Chapter Twenty-Three
Spencer
My expression must have gone blank because I suddenly can”t think or understand words, not even the ones in my mind. My gaze is aimed at Tabitha, but I”m not looking at her. My attention is directed inward, looking at nothing in particular, but rather, something in my own mind. This woman has gotten to know me so well in the past few weeks that I can”t lie to her.
Finally, I bow my head and sigh. ”You”re right. I am a bloody stupid arsehole. Bindy was trying to tell me something, though I was too pigheaded to grasp her meaning. Kendall has always been hard to read, but I”ve never known him to get sloshed and act like a frat boy on homecoming night. I should have guessed something was wrong.”
Tabitha rests her head on my shoulder. ”You”re a good brother. That means you”ll fix the problem as soon as possible.”
”What galactic frequency are you on? Mine is here on Earth, where I”ve been a blind fool. That does not qualify me for ”good brother” status.”
”Stop punishing yourself. Bindy didn”t call to make you feel bad. She needs your help with Kendall, period.”
I fall backward onto the mattress, taking her with me. Now that Tabitha is sprawled over me, I feel much more at ease. ”I want to be there for Kendall. But I do have a job, a position I”ve only been in for a few weeks. I can”t ask for ten days off to dry out my brother.”
”You know you”ll regret it later if you don”t leave as soon as possible.”
As I stare up at the ceiling, I try to figure out how to mesh my work life with my family life. Damned if I know how to do that. ”Monday morning, I”ll talk to my boss and see if I can take extra time off this week. Not sure if my excuse that my brother needs me will fly, but it”s worth a try.”
”That”s the spirit.” She kisses me. ”But first, I want to show you Asheville tomorrow---with my parents and my sister, if you”re okay with that.”
”I did tell your mum and dad that I wanted to see their antiques shop. I can”t renege on that now.”
She kisses me again, more passionately.
And within a minute or two at most, she has her mouth wrapped around my cock. After she gives me the best blow job ever, we crawl under the covers and go to sleep. I don”t even mind that she snores off and on. It”s the sweetest sort of whispering snores I”ve ever heard. Sabrina knocks on the door at eight o”clock to command us to have breakfast at Connie and Barry”s house ”or else.” When I ask what that means, she makes a zipper motion across her lips. Then she trots back to her parents” house.
I have no idea what that gesture is meant to convey.
”Sabrina loves to be dramatically annoying,” Tabitha tells me after her sister has left the vicinity. ”I guess she was trying to imply that breakfast will be a surprise because we won”t know what the dishes are until we get there.”
”Your sister seems to enjoy teasing us. Since you told me she was never like this before yesterday, should I assume her teasing means she approves of me?”
”Oh, yeah, she thinks you”re amazing. And I agree.”
Tabitha insists on a shower shag before we leave her lovely little abode, so we won”t ”stink up the place” when we arrive at Connie and Barry”s home. What shagging has to do with getting clean, I can”t explain. But I must do as Tabby commands. It would be rude to say no when I”m a guest in her home.
Breakfast involves plenty of ribbing---the good-natured sort. I share a few stories about my family including the tale of how my parents, Bindy, and I reacted when we were invited to Sommerleigh House for the first time to see Kendall in his natural environment. It was the day Rachelle”s parents had arrived too. Rusty Buckholtz and Paulette Gérard weren”t quite what I”d expected. Paulette is French, after all, and Rusty is an American auto mechanic. Their marriage hadn”t lasted, but they got Rachelle out of the deal, so in that way, their marriage was a success. They”re good mates now.
”Do your parents get along well?” Sabrina asks me. ”Tabitha and I lucked out with our mom and dad. They”re wonderful people, and we love them so much. Can”t imagine them ever splitting up.”
”It”s the same with my family. Mum and Dad fit together like puzzle pieces. He”s good at the things Mum can”t manage, and vice versa. Martin and Marjorie Halfenaked will stay together until they die---on the same day, I”d wager.”
”Oh, that”s so romantic.”
Tabitha shakes her head at her sister, though she”s smiling. ”Death is romantic? You win the award for creepiest compliment, Bree.”
After breakfast, it”s time to visit Barry and Connie”s antiques shop in Asheville. Technically, we are already in Asheville since the Remington homestead is within the city limits. But I don”t think of a tiny-house village that lies at the end of a gravel road as urban.
Sabrina insists on riding in Tabitha”s car with me. Barry and Connie take their own vehicle, leading the way since even Tabitha isn”t sure how to find the antiques shop.
”If you came home more often,” Sabrina chides, ”then you”d know the route by heart. Maybe now that you”ve hooked up with Spence, you”ll have a good reason to visit your poor, forgotten family.”
”You make it sound like I dropped the three of you in a well and sealed it off.”
”Well, maybe I”d stop teasing you about it if you invited me to see where you work. Invite Mom and Dad too. We”re all super curious about your secret office in Arlington.”
”It”s no secret. But I don”t work at a factory where you guys could take a tour. It”s a financial services company.”
