Chapter 13 #2
When we enter the living room, the rest of the players are already there.
Uncle Felix is standing and telling an animated story to one of my cousins.
My father, Tripp, is at the bar cart, his usual hangout, pouring a drink and looking around the room suspiciously.
My brother Burn stands on the far side of the room, his grip on Daisy’s waist reminding me of a python and its prey.
In the corner near the entrance to the servants' passage, Clive stands with his hands clasped behind his back and his head bowed as he whispers something to Magda.
Other cousins lounge here and there, but those are the main family members that I need to keep an eye on. I draw a long breath and try to steel myself.
Talia glances up at me, her fingers gripping my arm tighter.
I make eye contact with her and give her a tiny head shake.
I walk her over to the fireplace and try to decide which family member I should tackle first. I’m thinking of my uncle Felix, being that he is the friendliest of the bunch.
By friendliest, I mean he stands to gain something by kissing my ass.
But before I can do that, Magda makes a beeline for me. I glance at Burn, seeing that he has noticed my presence. Daisy is looking at me, too, her brow lowered, a frown on her perfect lips. Actually, she’s looking at Talia, not me.
Do I dare hope that Daisy is displaying jealousy over my turning up here with a new toy on my arm?
"Dare!" Magda says. She stops just short of plowing into me, instead hugging me very briefly. Her smile is over the top, with dimples upon dimples. "It’s good that you came for your father’s birthday."
Talia scrunches her face up and looks at me critically. "It’s your father’s birthday?"
I nod, already weary of the subject. "Yeah. This little shindig is just a get-together to celebrate it."
Magda puts her hand out to Talia, skipping over the part of my introduction.
"I am Magda, the house chef. And you are?"
Talia steps out of my sheltering arm and shakes Magda’s hand with both of hers. She looks Magda right in the face, making it clear that she is engaged with what is going on.
"Magda. So nice to meet you. I am Talia. I am just here as Dare’s date for the evening."
I move forward and slide my arm around Talia again, pulling Talia’s body against my own. "Maybe she could be more. We’ll see."
Talia shoots me a glance but doesn’t say anything in response. Magda beams at us both, practically beside herself. She looks at Talia and then motions for her to move closer. Magda whispers something in her ear, making Talia blush. Then Magda looks at me, pats my cheek, and hurries out of the room.
I watch her go, bewildered. "What was that? What did she say?"
Talia gives a gentle shrug and shakes her head. "It was nothing."
"It did not look like nothing," I say.
Just then, Daisy breaks away from Burn and plunges across the room, her hand raised for a handshake. Her gaze is fixed on Talia, and I have a sinking feeling that I know exactly what is coming.
"Dare!" Daisy crows, a strange smile on her face. "You didn’t introduce me to your guest."
Daisy rushes up to Talia, grabbing her hand and squeezing her arm forcefully.
The two women are thrown into contrast for a long second.
Talia, in her blonde wig and her silver dress, is nervously peeking at me.
In contrast, Daisy is tall and so thin she’s nearly emaciated, her long hair a dark mass on her shoulders.
It occurs to me just at this moment that Talia is pale next to Daisy, who is sun-kissed and confident.
I step closer to Talia, a careful smile on my lips. "Daisy. Always a pleasure to see you. This is my date, Talia.”
I slip an arm around Talia and give her an encouraging hug. The embrace is performative, more for Daisy than it is for Talia. But Talia seems to lean into me in a way that I’ll admit that I like.
"How do you know Dare?" Talia asks Daisy.
Daisy flashes a smirk and raises her eyebrows at me. "I don’t know. How do we know each other, Dare? What do you want to tell little Talia about our relationship?"
Burn ambles over, taking up his place next to Daisy. Daisy grabs his hand and intertwines her own, her smile dry.
“Daisy and I used to date. Now she is with my brother Burn.” I gesture to Burn, and he tilts his head to the side. "They are engaged, actually."
I can tell by the slight rise in Talia’s brows that she is just now putting together all the information. She looks at me, clearly unable to say whatever she is thinking. I can see her throat working as she swallows.
Talia’s hand finds my forearm and grips it hard. I smile as I introduce her to Burn.
"This is Burn. If you hadn't guessed, we are identical twins."
Burn is looking at Talia with a hint of puzzlement on his face. He reaches his hand out to her, and she shakily takes it, her face somber as she greets him.
"Hello."
