Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
ASTON
Rule #3: Only lie to your family if #2 is unavoidable.
My breath caught as Blakley walked toward me. I had to wonder why that continued to happen to me whenever I saw her. I should have been used to it by now, but clearly, I wasn’t.
The fact that I was there at all after blurting out an invitation meant I was going down a path that wasn’t a smart decision for either of us. Yet I wasn’t sure if I could have made any other choice.
I knew what I needed to do—focus on family and try to figure out how the hell we were supposed to function in the wake of my father’s lies.
And yet I couldn’t stay away.
Blakely Graves was a distraction of the highest order .
She was all wrong for me and the complications of this single coffee were insurmountable—work, Isabelle, family, and our one dance. And yet I couldn’t pull my gaze away from her.
I was in trouble.
“You came.”
I hadn’t realized I was going to speak until the words were out, but here we were.
“I was thinking about canceling, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re surprised that I’m here.”
“Well then I’m glad that you came.” I reached out for her hand and brought it to my lips like I had that first time. We both froze, and I shook my head, letting her hand fall after I gently brushed my lips against her skin. “I still don’t know why I do that.”
“And I still don’t know why my heart flutters every single time. It’s very noble of you. And very weird.”
My lips twitched. “Noble and weird. I suppose I should put that on my business cards.”
“It would probably work,” she said with a laugh.
“So, late afternoon coffee?” I asked, wondering what the hell I was doing.
“That sounds delicious to be honest. And then, do you want to go for a walk? I mean, I already went for a walk today, but I could use another one.”
I tilted my head. “You did?”
“With my mom. Not with another man.” She paused. “I don’t know why I said that.”
“I suppose that it’s good that you didn’t have another date this morning,” I said, that odd sense of jealousy dissipating.
“So this is a date,” she said softly.
I nodded. “A coffee date. I’m not good with labels, nor am I acting very smooth. But sure, let’s go for that walk.”
We made our way inside, and I pressed my hand to the small of her back, letting her walk in first. Once again, the action felt normal, as if it was something that I did often. I wasn’t sure why the feeling continued as if we’d done this countless times before. Somehow it was as if it were a mix of anticipation and comfort at the same time.
We ordered our iced coffees and made our way to the other side of the café to wait for our order.
“So you’re an iced coffee guy?” she asked, a smile on her face.
“It’s warm outside, and I felt like it. What, is iced coffee not real coffee?”
“There was this guy that I dated who said black coffee was the only way to drink it. Maybe espresso if you are in Italy. But adding cream or sugar would just desecrate it, and iced coffee? That was just something that was so millennial-coded that it was a disgrace to all coffee.”
I snorted. “That sounds like he’s compensating for a few more things if he’s that adamant about coffee.”
“I wouldn’t know. By dated, I really meant I went on two dates with him, and then walked away very quickly.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“At the gym.” She grimaced .
My lips twitched. “Really? The gym? What line did he use on you?”
“What? I met you through a text message. I suppose one should be cliché, the other should be really random.”
“I guess so. But for the record, drink your coffee however you damn well please.”
“Thanks for the permission.” She rolled her eyes and my smile widened.
“So, you met this guy at the gym. What did he say to lure you out to a condescending date?”
“Um, I think he mentioned something about the TV show that happened to be on in the background, and we laughed. I don’t really remember much. The only thing that wasn’t forgettable about him was his disdain for coffee orders.”
I already didn’t like the guy and decided to change the subject to something better than her dating past.
When our names were called, we went to pick up our drinks, and made our way outside of the suddenly very busy café. We bumped into a few people, and I noticed the way men’s gazes went straight to Blakely. There was just something about her, and it was with immense pride that I stared every single one of those men down.
She was with me. If only for the moment.
Yes, I was in trouble.
“There’s a park around here I think, we just have to walk a block.”
“No problem, I’ll follow you.”
“I live a few streets down, but it’s not walkable. I used to come here to do some work on my laptop when I was able to find a seat.”
“You worked from home sometimes?” I asked, curious.
