18. Chapter Eighteen - Undying Glance
While the three of us stretched out in the grass, soaking up the mild sun and talking about life back in America, my entire existence nearly ended in about half a second.
A ball came flying through the air out of nowhere, passing so close to my face that I felt the rush of wind brush my cheek before I could even react.
Dramatic? Maybe. But that ball came at me like it had personal issues.
“What the bloody hell!”
Sienna shot to her feet instantly while I stayed frozen, my heartbeat hammering hard enough to crawl into my throat. It took a second for my brain to catch up, but relief eventually followed, steadying me. No blood. No shattered bones. No tragic park-related death.
Sienna grabbed the ball off the ground, irritation written all over her posture, clearly ready to rip into whoever had launched it without looking.
But the moment her eyes landed on the culprit, her entire expression shifted.
Her shoulders loosened, the tension disappearing almost instantly, and a real smile tugged at her mouth as though someone had flipped a switch.
Still a little shaky, I followed her line of sight and instantly understood why she’d let it go so easily.
The guy walking toward us was tall and broad-shouldered, his golden-brown hair already tousled by the wind.
He carried himself with the sort of effortless confidence that made it seem as though he belonged anywhere he stood.
As I pushed myself up and brushed grass from my clothes, I caught his steel-gray eyes and felt a quick spark settle low in my stomach.
His gaze locked onto mine before drifting down over my body without a hint of shame.
Oh.
So England just casually mass-produced attractive men, apparently.
“Carter,” Sienna greeted, tossing the ball back to him as though she hadn’t been seconds away from snapping. “What you up to?”
He nodded at her, but his attention never fully left me. Unfortunately, my taste in men had never prioritized emotional safety.
“I’m sound, mate. How’s you been keepin’?” he asked, his accent thick enough that I had to focus to keep up.
“Just knocking about with Oliver,” Sienna said easily, motioning back toward the blanket. “And this is our new friend, Ira.”
He turned fully toward me then, his mouth curling into a half-smile that set something off in my head.
“Ira,” he repeated, dragging my name out low and slow in a way that felt unfairly intense. “Good to meet ya, innit.”
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, trying not to look as affected as I felt, even though the grin I gave him probably ruined that effort instantly.
“Hi, Carter,” I said, my Southern drawl suddenly way more noticeable in my own ears. My gaze flicked over him again, taking in the sharp jawline, thick lashes, and that rugged, worn-in look some guys just seemed born with.
“Yeah,” he nodded once. “That’s me. Sorry about that ball flying at ya.”
“It’s alright,” I said softly, biting my bottom lip without thinking. “How do you and Sienna know each other?”
By then, Sienna had already wandered back toward Oliver, leaving Carter and me standing there alone… and honestly, I wasn’t exactly upset about it.
“Oh, Carter and I went to school together,” Sienna chimed in from behind us. “He and my brother were thick as thieves for ages, until my brother moved off across the country for uni.”
My brow shot up in surprise. She’d never mentioned having a brother before, and it reminded me how little I actually knew about their lives beyond what I’d seen so far.
“Yeah,” Carter added with a grin. “How’s the bloke been?”
Sienna shrugged. “He’s been tied up, I think. Haven’t seen him in ages, but I’ll mention you asked after him.”
“Defo,” Carter said, nodding once. “Right then, the boys are waitin’, but—” His eyes snapped back to me as though magnetized there. “—Ira, ya fancy comin’ to a do tomorrow?”
“A what?” I blinked, completely lost.
Sienna laughed. “A party, Ira. He’s asking you to a party.”
A party. New country, new people, no expectations. My head spun for a second, but saying no didn’t even feel like an option. It sounded easy. A distraction from the mess Culver Scarbrough had quietly made of my brain.
I gave Carter a small smirk, leaning in slightly. “Sure. What’s your number?”
His grin widened as he pulled out his phone and handed it to me. “Just pop your number in there. I’ll ring ya tomorrow, yeah?”
I typed my number in, awareness buzzing low beneath my skin from the attention before handing the phone back. “Don’t forget to call.”
Subtle, Ira. Truly masterful work.
“I wouldn’t dare,” he said, looking at me as though he fully intended to prove it.
As he jogged back toward his friends, I dropped onto the blanket again, a strange flutter settling into my chest. It was definitely attraction, but there was relief mixed into it too.
Carter felt straightforward in a way Culver never did.