Burn takes a deep breath. "I see you have met my fiancée, Daisy. I’m telling you now, meeting the rest of the family is pointless.
When I got here, Tripp was just telling a story about how he got out of a speeding ticket by telling the sheriff that he had Morgan money and he would get the sheriff fired.
So that’s the kind of mojo that we are working with. "
Talia arches an eyebrow, glancing at me. She smiles and bows her head ever so slightly. "Good to know," she says to Burn.
Daisy cuts in. "So how do you two know each other? Did you meet doing volunteer work or at a flea market or something?"
"No. We just met through friends," I reply smoothly.
Burn joins in on his fiancée's gentle ribbing and smirks. "Are you sure that you didn’t find her at a homeless shelter or something, Dare?"
I see Talia’s face fall. She looks at Burn with a profound disgust in her eyes. "Are you suggesting that I am homeless?"
Burn seems a little caught out. He holds up a hand, as if that can excuse him somehow. "I was just joking, Talia. Just teasing my brother."
"Well, it isn’t funny. It is not nice to make fun of people that you don’t know just to get a rise out of each other."
She turns her gaze to me, her mouth forming a hard line. I pull her closer, unsure where this passion of hers came from. I have to admit, it’s not unwarranted in this situation, and I even like it. That is, when Talia is schooling my brother instead of me.
Daisy gives a huge fake smile and tries to ease the tension between us.
"Burn didn’t mean anything by it, honestly.
He would never intentionally make anyone uncomfortable, Talia.
" She looks at Burn, and he looks at her.
After a second, they move together and lock lips, kissing hard and making little noises of pleasure.
I roll my eyes. I glance at Talia, and I jerk my head toward my uncle. But before I can say anything, Burn and Daisy separate and lovingly smile at each other.
That sick feeling in the pit of my stomach has now returned.
It’s time for me to hint at her purpose in being here. I can see that now. I shift my weight, moving my arm from around her waist to around her shoulders, and pull her a little closer.
"You know, Burn..." My lips twitch. Though I feel ill inside, outside I am cool, collected, calm, and confident. "Did you know that Talia and I have a very deep connection as well? We’ve been talking about everything. And I do mean everything."
Burn stares at me, his eyes narrowing on my face. Talia looks between Daisy, Burn, and me, possibly trying to figure out what exactly our deal is.
I slip my fingers around the curve of Talia’s hip, smiling as I make heavy eye contact with Burn. "We’ve been talking about everything under the sun. Telling stories, reliving moments from our lives."
I cock my brow at him, and his gaze hardens.
I am willing to bet that Burn is now racking his brain to figure out why it is that Talia looks so familiar.
Or maybe not. His clear confusion is the very reason why I spent so much time and put so much effort into dressing her up.
Without her dumpy outfit and with her copper hair covered under that wig, it is nearly impossible to recognize Talia.
Burn looks between me and Talia and then gives his head a shake. He leans his head over and kisses Daisy's cheek. "My love, why don’t we go and talk to my father? It’s his birthday, after all."
Daisy clearly does not think much of this idea. But she forces a smile onto her lips anyway and brings his hand up, kissing the back. "Of course, my love. I’ll follow you anywhere."
Burn stretches his arm out and takes Daisy by the shoulders. Daisy casts her gaze back at me with a smug little smile on her lips.
God, what a manipulative woman she is! How was I ever the object of her attentions? I have no doubt that I acted just like Burn does, but seeing it now from the outside, I shudder a little.
Whatever the case, I am planning on letting my twin brother sweat for an hour before I reveal Talia’s true identity. Then I will rub the fact that Burn is a cheater in her face. It is so close that I can almost taste it.
Talia wiggles out of my grip, coming around to block my view of Daisy. She puts her hands on her hips and tilts her head, pinning me in place with her cool blue stare. "Why didn’t you tell me about Daisy?"
A feeling of unease creeps up my spine like an icy hand. "I don’t know what you mean. What about her?"
Talia sucks in her breath. "You didn’t say anything about the fact that you are desperately in love with Daisy and trying to steal her back from your brother."
I grit my teeth, a little shaken that she might have somehow picked up on some lingering emotions between me and Daisy with such quickness. I must not be hiding my feelings well.
"That is not what’s happening. I assure you that it isn’t love I feel when I see Daisy. All I feel is resentment. I want to rub her nose in the fact that my brother is a cheater."