She snorted and gave me a look. “Do you really think that he was that enlightened about working from home? No. But I always had to bring work home, and sometimes I didn’t want to sit in my house and work until way too late. So I spent Saturday mornings at my laptop in the café. It was like a retreat.”
“That sounds like he’s an asshole.” I sipped my iced coffee with some form of milk and sweetener. I hadn’t been too descriptive when I ordered, but it tasted just fine.
“Is working from home something that you’re interested in?” I asked, oddly curious.
“Maybe? I really like the office.” She paused. “Should we be talking about work?”
“I’m not your boss, Blakely. And we do tend to spend a lot of hours on work.”
“It’s your name on the side of the building, at least metaphorically.”
I laughed. “No we don’t have our names plastered on the side of that building.”
“That building?”
I winced. “We may have a few buildings in that small town that I mentioned.”
“Cage Lake. Well, if you’re not going to be plastered on the side of the building, you might as well be in the town name,” she said with a laugh .
“I didn’t name it. If that helps.”
“I don’t know if it really does.” A smirk played on her lips.
I shook my head and took another sip as we finally made our way to the small park. People were walking around with strollers, little kids on bikes, but it wasn’t too busy. It was that time in between lunch and dinner where people were already at their afternoon activities, so it made sense.
“I tend to bring work home because I can’t help it, and I know a few of my employees like working from home. Others do this hybrid sort of thing. I don’t care as long as the work gets done. Although there are a few things that do work better when you’re in the building.”
“I get it. I really want to get to know everybody so I can figure out what path will work for me. So I like coming into the office. But I have to say, being able to work in my pajamas? That would be amazing.”
And now I was trying not to imagine what Blakely wore to sleep. Well, that wasn’t helping.
I cleared my throat so I wouldn’t have to adjust myself in public and gestured toward her coffee. “So how’s the coffee?”
“Light and sweet, just like I like it. I can barely taste the coffee.”
I grinned. “Sounds like a plan. Anything to annoy that man.”
“Exactly. Spite is a great motivator.”
I nodded. “Tell me about it.”
“So, how’s your family doing?” she asked .
I raised a brow.
“What? We talked about work, and the other part of you that I know is your family, at least the periphery. And I’m running out of topics without putting my foot in my mouth. Except for the fact that I think I just did that.”
I sighed and put my hand on the small of her back again to gently push her out of the way of an oncoming bicyclist. “We’re fine. Just working often.”
“Isabella said that your first monthly dinner didn’t blow up. So that’s a good thing.”
I tilted my head in acknowledgement. “I’m glad she thought that.”
“Your second one’s coming up in a couple of weeks.”
“It is. Which feels like far away, and yet not far enough.”
“Because you’re forced into it? Or because it’s them.”
“The forced scheduling. I don’t like what my father did. I don’t even know how he did it. The logistics of it alone confuses me. But he hurt my brothers, and my half-siblings. The fact that I had them for nearly my entire life, and I never knew them? Pisses me off to no end.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“I love my brothers. I love the fact that some of us like working in this business, while I have a chef, a bartender, and business owner as a brother. I have an artist, and now it seems that I have more.”
“Like a rockstar,” she said with a grin.
I shook my head. “I can’t believe that Kyler Dixon is my brother.”
“So you know his music? ”
“Caged and Reckless—I always liked the name. Ironic now.” I cleared my throat. “I’m starting to listen to it more. And look at Emily’s designs.”
“She’s really wonderful with graphic and digital art.”
“So I can see on her social media.” I’d looked up each of my new siblings, wanting to know more, even though I wasn’t sure if it felt like a form of stalking or not.
“You haven’t asked her?”
“No, I’ve only met her the once.”
Blakely met my gaze, but I couldn’t read the question in them. I wanted to learn, though. “You’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so. Even though it doesn’t always feel like I will.”
“If we’re talking too much about your family, we can stop. I just really don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”
“It’s a big part of my life right now. So I get that.” I paused, trying to come up with what I wanted to say. When it came to business, I was the man of words. The man of action behind those words. But these days with family…and now Blakley, I couldn’t seem to find them. “What are you looking for, Blakely?”
