Chapter Sixteen
An hour later, my cheeks ached from smiling. Remy’s family was huge. I stopped trying to remember names after the first twenty people. By the sixtieth, I quit trying to remember faces, too. There were so many, I’d never get them straight.
“Lass!” an Irish-accented male voice called out.
I turned. That family member, I remembered.
Brendan came toward us. He was flanked by the same two large guards I’d seen with him before. Brendan wore another of those old-timey suits, too. This one was brown, with a monocle hanging from his coat pocket.
“Brendan,” I said with a genuine smile. “How are you?”
“Grand,” he replied with a laugh. “I love parties. All the ale you can drink, and enough food to burst your britches!”
He wasn’t wrong. Waiters had been passing around trays filled with an endless supply of libations and hors d’oeuvres.
I’d picked at a bite or two, but there hadn’t been time for more.
Every single person had wanted to meet me, until I felt like a bride at a reception line.
It took nearly an hour to make it from the lobby to the atrium to the outdoor deck by the pool, where Angela was talking with some of Remy’s family.
She waved off my apologetic look and hefted her champagne glass as if to say, Don’t worry, I’m good.
A loud splash followed by “Ellie! I said no cannonballs!” had me turning toward the pool. A girl of probably eight or nine giggled as she swam toward the pool’s edge.
“Sorry, Mama!”
She clearly didn’t mean it, but her joy was infectious, as was the grin on her pale, freckled face. I smiled back before turning to Brendan, who surprised me by being only half-clothed.
“That looks sublime!” Brendan said, shrugging out of his suspenders next. Once they were down, off went his pants. Thankfully, Brendan wore boxers.
Remy only sighed at his grandfather suddenly stripping. “Don’t run, Brendan. The deck’s slippery.”
Brendan ignored him, running to the pool, his guards following a discreet distance behind. Then Brendan cannonballed into the water with a splash that caused several nearby adults to jump back to avoid getting soaked.
The kids squealed with delight. Prior to this, no adults had joined them in the pool. Now Brendan swam among them, playfully splashing them and letting himself get splashed.
“Every time,” Remy said with another sigh, but a smile eased across his lips as he watched his grandfather.
“You take good care of him,” I said quietly.
Caregivers rarely heard that enough. Yes, Remy had resources that most people lacked, but seeing his grandfather’s permanent childlike state had to hurt.
I noticed that Remy never called Brendan anything except his first name, probably because addressing him as “Grandpa” would upset Brendan since he didn’t remember that Remy was his grandson.
One patient’s daughter had described dementia as turning her father into a haunted house.
On the outside, everything looked the same, but inside, her dad was only a ghost of his former self.
“It’s the least I can do. Brendan helped raise me after my father died, even though he was devastated with grief over losing his only son, plus his job was very demanding.”
“He was a librarian, right?”
“Yes and no. A Records Keeper catalogs everything of note about supernatural history, and they also keep records of ancient and forbidden spells. Since that knowledge is too dangerous, they don’t keep them in writing, either. They keep them here.” Remy tapped the side of his head.
My eyes widened. “They memorized everything?”
A nod. “Originally, they were humans with photographic memory. That’s why they’re so rare, and so revered. Such a gift is considered from the gods. It’s also why they’re granted extended lifespans. Brendan is nearly six hundred years old.”
I goggled at the gray-haired man currently playing with the children before looking back at Remy.
His smile was a sardonic slash. “For all Brendan’s renown, he still would have jumped in that pool, if he’d had his mind back. He was never too serious to miss a good time.”
“Remy,” a honey-like voice said. “It’s been too long.”
Remy stiffened.
I turned. A tall, stunning woman sauntered out of the atrium.
Her navy dress complemented her fair skin while black hair hung like swaths of silk to her waist. She looked like Snow White on an “ultra-glamour” filter with her high cheekbones, full red lips, and perfectly arched black brows.
She also had a lithe yet busty body and regally straight posture.
I found myself straightening up just looking at her.
“Zenobia.” Remy didn’t sound thrilled. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
Zenobia gave an elegant shrug while her gaze landed on me with such force, I half expected to see dents in my gown.
“Padana invited me,” she said. “How could I refuse?”
Ooh, so Zenobia hadn’t made the main guest list. No wonder Remy now had his imperious expression stamped on his features.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Zenobia went on.
Remy’s hesitation was so brief, I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t been glued to his side for the past hour. Then he said, “Zenobia Armand, this is Raine Stone.”
