeping Beauty or Elsa from Frozen ? Fucking hell. Not that I can blame her. That girl is the whole package, from the ribbon in her hair to the tips of her pink ballerina shoes.
Honestly, she's ridiculous . The very idea of any woman waking up some day and deciding to look that sweet is insane. Is she prepping for a Barbie commercial or what?
If you'd asked me yesterday, I absolutely would have said, without hesitation, that I don't do sweet. But fuck, I'd do Claire. She looks like I could break her in two, and I can't help it. I want to. I want to see the pretty, glossy pink lips parted as she chokes on my cock, those gray eyes wide.
No one's ever gotten such a strong reaction from me at first glance without even trying. She didn't flirt. She didn't look at me in any way to suggest she liked what she saw. She was more concerned about my niece than me. Hell, I could tell she was annoyed with me at first, for letting the little terror slip through my fingers. Which I relate to. I certainly was annoyed at myself.
I took Octavia this morning because my sister's dealing with her abusive ex; the divorce is getting nastier by the day, and she needs time. But technically, I work on my investment portfolio on Saturday mornings. I cancelled most of my appointments, but there were some time-sensitive decisions I needed to make. So yeah, I took a couple of calls. And yeah, Vivi is the kind of high-energy, mischievous, spoiled brat we can't leave alone for a second. I say that lovingly, and fully aware that I am the first to spoil her.We should have stayed in the house, really. It would have been safer. But I can't regret my niece's little adventure when it ended so well.
"First time I saw her," I reply, accepting the beer Lisa slides across the counter, taking a swig. "She seems nice."
"My daughter certainly thinks so," my sister muses, shaking her head in disbelief. "And she hates everyone."
I roll my eyes. "She doesn't hate everyone . She loves me, doesn't she?"
Lisa snorts.
She's thirty-three, eight years my senior. Our mother had her when she was in her early twenties, and penniless. I can't imagine what it must have been like to grow up with Laura Prince as a single mother—particularly a poor one.
I was raised by my father, an ex-model, part owner of a multi-million-dollar fashion brand, and honestly, I had it easy. He might not have been present much, but I had my cousin, and the Goltzes—the sons of dad's business partners—not to mention their parents, as an extended family. My understanding is, Lisa didn't have anyone other than our pretty, flighty mom.
Laura flew in and out of my life, mostly showing up when she needed something.Lisa might be my half-sister, but I only saw her a couple of times until a little over six years ago.
Arlo, my father, always told her she could reach out if he could ever help her, like he would to any extended family, and she smiled, nodded, and never asked for anything. But one day, she showed up at our door, heavily pregnant, needing "a place to crash for a bit." One look at her bruises, and we had her safe inside, with a security team around her twenty-four seven. She's been at the main house since. I can't imagine her anywhere else now.
I was there from the moment Octavia was born. I even picked her name. She might go by Prince, but she's a Keller to us. She even calls my father Dada, at his insistence. We want Lisa's ex nowhere near the two of them—something the lawyers are working through at the moment—so he's her father figure. Frankly, he's doing a better job at it than he did with me, likely because he's now old enough to understand kids.
Being a Keller means having it all. The house, the cars, the clothes. Especially the clothes. We might not be the richest family in Thorn Falls, but that's only because this town is full of billionaires. And through my father's company, we're connected to the Goltzes, anyway.
Octavia's struggled to open up outside of our immediate family. Half of her nannies just wanted a chance at my dad, or even me. We don't really know many kids her age—all my cousins are in their twenties, so most of us don't have children. She's starting school in a couple of weeks, and I know she’s struggling with the idea.
Octavia's brilliant, adorable, outspoken, downright rude at times, but she does not trust people easily. Especially women. So finding her clinging to a complete stranger was seriously unusual, until I spoke to Claire.
Oink, oink.
She's not only strikingly beautiful, but she's also warm, self-depreciative, and down-to-earth, not unlike Lisa. Claire must have sensed that the woman had no ulterior motives.
My instincts are rarely wrong, but I checked anyway. It was easy enough.
New in town. Twenty-ish. Blonde. Claire.
I had two folders in my inbox within an hour of asking my PI. Claire Fairmont, nineteen, arrived two days ago, currently residing at the Rothford dorm, recipient of an academic scholarship and a grant. I have all the basics: financials—she wasn't kidding about her wallet not stretching far enough to accommodate unnecessary stationery, Christ —academic record, her latest texts and messages, her search history.
Nothing suggests she knew who I was. She's the real deal. An ingenue . I smile to myself.
"You think she's be interested in babysitting? I'd like to go full-time after Vivi starts school, but she finishes at three, so I need someone from three to six. God knows the girls the agency usually send do not make my daughter gush ."
"What makes you think I know what a complete stranger might like to do?" I ask.
"Please." Lisa sends me that look . The one that makes her look like our cunning mother. "My kid isn't the only one with a little crush. A present and a hundred-and-fifty-dollar gift card for chatting with Octavia for two minutes?"
If I'd seen the state of her finances before loading that gift card, I would have added all the bills in mymoney clip.
I shrug. No point denying I noticed her. "So what? I like a pretty damsel in distress. Who doesn't? Doesn't mean I can tell you whether she'd like to work for you."
"I suppose not. But whatever casual stalking you've been up to likely gives you an idea whether she'd be open to it."
I lower my beer, staring at my sister. She only looks back at me, an eyebrow raised.
I want to ask her how she knows. It's not like I'm in the habit of doing that type of thing with every girl I fuck. On the contrary.Most chick taking my cock are gone the next day. I don’t feel the need to learn anything about them.
But I do like to control my environment. I like to understand what makes people around me tick. It tells me what to expect of them.
I surprised even myself when I got a background check done on Claire, so how did Lisa know I would?
"She's broke," I say, finally. "And clearly, she liked Vivi. So I'm sure she'd like a job if you offered it. But she's at Rothford, so she might not be available when you need her."
My sister nods. "Did you ask for her phone number?"
"No." I wasn't about to come on to her with Octavia as a witness.
"Oh well. Do you know where we might run into her, then?"
"Library, bookstore, movie theater, yoga studio," I list. "But she'll likely join the school's, so you can't just drop by.Or I can mention it to her when I bump into her tomorrow."
My sister smirks. "Please do. I look forward to meeting whoever can thaw the two coldest Kellers in this house."
"Like I'm anywhere as cold as my father," I retort with a snort.
Though there's no arguing that, usually, Octavia's icy as fuck to young, pretty girls too busy batting their eyelashes at us to pay her any mind.
"Your dad's indifferent, not cold, " Lisa retorts, leaning in eagerly. "So, what's the plan? You gonna ask her out?"
"I would," I assure her. "If it wasn't for one little problem."
"Oh?"
"She has a boyfriend."
"Fuck. Sorry." My sister pouts.
I tilt my head. "Whatever for?"
"Well, you clearly have a crush on the girl. You must be disappointed."
I look at her. Six years and ten months. That's how long she’s lived with us. I don't technically live here, staying at the Vesper House during the academic year, but I make a point of coming every week, as often as possible, to hang out with her and Octavia.
She knew I'd get Claire’s information. She guessed I'd planned to see her again. And she really thinks I'll let such an inconsequential obstacle stop me?
I smile. "I don't see a ring on it."
And even if I did, it's not all that hard to remove a tiny little piece of jewelry. With the right incentives.