TWENTY-TWO
WARM LIPS TOUCHED her ear, the cushion of her hair pressed against her as the kiss went lower.
With a whimper, she arched into the caress, the weight of a dream cascaded around her as her body softened to accept the rigidity of his.
“Darroch,” she whispered, moving with the hands that stroked her belly, her arm, that cupped her face to tip it higher. “Baby…”
“Sweet Cherry…”
Her eyes opened. It wasn’t a dream, she really was in his secure embrace.
“Darroch.” Laying her hands on his, she parted them to wriggle out of his arms. “This feels like the moves.”
You know, the ones he’d promised his mother he wasn’t making.
“Saying good morning.”
He kissed the back of her head and her lips quirked. Guy could be such a goof, endearing, and sometimes infuriating, but exactly what she needed.
“You have an amazing bed.”
“I like to think the company makes all the difference.”
Relaxing to her back, she slid a hand up his arm. “It does.” She accepted a short kiss. “Can I take a shower?”
“Can I join you?”
“I do not want to be wet and slippery the first time you see me naked. No.”
“I like that,” he said as she shimmied to the edge of the bed. “That was a when statement, not an if.”
Rising, she peeked back at the guy with his hands locked behind his smug head.
“You keep on dreaming, Gentleman,” she said, slinking into the bathroom.
***
WHEN SHE FINISHED her shower and came out, he was nowhere around. Having snuck down for breakfast before, she expected to replay the experience after creeping down the stairs. That was until she reached the table’s adjoining room. Talking, laughing, a general hubbub of noise betrayed people awaited. Shit.
Should she sneak back the way she’d come? Curiosity awakened. If there were many people in the dining room, odds were that she’d know at least one of them… right?
She couldn’t stand there all day, so ventured in, head held high.
A guest, that maybe the ranks weren’t aware of, did draw attention. With Benedict at the head of the table, Alice and Buoy in their usual places, she had allies in the room.
“Savanna! Good morning.” Of course she could trust Alice to give her a warm welcome. “Come and sit down, there’s fresh coffee.”
Dougie, Astor, they were familiar. No sign of Darroch or Caber. Aiming for discreet, she checked out the three additional men there.
Alice was pouring coffee at the place by Buoy where she’d sat before. “Savanna, meet Brant, Troy, and Ward.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, taking her seat, unsure which Breckenridge was which. “No elusive Tripp?”
“Why is he always the one people want to meet?” one of the trio asked.
“He’s a popular boy, Brant,” Alice said, seating herself again. “Darroch would have a better idea where he is.”
Except Darroch wasn’t around to ask. Not that it mattered much.
“I’ve heard his name a few times, that’s all.”
“You’ll meet him at the Cavendishs’ Ball. All our boys will be there.”
“Except the four we have in college,” Benedict said, swiping something on the tablet by his plate.
“Wow, four,” she said. “Must be expensive to…”
Huh, except, yeah, this was fairytale land.
“Like we care about the money,” Brant scoffed. “It’s nothing.”
“Brant, sweetheart,” Alice said. “You know I don’t like that kind of talk.”
“Sav-nah,” little Buoy said, pushing his plate away to get at the papers beneath. “I brought you one special.”
He scraped through the various pictures until he found the right one, which he held up in triumph.
Accepting it from him, she gasped. “Oh my goodness, I love it!”
His proud smile glowed. “It’s a tiger, for you.”
“It’s amazing!”
“You can keep it forever.”
“Thank you, beautiful boy.”
Leaning in, she kissed his hair.
“Hey, those are for me.”
Darroch’s voice drew her attention to the door he’d snuck them out the night of the prize dinner. Caber sauntered at his side until Darroch peeled away to join her. He put a hand on the back of her chair and bowed to kiss the top of her head.
“Uh, discretion.”
Darroch descended into the seat by hers. “This is discretion,” he said then cleared his throat to address the table. “Sav and I are keeping us under wraps for a while.”
“Because she’s screwing the boss?”
“Brant!” Alice chastised. “What is wrong with you this morning?”
“Watch your mouth,” Benedict said, his voice deep. “Apologize to our guest.”
Brant exhaled. “Sorry, Savanna.”