Zenobia held out her hand. “Charmed, I’m sure.”
I shook it—and the Beast stirred. Not enough to overtake my vision, but as if her touch had poked it awake.
“Likewise,” I said while thinking, What are you? Zenobia couldn’t be human. Not after that reaction from the Beast.
Zenobia released my hand to wag her fingers in a playful way. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I see Padana waving me over. We’ll speak again, Raine. I’m sure we’ll be fast friends.”
I doubted it, but I made agreeable noises.
Zenobia left. Only then did Remy’s tenseness ease.
“Family, am I right?” I asked sardonically.
He opened his mouth, but I caught sight of Angela within the atrium. Zenobia had looked like the end of the guest line, and I hadn’t gotten to spend time with Angela all day.
“I’ll be back,” I said, and darted after Angela.
“Finally,” I said when I reached her. “I’m so sorry! I invited you here, and I’ve barely spent any time with you.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. I used to go to a lot of formal functions with my first husband, before I met your dad. I knew what this would be like.”
“I didn’t,” I replied, which was the first genuinely true thing I’d said the past hour. “Here, let’s hide out.”
I led Angela through the long, plant-lined atrium, walking past several plush couches to a place where a cluster of trees created a natural private enclave.
I’d been eyeing that spot for the past fifteen minutes, hoping for the chance to escape there.
Now, safely behind the greenery, I finally let myself relax.
Angela gave me a sympathetic look. “This is a lot for you, isn’t it? You never did like crowds.”
How could I? They were filled with people the Beast might eat, if enough violence-filled auras were nearby. Thankfully, I had no idea what kind of auras were around me now. The Beast hadn’t overtaken my vision once today.
“Give me a busy emergency room any day,” I agreed. “There, I know exactly what to do. Here? I’m winging it.”
A sharp look filled her eyes. “You must really be soft on Remington, to do all this for him.”
I couldn’t say “I love him” to Angela. Some lies were too great. I settled on: “He’s changed my life.”
She huffed. “I can see that.”
I tensed, which had nothing to do with worrying that I wasn’t putting on a convincing-enough act. For some reason, I felt … defensive of her derisive tone toward Remy.
“What do you mean?”
Angela sighed. “I don’t want to criticize the first man you had me meet, but he’s as slick as duck shit, honey.”
I almost choked on my champagne. “How so?”
“Look at all this.” Angela waved at the sprawling atrium.
Our side was open to the sky, but the other half was covered with elegant tenting to offer shade to those seeking an escape from the sun and heat.
“Your man closed down an entire hotel just to have a pool party. That kind of power changes people, and not for the better. That’s why billionaires can’t be trusted. ”
“Agreed,” Remy said, causing both of us to whirl around. He’d approached as silently as a cat. “That’s one of many reasons why I’m not a billionaire.”
Angela recovered from her surprise enough to give him a cool look. “The Forbes list would disagree, Mr. Byrne.”
“Remington,” he corrected her with a pleasant smile. “And those lists only take into account my profits.”
Angela barely contained her eye roll. “If you’re about to complain about taxes—”
“Not that,” Remy said with an easy smile. “My companies’ profits do indeed exceed a billion dollars, but I only keep a few million a year for myself. The rest I invest in my family, my employees, and my communities.”
I closed the surprised O my mouth had made. If Remy and I were in a real relationship, I’d already know this. Then again, Remy had hinted at this by saying everyone he accepted into his territory knew they’d be taken care of, one way or another.
Before Angela could respond, a small form burst into our enclosed space. “There you are!” a little girl squealed.
I only recognized her because she was the pale, freckled redhead whose cannonball had inspired Brendan to jump into the pool. And she’d just soaked Remy’s legs with how she threw her arms around him, hugging him while water still sluiced off her.
Remy picked her up, heedless of how that saturated his expensive jacket and shirt. “You found me, Ellie.”
“I made you something,” Ellie said, lisping from a missing front tooth. “A flower necklace. Wanna see?”
“I do,” Remy said with utmost seriousness. “Where is it?”
Ellie bounced in his arms. “I’ll show you!”
Remy gave us a wry look. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies?”
“Go,” I said while controlling the laughter bubbling up. “Your outfit needed more color, anyway.”
“I know!” the little girl chirped. “Come on, Uncle Remy!”
He left, still carrying Ellie.