by Emma Vikes
Her golden locks cascaded down her back in soft curls that I would have loved to run my hands through. Her hazel eyes shined and looked golden under the soft light streaming through the windows. She was smiling and beaming as she talked with mom, her eyes crinkling at the sides and her dimples showing as she laughed at whatever absurd thing my mother was telling her.
“Ah, Patrick! It’s nice for you to join us!” It was Christopher who first spotted me and moved closer to where I stood. He placed an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, a grin on his face. “Patrick, you’re growing into a fine man, I see. I can almost imagine you as CEO and running your own business.”
It was the kind of compliment I’d never received from my father, the kind my mother used to shower me with when Paula had still been around. A declaration of who she wanted me to become. Christopher's hand was heavy on my shoulder, and the wide smile on his face held the kind of warmth that my father's smiles never had.
“I can make that happen for you, kid.” He patted me on the chest. “If you give me a chance."
The brunch wasn’t very eventful. It was mostly filled with stories about how mom and Chris had met and awkward moments for me whenever they started being sweet with each other. It was clear that my mom adored him, and I could see in Chris’s eyes that he liked my mother too, that his feelings were sincere and his intentions were clear.
“So, we’re gonna be siblings, huh. I’ve always wanted a brother.”
I had excused myself from the table and gone to the balcony for fresh air. I hadn’t expected Britney to follow me. Her eyes fell on the cigarette in my hand and her eyebrows raised, a sneaky smile playing on her face. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell, big brother.”
I scoffed and continued to suck on it. It wasn’t that being called big brother bothered me. It was just that Britney was the same age as some of the girls I dated. How good she looked didn’t help much either. “How’s boarding school?”
Britney shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the cigarette from my mouth and placed it between her lips. She didn’t cough it out but sucked on it and blew the smoke with sassy confidence, like she was completely used to it. I wanted to ask her if that was what she had learned at boarding school, but it seemed rude to say it out loud.
She must've read my thoughts because she chuckled and leaned her back against the railing. "Boarding school is boring. If you want to ask why daddy shipped me there, well, it's simply because I'm so tired with people bringing up my mother. Daddy thought a change of perspective would do me well. It's only been two years, but I'm doing well. I kind of miss New York though, I might ask daddy to enroll me back next year. Your school has a sister school, right? If I remember it correctly.”
“St. Monica is just across from mine,” I mumbled and watched as the corner of her lips lifted up in a smile. She lifted a finger and traced my jaw with it slowly. For a moment, I wondered if she was teasing me.
“Good, at least there will be more boys to see. That’s the worst con of boarding school, the lack of testosterone bothers me.” Britney finished off my cigarette and dropped it on the ground, smirking at me. Her eyes traveled from my face and down my body, slowly, like she was checking me out. “Too bad we’re family now.”
Chapter 1
Patrick
11 Years Later
THE CROWD HAD ALREADY gathered when I arrived. It wasn’t surprising, Senator Christopher Baldwin always knew how to get himself an audience. He was the most loved and most celebrated senator in the state. It’s been two months since he came back to New York. He always seemed to be busy, squirming his way into the president’s favor and that of the entire country.
“Patrick! Son!” Chris greeted me when he spotted me, giving me a big fatherly hug. I returned it with the same enthusiasm.
Chris and I had bonded well over the past ten years since he had become my step-father. He started out as my friend, genuinely curious about getting to know me and thus he had come to know me better than my biological father ever had. He hadn’t reprimanded me for my drinking habits during my teen years and early 20’s. He wasn’t judgmental. He left the disciplinarian role in my mother’s hands and regarded me how he would regard a nephew or a friend. It was a nice relationship, and I felt at ease with him. He saw me as a son too and tried as hard as he could to make it seem like he didn’t favor Britney too much over me.
My mother on the other hand...
“Patrick just finished his Master’s in Harvard last summer,” Mom began to say. Well, to put it into more specific terms, she began to brag. “Top of his class still. A degree in political science and business. He’s also considering being in office.”
Beside her, Christopher chuckled. "He still has a lot more training to undergo, but I'm sure Pat's up for it. The boy's always been a troop to learn new things." He ruffled my hair like he always had when I was younger, the gesture affectionate.
“Ah, seems like he’s more of his step-father’s son than his own biological one,” Harold Quinn mused, looking at me up and down. He was one of Chris’s financial advisers and the executive assistant in Chris’s stock exchange company.
I just smiled at him, acting as bashful and humble as I could. One of the many things that Chris had taught me. Act like your feet are on the ground even when your ego is soaring and inflating like a helium balloon. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“But speaking of biological, I haven’t seen Britney yet.” Harold looked around the thick crowd, trying to spot the pretty golden-haired daughter of Christopher Baldwin. He turned back to me. “Have you seen her, Patrick?”
I shook my head. “No, sir. I just got here, actually.”
“Oh, this reminds me. Pat, you better look for Britney. I have an announcement to make that’s going to involve the two of you.” Chris smiled at me and then kissed mom’s hand. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and then watched him go up onto the stage.
