Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
THEO
I drop my suitcase in the entryway of my parents’ home, the eerie silence of the house reflecting the way I feel inside.
Rupert and I didn’t speak the entire way back home.
Not in the car.
Not at the airport.
Not on the plane.
Even Lamar was shaking from the lack of communication.
And when we got through customs, we parted ways, not a single word uttered.
I don’t even know what to say to him at this point. I think I spoke my piece, and if he wants to approach me, he can, but what I said to him, that’s about it. I have nothing else to say.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull my phone out and shoot Renley a quick text. I let her know when I landed, but she didn’t respond, probably because she’s still sleeping, given I landed at nine thirty this morning and it’s a five-hour time difference.
Theo: Just got to my parents’ house. My father was transferred here this morning. I’ll talk to you after I see him. Love you, Gossy.
As I’m pocketing my phone, the telltale sound of heels click-clacking across the wood floors announces my mother’s approach right before she appears.
Older now, she still maintains a poised composure, her hair done in a low bun at the nape of her neck, her makeup expertly done, and even though it’s early and her husband just had a heart attack, she’s wearing a reasonable pair of trousers and a crisp white blouse.
“Theo.” She greets me with a kiss on each cheek. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Got on the first flight I could,” I say, even though technically there was one before the one I took. I was selfish and squeezed out a little more time with Renley before I had to leave.
“Well.” She straightens her shoulders. “The doctors think he will make a full recovery, but given this scare, I believe there are some things he wants to talk to you about.”
And that’s what I was afraid of.
“Well, I’ll go talk to him.”
My mother stops me with her hand to my chest. “Please, go clean up first. Gordon has laid an outfit out for you on your old bed and all your toiletries are in the bathroom.”
“It’s just Father,” I say. “He has seen me straight off an airplane before.”
She shakes her head. “We are expecting company. Now go wash up.”
“What company?” I ask.
Mother looks at me as if I have three heads and should know what the hell she’s talking about.
“Neil and his daughter. Honestly, Theo.” She shakes her head and starts to walk away but I quickly stop her.
“What do you mean Neil and his daughter? Why are they coming over?”
“We will discuss it when they arrive, but please, wash up. You have dirty plane all over you.”
Then she takes off, leaving me in a state of panic.
My first instinct is to grab my phone and text Rupert an SOS. But the moment my hand touches my phone, I remember that he’s not talking to me.
Fuck.
I drag my hand over my face and head up the stairs to my old bedroom, unsure what the hell I’m going to do now.
It’s not like he can marry me right then, at the foot of his hospital bed. There is a thing known as consent, and there’s no way in fuck I’ll be consenting to marry Neil’s daughter.
Jesus Christ, I don’t even remember what her name is.
When I reach my bedroom, I see a pair of dark blue trousers, a cream button-up shirt, and a pair of brown loafers with tassels laid out for me. I smile to myself, take my phone out again, and snap a picture for Renley.
Theo: Look at what I have to wear today. If only you were here to cut the tassels off.
Heading into the bathroom, I turn on the shower and let it warm up, which takes way longer than at the house back in the States. So I undress and set my phone on the counter just as a text from her dings.
My heart flutters at the sight of her name and I quickly pick up my phone to read it.
Renley: My scissors are itching to snip those off. Why are you getting dressed up to go see your dad? Is there a dress code?
Theo: LOL. My mother laid out my clothes for me. Don’t make fun of me, I know how that sounds.
Renley: You’re in your thirties, Theo. Your thirties.
Theo: I’m well aware, trust me, my aching back from the plane ride is making me quite aware of how old I am.
Renley: Poor baby, if only I was there to massage it for you.
Theo: That would be amazing, but if I was wishing for things, it would be me back in Cape Meril with you, helping you set up the candy.
Renley: Maybe it’s best that you don’t help with that. I feel like you would have eaten a lot.
Theo: To the point of puking.
Renley: LOL. You’re ridiculous.
Theo: But I’m yours, which makes you just as ridiculous.
Renley: You brainwashed me and took me captive. We’re at Stockholm syndrome at this point.
Theo: It’s cute that you can recognize that. Okay, have to get in the shower. Talk later, love.
Renley: Think of me while you scrub up.
Theo: Jesus, don’t get me hard before seeing my father.