Darroch’s hand slid down her thigh beneath the table.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Thank you.”
Benedict wasn’t done with his son. “And your mother.”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Brant said. “I don’t get why they’d lie about being together.”
“Would you admit to dating Roch?” Caber asked, grabbing a croissant. “I wouldn’t.”
“Hey, she’s never kissed me at the breakfast table.”
She held up her picture. “You never colored me a beautiful picture,” she said, proud and touched Buoy thought of her. “Even the littlest Breckenridge is generous.”
“I’m not worried about the competition,” Darroch said with an exaggerated throat clear. “I can reach the top shelf. Boo Boo can’t beat that.”
A dope, but a sweet one. His hand remained there on her leg, warm and heavy.
Didn’t beat the picture that still held her in rapture. “Can we put it on the wall upstairs?”
“Anything you want, baby.” Darroch squeezed her leg. “Want me to get it framed?”
She blinked around at him. “Would you honestly or are you making fun of me?”
“No, baby, I’ll do it.”
“Then maybe you’ll earn yourself a kiss at the breakfast table too.”
“Oh, yeah?” he said, leaning in to press a brief kiss to her lips as he took the picture. “You were right, Dad.” Darroch swept her hair from her face to admire her. “Keep the wife happy.”
“Told you, son,” Benedict said absently, swiping again.
Tearing her eyes from Darroch, the others at the table didn’t want to see them mooning. “How was your tea party, Buoy?”
“I had a cookie and two cakes with chocolate candy.”
“Wow!”
“You know…” Caber noted, finishing his croissant. “Buoy usually doesn’t speak to strangers.”
“Sav-Na is my friend.”
“Yes, she is,” Alice said. “I’d like to add, Buoy wasn’t just eating cakes all day. He drank his fresh squeezed juice and rode his favorite pony too.”
His favorite? She’d never ridden a horse in her life much less had a favorite.
“This his favorite at the Boldwind Stable?” Caber asked. “Why don’t you move him here?”
“He has pony friends,” Buoy said, trying to make a bigger space for his pictures. She moved the crockery and cutlery from his reach, providing more room. “Which you want to color, Sav-Na?”
“Uh…” She took her time checking out each one. “Which one are you going to color?”
“Bring his pony friends here,” Caber said.
“There’s nothing wrong with where he is,” Alice said. “Buoy enjoys going to the stable.”
“One of the few places he does enjoy going,” one of the new brothers said.
She leaned back against Darroch, craning her neck around to murmur. “Which one’s Troy and which is Ward?”
He kissed her hair as he dipped his lips to her ear. “Troy then Ward,” he answered and switched angle. “Troy, tell Sav where you got your eyebrow scar.”
“No, we do not want those stories at the breakfast table,” Alice said, though she was smiling as she delicately covered Buoy’s ears. “How many times must I remind you boys that you’re role models.”
“Shit, that’s a terrifying thought,” Brant said.
“Language.”
“Someone thinks he’s back in his frat house,” Caber said, spreading something on a bagel.
“You have four brothers in college?” she asked Darroch.
“Yep. That’s where they’re supposed to be at any rate. Not sure they’re learning anything,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk of beer pong and co-eds.”
“And you, I suppose, were a saint at college. Does your mom know about your brownie days?”
Caber laughed. “More stories she won’t appreciate from the role models at the breakfast table.”
“Have you eaten, Cherry?” Darroch asked. “Everything you see’s on offer. Bet there’s some steak in the kitchen, quail eggs? Caviar?”
“I’m not hungry.” Raising her cup, she sipped the coffee. “This is all I need.”
“She was asking about Tripp,” Troy said.
“Be careful asking for the Breckenridge boys together,” Caber said. “You’ll meet everyone at Christmas.”
“Yes, all my boys will be home for Christmas,” Alice said, brimming with excitement.
“Thought we were going away this year,” Troy said. “The Deveraux place.”
“It’s not big enough for all of us.”
“We may host them,” Alice said. “The Cavendishs have invited us to their Christmas Ball.”
“We’re always invited to that,” Ward said. “Everyone’s invited to that.”
Not her. Not regular, mortal folks.