Mom turned to look at me. She hadn’t greeted me since I got here, at least, not in the same way that Chris had. Her body turned to face me and then she straightened my tie for me and brushed my dark hair out of my face. Her own blonde locks were elegantly pulled back in a low ponytail but Lara Baldwin, even at forty-five, still stood out from the crowd.
"Go call Britney, love. Chris has been talking my ear off about this announcement for a while now," she said softly, and I could read the unspoken words in her eyes. She was as excited as she was worried about this announcement.
I nodded and kissed her cheek and disappeared into the thick throng of the crowd to look for a certain blonde that was just as gorgeous and feisty as my mother. Had our parents never gotten together, I would’ve been with her. As a couple, we would’ve been amazing. Too bad we were family.
“Lauren!” I called her best friend who was talking to my best friend. Sometimes I think that everyone around us could be together except us. It's not that I have feelings for Britney, but I would never deny that I’d always found her attractive.
“You’re finally here!” Alex exclaimed, rounding the table and giving me a short hug. Lauren did the same thing. Alex nudged my shoulder. “Wait, you’re not looking for me, are you?”
I shook my head and turned to his girlfriend. “Have you seen Britney?”
“We arrived here together since we got ready at her penthouse but I haven’t seen her since we got here,” Lauren answered. Beside her, Alex wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, making her squeal at the sudden gesture. “I was too preoccupied with this one.”
I rolled my eyes. “I think it would be best if you two get a room.”
Alex snorted. “You’re just jealous that you don’t have a date. Did Kath bail on you again?”
Kath was my on again, off again, on-call date. I wasn't entirely sure what I should call her, but we were never official. She's usually the one I brought to these events simply because it was expected. She was the daughter of another politician, we danced around the same circle, and
our relationship wasn’t something out of the blue. Except, there hadn’t really been a relationship to begin with.
“She’s in Bali,” I replied with a shrug and then turned my attention to Lauren again. “You sure you have no idea where to find her? Did she tell you her date?”
“I don’t think she needs to tell me her date, Pat since it’s obviously Morgan.”
I pursed my lips in annoyance. Of course, where else would she be other than Morgan Steelman’s arms? The last time that we had brunch together, about two weeks ago, she was raving about how amazing Morgan was, telling mom about how great and sweet and thoughtful he was. She was just the same as every other girl Morgan had set his sights on, just as love-struck and stupid.
“I think you know where to find them, Pat,” Alex said, winking at me. The stupid dickhead knew that Morgan made my blood boil and the fact that Britney was dating him of all people made me angrier.
I made my way to the rooftop of the hotel that hosted this event. Morgan had made a name for himself by screwing girls in public places, mostly the rooftops of whatever venue we were all in. I cringed when I heard the moaning and the groans. It was hard to imagine that sweet little Britney was one of the participants.
“I hope you brought a condom Morgan because I’m not entirely sure my sister uses the pill.”
The gasp from Britney was enough to tell me that I would be getting an earful after this. She gathered up the dress she had been wearing and tried to cover herself, but I saw enough to make me have daydreams about her for a week, not like I didn’t already.
Morgan narrowed his eyes at me but pulled up his pants and zipped them up. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Patrick.” He turned to Britney and then glanced at me for a moment. “I think your brother might have something to say to you for him to barge in and intrude like this. I’ll see you back at the party.”
Britney nodded and fixed her dress, covering herself again as Morgan left us. I remained where I stood, giving her privacy until she stood up to face me. “What the hell, Pat? Didn’t we agree not to intrude in each other’s love affairs?”
I pulled on a thinking face and then shook my head. “We never did, sis. And mom and Chris have been looking for you. Your father has a big announcement to make.”
She smoothed down her dress and took a few more steps closer to me. “He’s probably gonna announce his retirement.”
Her statement made me pause. “What do you mean?”
Britney looked at me with her gorgeous golden eyes. Liquid gold, the kind you get lost in. Her eyes always got to me. Britney exhaled loudly and flipped her golden hair. Gold and gold, if she were a painting, that would be the only color the painter would ever use.
“Daddy promised mommy that he’d retire when he turned fifty-five. I never really thought he’d honor it. But when I was younger, he used to tell me that he wants to make sure I was ready to take over when he’s at that age.” Britney walked past me and then stopped when she was near the exit. “What are you doing still standing there, big brother? Come alone, our parents are waiting.”
She reached for my hand when I was near, and I ignored the burst of electricity that shocked us both, almost forcing me to let go of her hand harshly. It was always like that every time we touched. But Britney didn’t seem fazed by it one bit. Maybe I was imagining it.
The two of us reached the party just as Chris got up on the makeshift stage to make a toast. Britney and I made our way to where mom was standing, and Chris glanced at us briefly, nodded his head and winked and then began to say, “Everyone, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for gracing me with your presence. It warms my heart to know that all of you want to welcome me back home. It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Washington demanded so much of my time.”
Chris lowered his champagne glass and looked at everyone with the kind smile that I thought had been engraved on his face since he was a kid. “I have a very big announcement to make. I’ve discussed this with my lovely wife, Lara, and I know it’s my duty to share it with everyone as well. See, when my late wife Catherine was still alive, I made a promise to her when Britney was still five years old.”