Renley: Xoxo
Setting my phone down with a sigh, I quickly hop into the shower and scrub up, not thinking about Renley once, because I want to be in and out. There are things I need to do and figure out, and the longer I’m here talking to my father, the longer that’s delayed.
These pants are eating away at my goddamn dick, and not in a good way. They’re tight, unflattering, and feel like they are tearing away at my manhood, which is unexpected and extremely unpleasant.
“Fuck these things,” I say as I adjust my pants, trying to tug them down my waist to get the inner seam to stop riding up my balls.
“I don’t see you for a few months and then I come back to you talking to your pants? Should I be concerned?”
I spin around to find Elizabeth, my sister, standing behind me looking stunning in a floral dress I know our mother picked out for her.
“Christ,” I say as I scoop her up into my arms and hug her furiously.
“It’s so good to see you.” I set her down and grip her shoulders as I take her in.
Her skin is sun-kissed, her eyes brighter than I’ve ever seen them, and there is a distinct hickey on her neck that I know she left uncovered just out of spite.
God, I’ve missed her.
“How are you? How’s Hannah?”
Smiling brightly, Elizabeth says, “Hannah is great. She’s visiting with her family right now while I sort out this bullshit with you.”
“Better watch your mouth. Mother will be furious if she hears her precious little girl swearing.”
“It’s why I’m getting it out now.” Elizabeth winks. “How are you? Last we talked, you were in America. How was that?”
Jesus, it’s been a while. So much has happened since I last texted her.
I grip the back of my neck and answer, “Well, I, uh, I kind of fell in love.”
Her eyes widen as a gasp falls past her lips. “No…with an American? Oh my God, Theo. Do Mother and Father know?”
I shake my head. “No, don’t even know in the slightest, which means I’m going to need your help. Long story short, I told Father I was looking to get married—”
“Oh, I heard all about that,” she says. “Mother called me and ranted for an hour about it. So the girl you matched with on that website, is she the one you fell in love with?”
I nod. “Her name is Renley.” Then I pull my phone out of my pocket and show Elizabeth the picture of us together on my screen.
“Theodore, she’s stunning. Shit, look at her eyes.” Elizabeth looks a little closer and I steal my phone away.
“Okay, okay. She’s mine.”
Elizabeth rolls her eyes. “Please, I’m incredibly happy.” She glances behind her at the door that leads to Father’s room. “But tell me why you need my help.”
“Because Father believes I should marry Neil’s daughter and they’re headed over here now.”
“He wants you to marry Walinda?”
“Walinda, that’s her bloody name. I couldn’t remember it.”
“How can you forget the name Walinda?”
“Maybe because she sniffed my armpit and all I ever wanted to do was forget that interaction altogether.”
“You know, now that you mention it, she sniffed mine too.”
“Really?” I ask, with a raise of my brow.
“Yeah, jealous?” She wiggles her brows and I chuckle.
“Not even a little.” Mother’s shoes click across the wood and I quickly lean into Elizabeth. “Seriously, they’re going to try to get me to marry her. Do everything in your power to help me avoid that.”
Elizabeth pats me on the shoulder. “No worries, I have your back. You’ve helped me so much with Hannah that I’ll keep you as far away from the pit-sniffer as possible.”
“It’s why I love you.”
“Ah, I see that you two have had a moment to catch up,” Mother says as she appears, holding her hands in front of her. “I hope you’re ready to see your father. He’s by all means ready to see the two of you.”
In any normal household, it wouldn’t require this grand of an entrance for a child to see their parent after a heart attack, but with my family, everything is so formal and calculated. My guess, there’s a photographer ready to take pictures the moment we see our father in his bed.
“Well, then please lead the way,” I say, gesturing toward the closed door.
With a curt nod, Mother guides us to the door and then opens it, revealing a bright, cheery room full of flowers and well wishes. Father sits up in the middle of his bed in his smoking jacket. He is smoking a cigar and looking far too pleased with himself.
Uh, we sure he had a heart attack and was in intensive care?
Because right now, with him smoking a cigar, looking healthy as a bloody prizewinning horse, it seems like this entire thing was calculated to get me back home.
Also, pretty sure he shouldn’t be smoking right after having a heart attack, but that’s just me.
Are we sure it wasn’t some mild angina that he suffered?
Elizabeth and I exchange glances before walking toward the bed where there are two chairs set up right next to it.
Remember when I said calculated? This is exactly what I’m talking about.