Chapter 27
27
ADAM
“ H aving fun, playing dad?” Geoff stands in the shadows, a bottle of something amber dangling from his hand.
As soon as the children were settled, I escaped out to the garden to be alone. But Geoff must have seen me from the parlor. God knows how. Half a moon hangs in the sky above the trees, its dismal light reflecting off silver clouds. The ground beneath my feet is damp and the air is charged, like there’s another storm on the way.
“I’m not in the mood,” I say.
“You never are anymore.” He approaches and leans back against the trunk of a tree a few feet away. Silently, he passes the bottle.
So, even Geoff knows things didn’t go well. Or maybe, unlike me, he thought the idea through and came to the logical conclusion that they wouldn’t.
When I accept the bottle he chuckles. “Let me guess. The little brats were less than appreciative?”
“Don’t call them that.”
“Little beasts then.”
I take a swig. The whisky burns a little less than his words.
“Ah Beast, don’t take it hard. You’re just not cut out for this.”
“And what would you know of it?”
Geoff shrugs. “Nothing, but then I don’t pretend to. Not like you and the Teach. He’s a good little actor though. You’d almost think he knows what he’s doing.”
“He does know what he’s doing.”
“Oh, and what would you know of it?” Geoff throws my words back at me. “From what I heard, it didn’t seem like it.”
So, Geoff heard the commotion when we tried to surprise the kids. The whole house probably did. “Mistakes happen.”
“Mistakes happen more when you’re a fraud. Or have you forgotten?”
A chill breeze cuts across the garden. I hadn’t forgotten. Or had I? Jonathan fit in so well in the household, did so well with the children. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about the fact that he was never supposed to be here.
“Did you ever find out why he lied about who he is?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Geoff takes the bottle back from me and takes a drink. “You really have changed. Was a time no one could get near you. You were practically paranoid.”
“I wasn’t paranoid.” Back then, at the height of my celebrity, the world was full of people who wanted to use me. If I let down my guard for a minute there would be someone trying to entrap me, bribe me, blackmail me.
Geoff laughs. “Can you even imagine letting someone like him get this close back then?”
“He’s not like that. We both know he’s not like that.”
“Do we?” Geoff looks at me, his dark eyes glinting in the low light.
I stuff my hands in my pockets, feeling at once defensive. Jonathan isn’t like that. He’s… sweet. He’s gentle and kind.
Geoff is watching me carefully. “I know you like him, Beast. That’s why I haven’t said anything. You’re probably right. He’s probably not a threat. But let me ask you, when was the last time you let someone get under your skin like this? You sure you don’t have a blind spot?”
I don’t want it to make sense, but it does. He’s right. I’ve let my guard down. I’ve become so enamored with Jonathan that I stopped questioning who he is or what he might want. “If you know something, spit it out.”
He gives a little snort and shakes his head. “Would you listen to me if I did?”
I eye him warily. Again, he’s not wrong. “Geoff.”
He shrugs and turns back towards the house. “I don’t know anything. Then again, neither do you.”