Loud, confident, easy to read. No layers of mystery wrapped around every sentence.
No hidden meanings lurking beneath every glance.
Maybe that was exactly what I needed.
I watched him disappear into the crowd, his broad frame blending into the movement of the park while I let myself linger on the thought of him a little longer. He looked like the fun sort of trouble. The kind that probably ruined your sleep schedule instead of your entire emotional stability.
That train of thought came to a hard stop when Oliver’s voice rang out.
“How do you suppose Scarbrough is going to feel about this?”
I scoffed and flipped my hair over my shoulder, as though I could physically shake Culver off.
“I don’t care what he thinks,” I said, even though the lie tasted sour the second it left my mouth. The twist in my stomach reminded me how much I still did. “Besides, he’s outta town with his family for at least two more days.”
“Yeah,” Sienna added, standing as she slung her bag over her shoulder. “They’re on their monthly vacay or whatever they want to call it.”
My brows knit together. “What do you mean by monthly?”
“They always go somewhere,” she explained, already heading back toward the car. “At least once a month. Always some extravagant place their money takes them.”
“Must be nice,” Oliver muttered, following after her with an exaggerated sigh. “Meanwhile, I’m buried in essays and failing my driving test for the third go.”
“Sure, but who knows what they’re really up to?” Sienna said quietly, the edge in her voice instantly setting off alarms in my head.
Oliver glanced at her, giving a pointed look that said more than anything either of them could’ve voiced aloud.
I wanted to press further, but every time I tried, Sienna turned into a wall, especially when it came to anything even remotely criminal.
What could they possibly be doing on those trips?
What did rich people even do? I wasn’t sure I actually wanted the answer.
My brain filled in the blanks anyway, drifting into cryptid territory: drugs, sex, and occult-level hobbies.
The ideas were intriguing, sure, but they still sent a skeptical shiver crawling down my spine.
“So,” I said after a moment, keeping my tone casual, “which one do you like better? Rupert or Culver?”
Sienna stiffened instantly, and Oliver rubbed the back of his neck as though I’d just asked something wildly inappropriate.
“Rupert,” Sienna answered first, recovering quickly. “At least he speaks to people.”
“Yeah,” Oliver added as he climbed into the passenger seat. “Soroush is brilliant. Rupert’s proper strange, but I can put up with him when he’s with Soroush.”
“And Culver?” I pressed, sliding into the back seat and watching them closely.
Oliver snorted and twisted around to face me.
“Culver’s more likely to glare holes through people than say much. But with you? You’re the only person he actually talks to. That’s what makes you different.”
I swallowed, trying not to react to the word “different” even as it lingered heavily in the car.
“He doesn’t do sports, doesn’t join clubs, doesn’t show up to parties unless his family’s hosting,” Oliver continued, leaning back into his seat. “And don’t forget what happened last year—”
“Oliver,” Sienna snapped.
“What happened?” I asked instantly.
Sienna’s hand tightened slightly in her lap before she forced it to relax.
“It was nothing,” she said too quickly.
“That didn’t sound like nothing.”
Oliver huffed under his breath, glancing toward Sienna before looking back at me.
“It’s just—when you grow up around here, with families like ours, you end up around them. Events, dinners, all of it. Everyone’s tied to the Scarbroughs in some way.”
Sienna nodded faintly, her voice quieter now.
“You don’t really get to not know them. Not if your family has any sort of money or standing.”
“And people who get too involved with their family tend to—”
“Drop it,” Sienna said sharply.
He did.
“The whole family is…” she cut in quickly, eyes flicking toward the rearview mirror. “But they’re stunning. Liam especially.”
“I’ve met them,” I said quietly, the words slipping out before I’d fully decided to share them.
Oliver slowly turned around in his seat, eyes widening. “Wait… what?”
“My ma works for Culver’s parents,” I explained, staring out the window as the road blurred past. “We had dinner with them last night.”
He stared at me for a long second, his expression unreadable, before turning back toward the road.
“Believe it or don’t,” he said casually. "You're Scarbrough’s girl. That’s obvious.”
Scarbrough’s girl.
Not my own person. Not just Ira. Not even a friend.
Just… his.
I stared out the window, watching trees and buildings smear together while my reflection hovered faintly in the glass. A guy who barely spoke, who watched everything, who somehow lived rent-free in my head and filled every quiet moment when I least expected it.
A guy who didn’t even want me.
And yet somehow, everyone else already acted as though I belonged to him.