Chapter 20 Selene #3
“What’s your problem, Mom? You got to invite anyone you wanted to this party—my party—now you can let me decide whether Dr. Keller stays for dinner,” he said in his usual high-handed manner. Mia swallowed awkwardly but decided not to fight him.
Ten minutes later, we were all seated around the table.
The air was thick with tension. I had a bad feeling, and it made my skin crawl.
I couldn’t help but think about what I’d overheard between John and Mia.
Neil sat right next to me; beneath the table he rested a hand on my thigh.
Dr. Keller was on his other side, with Mia and Matt directly across from us.
The rest of the seats were filled with other guests.
My stomach was in knots; overpowering anxiety made my throat tight, and my heart was battering against my ribs.
I concentrated on breathing. I pretended to ignore my father’s resentful looks at Neil and me, pretended to enjoy the cracker smeared with caviar I raised to my lips.
I pretended and pretended and pretended…
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.” Neil’s hot breath touched my cheek, and he gave my leg a squeeze to get my attention.
“How did you know?” I whispered, trying to keep anyone from overhearing us.
He gave me a very amused look. “Because you’re wrinkling your nose in disgust,” he answered.
“I’m not crazy about caviar myself. I’d much rather be eating you, maybe upstairs in my room, just like the good old days?
” He had moved dangerously high on my inner thigh. I slammed my legs together, blushing.
“Neil…” I cautioned him. I shooed his hand away, already feeling the burn that only his hot touch could create. I rubbed my thighs together, seeking some small relief.
My core did not stop throbbing.
It felt like my heart was beating right between my legs, and the sensation was becoming unbearable.
“Careful, Babygirl, you’ll get drenched,” he whispered, which only made the situation worse. He cast a surreptitious glance at my clenched thighs and gave a smug chuckle.
Before I could say anything back to him, however, Matt had turned his attention to John, addressing him with an unusual icy intensity.
“So, Dr. Keller, how long have you been working with Krug?” he asked, interlacing his fingers and resting his chin on his hands. Mia’s eyelid twitched as she fingered the pearl necklace she wore.
“For about three years, but I’ve known Dr. Lively for much longer…” John answered, elegantly dabbing his mouth with a cloth napkin. Matt cocked an eyebrow, like what John said was somehow sketchy or unbelievable. I didn’t know what was wrong with him.
Was Matt jealous? Did he know about John’s history with Mia and was this all some dumb male rivalry thing?
“And have you always worked here in New York?” Matt pressed, biting into a breadstick. John placidly took a sip of his water before putting the glass back down on the table.
Apparently he, like Neil, had the ability to confront these special situations with the utmost self-confidence.
“Yes. I have traveled a lot, though, and—”
“Do you have children? A wife?” Matt interrupted before John could finish his sentence. I was unnerved by the ways Matt seemed to be putting the screws to him without even giving him a chance to respond.
John sighed and shot a brief glance at Mia. There seemed to be some kind of unspoken connection between the two of them, a kind of mutual understanding that they could never reveal to anyone else.
“No. I’ve only had one significant relationship in my life. I was young at the time, too young. After that, I focused on my education and then on my career…” John waved a dismissive hand. He clearly didn’t want to talk about his private life, but my father obviously wasn’t satisfied with that.
“You should stop interrogating Dr. Keller, Matt. It’s annoying,” I interjected, feeling heated. Neil coughed—apparently some caviar went down the wrong pipe—and I immediately slapped his back until he recovered.
“Selene! Where are your manners?” my father scolded me as though I were still five years old. Mia whispered something into his ear, maybe urging him to calm down. Meanwhile, I just watched him steadily so he could see the indifference on my face.
“Tinkerbell, I like it when you get aggressive, but now isn’t really the time. Save that energy for later…” Neil murmured, causing a flare of pleasure in the bottom of my stomach.
“It gets on my nerves when he does that overbearing asshole thing,” I answered under my breath.
“We both know how he is. Ignore him. Now’s not the time to make a scene…” he advised me.
“I’d say we’d better start eating down this mountain of food.
Anyone want more caviar?” Logan cut in, serving Chloe a portion as she nodded enthusiastically.