He looked at Britney and gave her a wide smile, the kind that would let the world know how much he loved his daughter. “I promised Cathy that I would retire before sixty, that I would let Britney handle things on her own. But Brit’s just been accepted into Harvard for her Master’s.”
The crowd erupted into wild applause, and Chris had to raise his hand to settle them down. "In other news though, I do have a son, and I can't just step out of being a humble public servant just like that. I have to finish my term which will give Britney enough time to finish her Master’s. As for Patrick, he's already all set to run his own so why not run mine, son? Patrick's always been like a son to me, and he is an outstanding young man. Blood does not determine brilliance, and I know he will lead Baldwin Stocks as well as I have."
I stared at Christopher in shock as he looked at me in the way I’d always wished my father had. “Britney will be there with you along the way too, Patrick. You two will continue my legacy in the business. To Patrick and Britney, long live the Baldwin legacy!”
Chapter 2
Britney
DADDY’S ANNOUNCEMENT became such a huge deal that for the rest of the event I was being whisked away and asked questions by almost every single adult person in the room. What annoyed me the most was that I couldn’t be with Morgan. I wasn't sure who he was with, but I hoped that Lauren and Alex didn't leave him all alone. I knew that they weren't all that supportive of my relationship with Morgan - as unsupportive as Patrick was - but they weren't as cruel as my step-brother and wouldn’t leave him to fend for himself.
Most people were already leaving when I finally found Lauren again. “Laur! Have you seen Morgan?”
Lauren downed her drink and shook her head. “Nope. He was with Alex and I earlier during the announcement, and then after that, he said there was someone he knew, and he was just gonna say hi. I haven’t seen him since.”
My eyebrows furrowed. It wasn’t that Morgan was a stranger to this kind of crowd. He grew up in the same world as I had so he obviously wasn’t. But I knew of Morgan’s reputation during these kinds of things, knew how he would drink a little too much and end up in a girl’s bed. Beside me, Lauren must’ve sensed my apprehension because she placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll help you look for him,” she said to me and then turned to Alex who’d just arrived beside her. “Baby, I’m gonna help Brit look for Morgan, okay? I’ll meet you in the car.”
Alex nodded his head, kissed her and told her that he's going to say goodbye to Patrick first. I used to find it so weird for Lauren to be dating my step-brother's best friend, but then again, nothing was weirder than my father marrying my crush's mother. Because I used to have the biggest crush on Patrick back in our growing years. We always crossed each other's paths growing up, and he was always so charismatic and had girls revolving around him like he was the sun, even when he was young. Actually, the crush never disappeared. It had remained forcefully dormant in the back of my heart.
Too bad we’re family now.
Lauren and I went out of the venue and searched the hallways of the hotel. It was when I passed by a linen closet that I heard the unmistakably familiar groan. My heart stopped. Lauren had walked past me because I had stopped. It took her a minute to realize I wasn’t walking beside her anymore.
“Brit? What’s wrong?” Lauren asked. I stared blankly at the door in front of me as she approached the door. Slowly, I watched as my best friend reached for the knob and turned it open.
I wished I had been wrong.
“What the fuck, Morgan?” Lauren yelled; the shock so clear in her voice that I could feel the anger bubbling inside of her with what she had just seen.
Morgan’s eyes went wide. He was naked this time, not clothed with his pants pulled down like how Patrick had seen us earlier. He hastily put on his clothe
s while the girl did the same thing. “Lauren, fuck! Don’t tell-,”
“Tell me about it?” I asked, my voice sounding odd as I took a step forward to reveal presence. “What the fuck, Morgan? How could you do this to me? I thought...”
I expected him to defend himself, to tell me that it was the alcohol that had made him do it or some other lame excuse that boys come up with when they’re caught cheating. But he did the exact opposite of that. Morgan scoffed and ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. “You thought I loved you. You honestly believed all the lies that came out of my mouth. You should’ve listened to your brother, you know?”
Suddenly, I was too dumb to comprehend. “What do you mean?”
Morgan huffed and had the audacity to wrap his arms around the girl he had just been screwing. “I only dated you because of your inheritance, Britney. Your family is at the top of the food chain in New York. Being with you made people believe that I would eventually marry you and, to be honest, I don’t mind marrying myself into a family loaded with more cash than my father.”
“But you’re not the only one inheriting Baldwin Stocks, Britney. You have to share it with the fucking prick Patrick, and I don't like sharing." He turned to me with steely gray eyes. “You were never a good lay either. No thrill when it came to you. Might as well end this whole charade now that I know I won’t be getting what I want from it.”
I wanted to slap him, but Lauren did the honors for me because I was too shocked to do so. Morgan didn’t retaliate, just dragged his cheating ass out of the room and dragged the girl along with him too. I slowly sank to the ground as I stared at the now open space in front of me, the shock slowly registering in my body.
“Britney?”
I could feel my body slowly shutting down like it had when my mother died and like it did every time something broke me. Lauren sat down beside me and then pulled me close to her. I could feel the tears start to fall as my best friend quietly soothed me.