She paused, and we moved to the side so other walkers could pass us. “What do you mean?”
“This. Us.”
She gave me a weird look and I didn’t blame her as I didn’t know why I was asking the question in the first place. “I just wanted coffee, Aston. I’m starting a new chapter of my life, and for some reason I couldn’t say no when you asked.”
“I’m glad you didn’t say no. I didn’t want you to. ”
We stood there for a moment, as I told myself to stop looking at her. To walk away.
Because my family had rules. Rules set in stone by the father who had lied to us this whole time. But these rules protected my family. And I had to make sure that I wasn’t the one who stirred us up anymore. I had a feeling that Blakely would be the one rule I could break.
And that scared me more than anything.
“What is it that you want?” she asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I don’t know. And that scares me because I’m not usually the person in the unknown.”
“So we finish our walk. And we stop putting so much pressure on ourselves.”
“I want to see you again,” I blurted.
Her eyes widened. “So maybe that’s not pressure.”
I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers, needing her taste, needing to breathe. This wasn’t our first kiss, but it felt like a first.
Because even in the short time that had passed between when this had occurred the first time and now, we were completely different people. An eon had passed in a moment of time, and it was all I could do not to need her.
I pulled away, and she smiled up at me, her pupils wide.
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
“So just a walk. ”
“Just a walk. And maybe one time I can take you out for dinner, and not just coffee.”
“I do like coffee.”
And so, knowing that this was far too complicated, and against the rules, I slid my hand over hers, and we continued our walk. And I did the one thing that I never did.
I just lived in the moment.
After our walk, I didn’t have time to dwell on if and when I would see Blakely again outside of work.
No, because tonight was the Cage family dinner. And not the one interested in the will, but one for an equally obsessive and emotionally manipulating reason.
Thankfully it wasn’t at my house tonight, but rather my mother’s.
As I walked up the path, my steps faltered. Mother’s . Not mother and father’s. Not my dad’s at all. Because he wasn’t there anymore.
Had I really given myself time to grieve? No, the answer would always be no. But who was there left to grieve? The man that I had put on a precipice, even though sometimes I hated him, hadn’t been that man at all. He had been a liar, a cheat, a manipulator.
No wonder he had been in and out of our lives for so long. Not because he was hardworking or wanted to spend more time in Cage Lake than not. It wasn’t that he was doing overseas trips—trips that hadn’t happened at all.
It was because he was living a second life, one under the radar that none of us knew about.
And I didn’t know the man who had raised me or had claimed to raise me at all.
I had watched them lower his casket in the earth, and I hadn’t felt a damn thing. Ice over flesh, and nothing but determination to fix his wrongs.
But how was one supposed to fix the wrongs he was unaware of?
And how was one to fix the wrongs that they made in his stead?
“Is there a reason you’re standing out here and looking broody?” Dorian asked as he threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug.
Dorian was slightly taller than me, and wider. Mostly muscle, and all bruteness. Of course, he used that in his business to win over the high-class clientele at his bar.
He owned The Gilded Cage, because of course our family needed to put our name in everything, every fucking thing around us.
“Just thinking about how Mom lives here all alone now, and probably will never visit Cage Lake.”
Dorian snorted. “Of course she won’t. She is not about that small town life. Dad only ever played at it because Grandpa liked it.”
I nodded, wondering if Dorian felt the same about me .
“Is it weird that we spent summers away in the mountains, and living a completely different life?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it completely different. It was just our life.”
“I don’t know, running barefoot in the woods, cutting open our feet, and letting our dad put Band-Aids on our wounds felt a little more idyllic than anything.”
“You must remember a different summer than I did,” Dorian said dryly. “Because Dad wasn’t the one that bandaged our wounds. You were.”
I frowned. “How is that even possible? I’m only four years older than you.”
“Yes, and in those four years you got to be the big brother.”
“And I’m only two years older than the twins,” I corrected, speaking of Flynn and Hudson.