I smiled when her big gray eyes met mine and an odd warmth spread through my chest. The baby of the family had actually accepted me, and she told me she genuinely hoped that Neil could have a real relationship with me.
Though, she added, she was well aware of how weird he was, so she wasn’t getting her hopes up.
She told me her brother would need time to bond with me, and I was trying to give that to him. I had no intention of giving up on him.
“I need a smoke. You want to come with?” Neil wiped his mouth and tossed his napkin down beside his plate before standing up. I raised my head to watch appreciatively as his muscles moved beneath his button-down and elegant suit jacket.
I was so proud of him and proud of the man I knew he’d one day become. He had the makings of a successful architect. I could practically see it now; he’d be respected by his colleagues and, of course, still adored by women.
Could he not see how much potential he had?
“I’d better not…” I said, clearing my throat.
I knew that if I went with him, we’d shut ourselves up in the pool house and wouldn’t come out again.
He seemed to know what I was thinking because he narrowed his eyes and fixed me with a stare of such overwhelming roguishness that it took my breath away.
But he didn’t insist and instead just headed out the glass doors into the backyard.
“Thank you, Selene.” John leaned toward me, and I frowned, not immediately understanding what I was being thanked for. Then I remembered: I’d saved him from the Matt Anderson Inquisition.
“You’re welcome,” I answered reassuringly. I would have defended him as a matter of course. I knew my father well, and I would never have allowed him to screw with someone like Dr. Keller.
He didn’t deserve to get raked over the coals by Matt for no good reason.
“Ahem, ladies, gentlemen, pardon me.” Anna poked her head into the dining room with her hands clasped in front of her.
She looked hesitantly at Mia. “Ms. Lindhom, I’m so sorry to bother you during dinner, but there is another visitor here for your son.
” She cleared her throat, and Mia turned her full attention on Anna, waiting to see who the visitor was.
Mia’s eyes went wide when a tall, imposing man with glacial eyes and a disturbing kind of charisma walked in—William Miller.
“Good evening,” he smiled politely at everyone but especially at his ex-wife, whom he immediately moved toward. “I wanted to congratulate Ne…” His confident stride halted abruptly when he caught sight of John’s petrified stare.
“John?” William’s lips barely moved as he said it. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. John just clenched one hand into a fist, clearly trying to get a handle on himself.
“William,” he answered shortly, never looking away from the other man’s metallic stare.
“What…what are you doing here?” Mia attempted to insert herself between them, but the hatred, the bitterness, and the competition running between the two men was obvious.
They had a score to settle with each other.
“And how do you two know each other?” Matt pointed at them, asking a useful question for once. Logan and Chloe also seemed confused yet curious about the situation.
I was simply scared.
I felt that fear creep down my spine and wrap around me in an eerie embrace that made my skin crawl.
“Where is my son?” William asked with a seemingly benevolent smile that nonetheless boded no good, and under the table, my legs began to tremble.
Mia shook her head and got abruptly to her feet, drawing everyone’s eyes to her.
“Whatever you have in mind, William, he isn’t part of your conflict.” She attempted to put a hand on his shoulder, but the man backed away from her, still staring John down with a smile so sinister it would have given the devil himself chills.
I was glowering at him, trying to figure out what exactly he intended to do, when Neil came back into the room. He walked back over to the chair beside me and bent to scoop up the lighter that had slipped out of his pocket and fallen on the floor.
The moment he registered his father’s presence, however, he straightened up.
William smiled widely and approached Neil, like he’d been waiting to do it all day.
“What are you doing here? Who invited you? Fuck off.” Neil stepped back in disgust and gestured to the front door. William just shook his head and gave an amused chuckle.
“You know, I really didn’t appreciate that little stunt your friend Xavier pulled with my car. I could have had him arrested for that; you should be thanking me. Don’t I even get a hug for being such a great dad?” he taunted, opening his arms wide.
“William!” Mia scolded him, but he silenced her with one raised hand, determined to finish what he’d started.
“This is an important day for you, my dear boy. And so, I’m going to give you the best gift you’ve ever received,” he went on in a soft, cruel voice, looking back at Neil.
Next to me, John glared at William, the agony visible on his face.
“What the fuck are you talking about? I told you to leave!” Neil’s voice got louder, and everyone at the table flinched.