Troy laughed. “Yeah, hence why Tripp goes in disguise every year.”
“He barely got over the threshold last year before he split. I think he was there a max. of three minutes. The guy who can get into any party, the most exclusive on the block, runs for his life on the corporate ticket of the year.”
“Last year was Mischa related,” Caber said, standing to put the segmented bagel in front of Buoy, who paused in his coloring. “She won’t be around this year. Isn’t she engaged now?”
“I think she was engaged then too.”
Buoy picked up a bite-size piece of the bagel and stuffed it in his mouth before returning his pencil to the paper.
Now that was sweet. Without direction, Caber had spread jelly on the bagel and cut it into little pieces for the youngster.
A hand slid down her forehead to briefly cover her eyes. “Don’t go gooey eyed over Caber.”
“I’ve never met a family like this.”
His hand continued down until his elbow was on the back of her chair and his forearm hung in front of her. Somehow, maybe on purpose, she’d angled herself toward Buoy, so her back was semi to Darroch. When his forearm got closer, without touching, it eased her back against him. Being in his invisible cocoon only drew her deeper into the family. With him there, she didn’t seem like an outsider, it was almost as if she was a part of the family.
“We have an engagement with Chester Foundation today.”
“Ma, come on, that’s what this thing is?” Ward asked. “It’s a cattle market.”
Benedict’s attention left the tablet. “Do we need the boys?”
“Yes, we need the boys. I told Audrey we’d have them with us. Savanna, you should join us.”
“Yes, please, join us,” Darroch said, jumping on the suggestion. “You can protect me.”
“How come Tripp gets out of this? And where’s Acre?”
“At the office,” Benedict said.
“Ours or his?”
“Can I go to the office too? Any office?” Ward asked, smirking. “I suddenly feel productive.”
“No, buddy, I tried that already,” Caber said, tossing something in the air to catch it in his mouth. “If it won’t work for me, I won’t let it work for you either.”
“I’ve got a pass, surely,” Darroch said. “What about Sav?”
“It’s for charity,” Alice said, her smile almost amused. “She won’t mind for charity. You don’t mind for charity, do you, Savanna, dear?”
“Uh… no.” Not that she had any idea what they were talking about. “And I can’t join you, sorry. I have to get back to the city today.”
“Working again?”
“Not today,” she said. “I have to deal with my apartment.”
“Of course. We’ll pick you up and have dinner in the city before we return here.”
“Thank you, but I… I have a thing tonight.”
“A thing?” Caber asked. One set of expectant eyes bred another until she was under blanket scrutiny. It wasn’t accusing just… innocently expectant. “See the thing is in a family like this one…” He gestured a circle. “There’s no such thing as a secret.”
“We tell each other everything,” Troy said. “Someone always knows something.”
“No secrets,” Ward agreed. “No judgment.”
Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea for her to be part of the Breckenridge family.
Darroch’s thumb extended to stroke up and down her arm. A comfort? Or was he agreeing with his brothers?
“A thing?” Caber prompted again.
“It’s something for a friend. I promised I’d make an appearance at his event to support him.”
“Him?” Ward said and grinned at his brother. “Competition, man.”
“Don’t I know it,” Darroch said. “She’s made no secret of that. I’m just happy to be in the running.”
Did she really come across as the type of woman who’d string several men along at once? If anyone asked Jeremy, he’d say yes.
“It’s not like that, we met at a fundraising event years ago. He’s passionate about the community effort. It’s for a children’s center.”
“Oh, wonderful. It’s in the city?” Alice’s shoulders went slightly back. “Why is that not on our calendar?”
“Don’t ask me,” Caber said, though she may not have been actually asking him. “We’re finding out there’s a lot not on our calendar.”
“No,” she said on an exhaled laugh. “This is small scale, tiny, they’re hoping to raise thousands, not millions.”
“Luxe Leathers going to be there?”
“No, this is not through work, it—” She cleared her throat with an eyeroll. “We went out one time.”
“Ah, so it is like that.”
“Competition,” Darroch said, closing his arm around her.
“No, not at—he’s an amazing man, but he has serious issues. Well, his family has serious issues. He’s a… His work means everything to him. I said I would make an appearance to support him. It means a lot to the kids he works with.”
