Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
THEO
“Why aren’t you wearing a tie?” Rupert asks as he enters the living room.
It’s the third thing he’s said to me since he got back.
He asked me where the bar soap went in the bathroom.
He bellowed about the kitchen table once more.
And now, why am I not wearing a tie?
“It’s dinner with Kitty and Renley. I didn’t think I needed a tie.”
“If you want to show up like that, by all means.” He waves his hand at me and then goes to the kitchen, where he gathers the bouquet of flowers he purchased in town.
When he appears again, clearly ready to go, I stop him at the front door and ask, “Can we talk?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” he answers and reaches for the doorknob.
“Yes, there is. We don’t act like this toward each other, Rupert. We’re mates, ever since we were little. This is the first time we’ve truly fought and it’s not feeling right. There’s a lot going on and a lot of decisions that have to be made and I need my friend.”
He slowly nods. “Yup, because everything revolves around you.”
Then he opens the door and heads toward Kitty and Renley’s house.
Jesus Christ.
“Rupert,” I call after him, shutting the door and making my way across the lawn. “Let’s talk.”
He turns toward me and whispers, “There is nothing to talk about. We are going home tomorrow, because you need to be with your dad. I have other responsibilities to prepare for, and we have one night left with Renley and Kitty. Just make the most of it and don’t start any drama.”
And with that, he turns away from me and heads up their front porch stairs.
What the hell did Kitty say to him that has him turning against me to the point of not ever wanting to work anything out?
I’m so fucking confused.
And hurt.
And anxious.
I could really use my friend right about now.
Kitty opens the door with a smile, her hair styled into curls with a fascinator slipped to the side of her head. She’s wearing a bright pink pantsuit and matching shoes, while her eyes are heavily shadowed in blue and her cheeks are decently stained in a rouge tone.
“Hello, my lieges.” She curtsies dramatically and then gestures her arm toward the interior of the house. “Please, come in, we’re prepared for you.”
Dreading every second of this, because the last thing I want to do is pretend that Renley and I are not together, I follow Rupert into the house as he offers Kitty the flowers.
“Always a gentleman,” she says before pressing a kiss to his cheek and leaving a bright stain of lipstick on his scruff that he doesn’t even bother wiping. He sniffs the air and says, “My, does it smell good in here.”
“Renley has been cooking all day.”
Renley has?
“She wanted it to be perfect.”
Wasn’t this Kitty’s idea? Did she cook anything? Once again, the responsibility falls on Renley and that pisses me off. As if she doesn’t have enough going on.
“Is she in the kitchen?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Sure is,” Kitty says. “I think she’s finishing up some things. We’ll have dinner on the table in no time.”
Lightly nodding to Kitty, I leave her and Rupert to gush about the colors of the flowers as I make my way back to the kitchen, where I find Renley taking a roast chicken out of the oven.
“Do you need help with that?” I ask as I come up next to her.
She sets it on the stove and then looks up at me.
Her eyes look tired.
Her smile is nowhere to be found.
And there is a dark, almost foreboding expression simmering behind what I can only describe as an attempt to seem normal.
And I know this because it’s the exact same way I’m feeling.
We’re both uneasy, we’re both unsure, we’re both trying to figure out what all of this means. I know when she came up to me and hugged me in my house, she was looking for answers, with at least a hundred questions on the tip of her tongue.
And for the life of me, I couldn’t find the answers, because I don’t know.
It’s the elephant in the room.
My dad is in critical condition. If he passes, his title will be given to me. A title I do not want nor care to even have attached to my name.
But how am I supposed to go about rejecting the title once my dad passes? We’ve had a volatile relationship, but that would feel like spitting on his grave, and as much of a horrible human as he is, I just don’t know if I have it in me to do such a thing.
And then there’s Renley, my girl. The light in my life. The person who has believed in me the most. Am I supposed to leave her, let this relationship that we’ve built just fade away?
Because I know one thing for certain: her life is here. Her life is not in England, playing the dutiful role of a lady while being escorted around by her lord. She belongs here, in her shop, making new, loving memories for all that pass by.
“I’m…I’m good,” she answers me, her eyes gleaming.
I reach for her waist to pull her in close, but she takes a step back. “Not here,” she whispers.
Right.
My jaw ticks with irritation. This is my last night here until…hell, I don’t even know how long, and she’s going to hide this relationship between us…still?