“Yes, and five years older than James, and seven years older than Theo.” Dorian frowned. “You know, I can rattle off those ages quite quickly, but I’m going to have to figure out the family tree with the others.”
“Did I hear childhood age math?” Theo asked as he came forward and wrapped his arm around my other side. I was trapped between my two outlandish brothers.
“Is there a reason that you’re sandwiching me?”
“Because we’re going to march you into that house for dinner. If we have to go, you have to,” Theo explained. “Now, are we going over ages again? I don’t like the fact that I’m continually being pushed down the ladder of ages.”
“Ford is still the baby of the main siblings.” Dorian paused. “Okay, that sounds kind of asshole-ish to the others.”
“Yes, because calling them half-sibs probably isn’t the best thing to do,” Theo answered.
“Let’s not say that in front of them, because I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be Phoebe that kicks our asses,” I said dryly.
“Or Phoebe’s boyfriend. Who happens to work with Ford. Oh, my God, why did Dad have to try to repopulate the Earth?” Dorian pinched the bridge of his nose. “He makes everything so complicated.”
“Of course he did—he’s Dad,” Theo said, not bothering to explain that comment. And then they did indeed march me into the house, not bothering to let me finish my conversation. Or my downward spiral of thoughts.
Flynn and James were already inside, whiskey in hand as Mother stood between them, glaring at them as she spoke. She was probably dressing them down for something, but who knew what it was going to be.
I looked around, frowning when I realized that we were missing two people. “Where’s Hudson and Ford?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. But of course, my mother had ears like a bat.
“Hudson is stuck in that God-forsaken town with a rockslide of some sort. So he couldn’t even make it to see his own mother,” Melanie Cage complained.
Considering my mother’s favorite phrase was “I don’t mean to complain,” it was a little ironic.
Then her words hit me, and I moved forward. “Is he okay? Did anyone in town get hurt? ”
We had a responsibility for the town because we owned so many of the businesses and the land. We weren’t mayors or responsible for any of the actual political aspects of the town, though I had a feeling Hudson might be part of the town council. Mostly because the town wouldn’t have it any other way. While it wasn’t in the bylaws, the town still required us join in on the planning and upkeep of the town. We never wanted to mess with the small-town politics that came with our responsibilities, so we always acquiesced.
Mother cleared her throat. “He said he was fine, no one got hurt. But I didn’t ask much. I’m just disappointed he’s not here.”
“It’s not like he can fend off a natural disaster,” Dorian said, and my mother’s face brightened.
That was Mom. Every time she saw her baby, she couldn’t help but love him. And I had no idea why it was Dorian. He wasn’t the oldest, wasn’t the youngest. It was like once she got to him, she decided he would be her favorite, and the rest of us would all wait for the scraps. Not that I minded. I didn’t need much from Mom these days.
“And what about Ford?” Theo asked. Flynn tried to do a cutoff motion with his hand, wincing, as James turned his back.
Mother lifted her chin. “Ford is with the other family. Because apparently, his priorities have shifted.”
I let out a sigh, annoyed at the familiar refrain. “He’s married . Of course he has responsibilities with his family.”
“Hmm.” She gestured toward the bar. “Make your drinks, and then we’ll have dinner. Chef says it should be soon. We’re having roast beef, but no extra starches.”
She moved away, and left us behind to stand there, wondering why the hell we were even here.
“So, dinner’s going to be fun,” Dorian said dryly.
“At least Mom likes you,” Flynn muttered into his drink, and James choked.
“We’re not supposed to say that out loud,” James said with a mock whisper.
Theo just shook his head and poured the rest of us drinks. I ended up with two fingers of whiskey and lifted it to my lips.
“Cheers,” I muttered, and downed half of it.
“That’s a sipping whiskey, dumbass,” James muttered, but I didn’t care. I was going to need a lot more alcohol to get through the evening.
“So, how was your date?” James asked, and I nearly dropped my glass.
“What?”
“A date? You mean he got out of the house?” Dorian asked, hand on his chest.
“I for one, am shocked,” Theo teased, and I flipped them both off.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied.