“He works with children and prioritizes charitable efforts?” Alice asked, her eyes slinking around to join hers. “Darroch may not be the only man at the table with competition.”
Wow, a joke she didn’t expect, but she appreciated it with her friend. Friend?
“You hearing this, Dad?” Troy asked.
“I hear everything,” Benedict said, typing into the tablet. “And what’s our first rule with women, boys?”
“Do it better,” the men chorused, startling her.
Benedict surprised her by giving her his focus. “Learn everything you can about the man, then do it bigger, better.”
“Okay, to do it better, I have to see it,” Darroch said and kissed her hair. “Dinner first? What time does the event start?”
“Eight thirty. But it’s invitation only, they don’t have a lot of space for—”
“Will a million get us through the door, or should we make it five?” Benedict said. “What’s the guy’s name? I’ll give him a call.”
“Oh, I… I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Good,” Benedict said. “We’ll pick you up at the apartment at six.”
“Remember Tripp’s thing’s tonight,” Caber said, seemingly addressing only Darroch. “You sure you want to miss it to double date with Mom and Dad?”
“I’ll miss it to be with Sav,” Darroch said, tracing his fingertips up her shoulder. “Take Troy.”
“Yeah—”
“Ah, no,” Caber said. “Tripp up, that was the stipulation.”
“I dread to imagine,” Alice murmured.
“Breck going to be there?” Troy asked. “The whole Tripp up thing is BS.”
“This again? He’s the transition. From the upper Breckenridge men to the lower Breckenridge boys.”
“I’m closer to his age than I am to Brant’s,” Troy said. “I’m the eighth, that makes me the midpoint.”
“Boo Boo was unexpected,” Caber said. “We’re the role models, you guys are the screw ups.”
“And you think Tripp falls into your group?” Brant snorted as he laughed. “Shit, he’s up for anything. Any time, any place. Didn’t he just have some orgy in Hawaii with Roman?”
“He was with Struan and it wasn’t an orgy.”
“Twenty women,” Brant said, cynical. “That’s an orgy.”
“I don’t think he slept with all of them. I don’t know if he slept with any of them.”
“Roman did.”
“How do you know that?” Caber asked. “You think you can trust anything out of that guy’s mouth? See, that’s why you’re in the screw up group.”
“You see Sway in the news?” Troy asked. “Roman too.”
“We’re used to seeing them, but Struan, wow, that came as a shock, right? Anyone know where this Bambi came from?”
“That’s one mess I’m happy to have no part of,” Caber said. “The woman must be something.”
“Tripp’s met her.”
Whoever these people were, they obviously meant something to the Breckenridges. The boys anyway. She was… clueless.
“The tone of conversation this morning leaves a lot to be desired,” Benedict said. “We have a guest.”
“I’m sorry, Savanna,” Alice said. “We haven’t raised brutes, I promise you.”
But she smiled. “That you’re sitting around a table at all is far more civilized than my family ever got. I was raised around all kinds of language.”
“It’s not really you,” Troy said. “Dad’s reminding us this is the dress rehearsal.”
“Yeah,” Ward agreed. “Because Grandma’s coming to visit.”
“Oh, God, that’s right,” Darroch groaned.
“When is that again?” Caber asked. “I need to take a vacation that week, or, you know, pay for some horrifically gruesome fate to befall me, so I can be in hospital under sedation.”
The brothers laughed; the parents weren’t so amused.
“Your grandmother is looking forward to seeing you all,” Alice said. “I’ve threatened to chain Tripp to this very table to ensure he eats meals with us during her stay. And don’t think I won’t do it. Savanna, she’d be delighted to meet you.”
“Uh, maybe not a good idea,” Darroch said. “We might stay at Savanna’s that week.”
“All of us,” Caber said to another laugh.
“You think it’s a joke until one of you says something hurtful in front of her,” Alice said. “Please, remember she loves you.”
They had a lot of love, around them, in them, for them. What a way to grow up, and an incredible way to live. Support just oozed from all of them. It wasn’t the money, it was the rapport. Had she known a family could actually enjoy each other’s company? Not using hers as an example, no. Maybe there was another way.