“Renley, it’s my last night.”
“I know.” She turns away and starts tending to some mashed potatoes in a bowl, not doing much other than busying herself.
“Can’t we act normal? Maybe tell your aunt, hold hands during dinner.”
She shakes her head. “There is no use telling her.”
“No use telling her? What does that mean?”
She sighs and turns toward me. “We don’t know what’s going on, when or if you’re going to return, so I don’t need her hyper-focusing on whatever…this is.” She motions between us.
“Whatever this is?” My brow knits together. “You know exactly what this is.”
“I really don’t,” she says just as Kitty pops into the kitchen.
“Rupert is famished. Is everything ready?”
Renley plasters on a fake smile and says, “Yes. Just pulled out the chicken, everything is ready to be put on the table if you want to get started.”
“Splendid. Theo, go take a seat at the table, let us handle this.”
I glance over at Renley, who eyes me for a moment and then turns away as she scoops some biscuits off a baking sheet and places them in a napkin-covered basket.
“Sure.”
Feeling disheartened, I go to the dining room, where Rupert is sitting on one side, examining the tablecloth by feeling the fabric between his fingers.
When he glances up, he points to the seat across from him. “You’re sitting over there.”
“Says who?”
“The name tags,” he replies.
I take in the table myself, where a white linen cloth is the base, followed by white and blue toile plates, an abundance of silverware—mainly all the same size—and three different types of glassware, including a teacup and saucer at each place setting.
On top of the plates are tented cards with our names on them.
And lo and behold, Renley is sitting next to me.
This should be fun.
I take a seat at the table while Rupert plucks a brown paper napkin from his water glass that I can only assume was taken from a to-go restaurant, given the texture and color.
It’s been folded into some sort of bird, and while Rupert attempts to unfold it, it tears in his hands.
“Here we are,” Kitty says as she steps into the dining room and sets down a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of mashed peas, and some biscuits. Renley follows behind with the chicken. “I’ll grab the drinks. Renley, why don’t you start plating?”
She already carved some pieces from the chicken, so she picks up her plate and starts serving portions.
It’s quiet besides the light sound of instrumental music playing in the background and the clang of Renley’s serving spoon.
The overhead lights are dimmed, there is a candle lit on the buffet table to the right, and the silence feels deafening.
“So Kitty still doesn’t know?” Rupert asks, breaking the silence.
Renley’s head snaps up. “No,” she whispers. “And please don’t say anything.”
“Kind of rude, don’t you think?” Rupert asks, his posture making it seem like he’s ready to start some trouble.
“Mate, don’t start,” I say in warning. “There’s reasoning.”
All he does is nod before he hands over his plate to Renley. She takes it with trepidation, pleading with her eyes to Rupert.
“Here we are,” Kitty says, bringing in a tray of water, wine, and…lemonade. “Thought we could have a little of each.”
Not sure about that pairing, but I’ll go with it.
“Let me help,” Rupert says, standing and grabbing the lemonade.
“Lemonade in the teacups, please,” Kitty announces before uncorking the wine.
Shit, it’s her homemade wine.
Note to self: don’t drink it.
While everyone busies around me, pouring drinks and dishing out portions of food, I watch Renley and focus on the worry in her brow and her tense movements. I want nothing more than to pull her down on my lap and tell her that everything is going to be okay.
But not only can I not touch her in front of Kitty, I can’t even be sure that everything is going to be okay. I can’t even offer her that reassurance, because I truly don’t know, which makes me ache and feel uneasy.
Once everything is poured and served, everyone takes their seats and Kitty picks up her glass of red wine. “I would like to make a toast.” Her lips tilt up in a sad smile as she glances around the table. “To the friendships we never expected but formed through happenstance.”
“Yes, to friendships,” Rupert says loudly. “And only friendships, nothing else.”
I glare at him as I clink my glass with everyone else’s.
Clearing her throat, Renley says, “Um, the chicken—”
“And relationships,” Kitty says with a smirk, making my heart sink to the floor.
“Yes, relationships,” Rupert says with a nod.
Renley glances at me. I glance at her.
Kitty lifts her glass again.
Rupert smirks.
And I stay there, stunned, because what is she talking about?
“Well, possible relationships in the future,” Kitty adds. “Never know what this life has in mind for us.”