“You’re going to have to lie a lot better than that,” Flynn put in, shaking his head. “Especially when you go on a date with someone that we know.”
I scowled, glaring at the two brothers I worked with. “Are you serious? Are you having me stalked?”
James scowled right back. “I overheard you. Nobody else did, thankfully. So of course I want to know how it went.”
“And then he told me, of course,” Flynn put in, and gestured toward our other brothers. “And we needed to bring you into this. I’ll text Hudson and Ford later so that they know.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Dorian said with a wink.
I sighed. “Why did I have so many brothers?”
“I should really text Kyler too then,” Flynn added.
I snorted. “You should. In fact, we should really make a whole group chat with the twelve of us. It’ll be unhinged.”
“I’d have to turn off notifications at that point,” Theo said, shaking his head. “So, who are we dating?” he asked.
I shook my head, not wanting to answer. At their stares, I gave in. “We’re not dating. It was coffee.”
And a kiss I couldn’t stop thinking about.
“Blakely, my new hire,” James said, although there was a bit of ice to his words.
I looked up at him, confused. “What is with the tone? She doesn’t work for me. It was just coffee.”
“ For now. I see the way that you two are around each other. And while it’s not ethically wrong, it is a shit storm. You know what Dad always said, remember the rules, and don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“First, fuck off. Second, are we really going to worry about that certain rule,” Dorian said, surprising me.
“You know I can answer for myself,” I said dryly.
But Dorian continued anyway. “You shouldn’t have to. Fuck Dad’s rules. He didn’t live by them. As is evidenced by twelve kids.”
The others started bickering, and I just stood between them, wondering if any of us were grieving.
We could just walk away, let everything go to a trust, and not deal with any of the mess that he had left behind, but part of me didn’t want to do that. I wanted to get to know the people who had been fucked over just as much as we had. I just didn’t like the fact that there were strings that came with it.
“You’re not going to say anything?” Theo asked, his voice soft.
“You guys are saying enough for me. And no, I don’t know if I’m going to date Blakely. It was just coffee.” And yet I had been the one to say I wanted more. Only the moment I’d stepped away, I’d heard my father’s voice in my head and getting away from his words had always been a problem for me—even when I lied to myself it wasn’t.
“Just don’t mess it up, okay?” James asked, his voice serious. “I’m not saying you will, or would do it purposely, but I like her. And she’s a good employee, and she’s Isabella’s friend. It’s just a catastrophe waiting to happen.”
“Because I’m just like Dad, The Cage. Because I’m going to fuck it up just like he did?” I asked, the malevolence in my tone surprising me.
James didn’t react, but the others stared at me as if I’d lost my damn mind.
“No one is saying that. ”
“The world is saying that. Every one of our business contacts think I’m going to be the one that steps into Dad’s shoes. And they don’t even know half of the shit he’s done. So you’re right, maybe I will be the one to fuck things over like he did.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” James said.
I shrugged, setting my drink down. “You know what, give Mom my regards. I’m not in the mood to deal with her attitude anyway. I have enough for all of us.”
“Aston,” Flynn said as he came forward, and I took a step back.
“No, I’m just not in the mood.”
“I wasn’t meaning to start a fight,” James put in.
“No, you were just warning me off Blakely.”
“Because I don’t want either one of you to get hurt.”
I snorted, and then grabbed my things. “I’m out. I have shit to do.”
“Running away from the problem? Maybe that is a Dad thing,” James whispered.
Dorian whistled through his teeth, as Flynn scolded him. But I let the remark slide. Because it was true.
Instead, I pulled up my phone as I walked outside, leaving them behind. If I was going to be reckless, I might as well go all in.
Me:
What are you doing?
Blakely:
Reading. Paperwork mostly.
Me:
Can I come over?
Blakely:
…
Blakely:
Yes.
And then I looked at her address, nodded, and figured I’d make another mistake. Following in my dad’s footsteps just like James thought I would. I might as well enjoy my time on the way to Hell. All on the path to breaking every rule along the way.