”Sabrina is right,” I pronounce for no particular reason. ”We should give your family a tour of the Bramson Feigenbaum Investments offices. The company has a good cafeteria too.”
Tabitha gazes at me with an expression I can only describe as grateful. Then she twists around in her seat to look at her sister in the back. ”Spencer and I will work something out with the company. But it might not happen until after Kendall”s wedding. Spence and I need to go there soon to help the poor, anxious butler.”
”And if you”re lucky,” I say, ”maybe Kendall will tell you all the secrets of a male revue show.”
”Ooh, can we see a show at the club where your brother used to work?”
”It”s called Bodacious Nights. I think the club is still in business.”
We”ve just reached an intersection, and Barry has been stopped by a red light. Tabitha takes the opportunity to lean across the console and whisper into my ear. ”You should get some tips from Kendall so you can give me a private striptease.”
”You”re determined, aren”t you?” I murmur to her. ”That”s the second time you”ve suggested I should do that.”
”I am dead serious. Think about it. You dancing for me, whipping off your clothes, doing pelvic thrusts... Damn, just picturing that in my mind makes me so hot for you.”
”Maybe I should get a few tips from Kendall.”
The light turns green, and I need to focus on the road again---and Barry”s car, to make sure I don”t miss a turn. Tabitha remains in her seat now, though I swear I can hear her sultry voice in my mind, urging me to give her a private striptease. I can”t deny this woman anything she wants, but now isn”t the right time.
As we approach the shop, I remember what Barry had told me before we left the homestead. He”d said I would need to park behind the shop, though it”s not easy to see that from the road. Barry told me to follow his lead. So, I slow down enough that I won”t miss it when he turns into the car park. I slide our vehicle into a slot and shut off the engine.
”We”re here,” I announce as if Tabby and Bree wouldn”t notice that. ”This car park is quite difficult to see from the street.”
”It”s a parking lot,” Sabrina says, emphasizing the last two words. ”I guess they call it a car park in England, huh?”
”Yes, we do. I still haven”t fully acclimated to the American way of speaking and doing things.”
Tabitha pats my arm. ”That”s okay, honey. You”re doing great with acclimating to a new country. I hope I do as well when we go to England.”
”Of course you will. You”re a very clever woman.” I glance into the backseat. ”And so are you, Bree. You”ll love my home city, and it will love you too. In fact, I predict you”ll have a date for the wedding as soon as we arrive at Sommerleigh.”
”There are single guys coming to the wedding?”
”Oh, yes. Shedloads of them.”
I might have slightly exaggerated the number of single blokes in attendance, but I genuinely believe my mates and I---or more likely, their wives and girlfriends---can find someone to serve as Bree”s date. She might even strike up a holiday romance.
Oh, bloody hell. Now I”m thinking about meddling in someone else”s life. I”ve joined the cult. As we climb out of the car, I”m still mulling over that solitary thought.
Tabitha threads her fingers with mine. ”What”s up, Spence? You look miserable all of a sudden.”
”Yeah,” Sabrina concurs. ”He does look bummed out. Maybe you should drag him into an alley and perk him up.”
Her meaning is hard to misinterpret. She”s suggesting that Tabitha should shag me in an alley.
”That won”t be necessary,” I assure Bree. ”I was just thinking about the wedding, and I suddenly realized I was contemplating meddling in your life to find you a date for the festivities.”
”Why is that a depressing idea? You must think nobody will want to date me.”
”No, that isn”t the issue.” We”ve just reached the back door of the shop, where Barry and Connie are waiting. ”You see, my mates back home, the ones who have wives, they like to meddle in other people”s lives. They even started a club for that. It”s called The American Wives Club.”
”Why do Brits call their meddling club American?”
”Because most of my mates are married to Americans, like my brother, who is marrying Rachelle Buckholtz. She”s from Missouri.” I hesitate as I try to remember all the names of the women in the club. ”Then there”s Chelsea, Avery, Samantha, Siobhan, Maddie, Rika, Arden, and Elena. Derek Hahn is American as well, and he married a British billionaire, Diana Sangster.”
”Why don”t you like the American Wives Club? You”re in love with my sister, after all. She”s American, and you”ll be getting hitched to her soon, for sure.” Sabrina grins. ”Then Tabby can join the club.”
Barry chuckles. ”Sounds like this club is unstoppable. Might as well give in, Spence.”
”I am not even engaged yet. The club is rubbish, anyway. Probably a myth created by the Dixon brothers and their wives. They started the whole thing.” As soon as I”ve said that, I realize I”m a liar---and I groan. ”I”m a stupid wanker. Hugh Parrish told me all about how the club came to be, and it wasn”t in England. It started in Scotland. Rory MacTaggart”s American wife invented the American Wives Club. The British Branch came into being several years later. Can”t believe that slipped my mind.”
Tabitha hugs me. ”You”re stressed about Kendall and the wedding. We forgive you for being scatterbrained.”
Sabrina, Barry, and Connie all concur. Bree tries to hug me, but she can”t force Tabby to pull away.
I”m now a member of two families---and I haven”t even asked Tabitha to marry me yet.