by Carr, K
I was eyeing the underwear. I had to say it. “Look, no offence girls, but I’m a bit squidgy about using your underwear. There’s something very wrong with that.”
Both girls laughed out loud. Their laughs sounded the same. Freaky.
“The underwear is new, I promise. The packaging is in that bin over there if you want to check.”
I glanced at the small waste bin she pointed to, and could see a bit of plastic sticking out from it. First problem solved.
“How many people are downstairs?” I asked, hugging the clothes to my chest.
“About twenty-five,” Natty said, with a bored look on her face. “We didn’t want to come, but Mum made us. It’s not like we care who Uncle Matt dates. Tonight is going to be a major chore.”
Nikki nodded in agreement, then flashed me that shy smile of hers. I decided she was the more reserved of the two. There’s always a more dominant one when it comes to twins, and Natty was definitely mouthy.
Natty continued to complain. “It’s Saturday. We should be out with our friends instead of socializing with old people.”
“Natty, stop,” Nikki admonished. “It’s not the end of the world.”
“And I’m not old,” I added.
Both girls looked at me.
“What?” I said in mock horror. “I’m not. Twenty-six is—”
“Old in comparison to seventeen. Everyone else is older than you are,” Natty drawled, then something on the bed beeped and she scrambled around for it.
I blinked, wondering if this was how Matt felt when I teased him about our age difference. I was going to stop that from now on.
“I’m going to get changed,” I murmured, before returning to the bathroom where I pulled on my borrowed clothes. The girls were around my height and as slender, so everything fit. The bra was lacy and had room in it. I shrugged my insecurity away and smoothed my hands over my jean-clad thighs. All that was left was sorting my hair out.
When I re-entered the room, there was a feeling of tension between the girls. Natty was glaring at the cell in her hand and Nikki was glaring at her.
“Do you have a brush I can use?” I asked.
Nikki jumped off the bed, scowling at her sister and strode over to the vanity.
“I hope this is suitable,” she said, handing over a soft-bristled brush. It wasn’t useful, but I had manners so I smiled a thank you.
“I love the States,” she volunteered as I peered at the brush. “Everything is frenetic and vibrant over there. Why would you want to live here? England is so drab.”
“I was born over here,” I explained, undoing the towel around my head. My damp curls would never be tamed by the brush. “England isn’t that bad.”
“Do you like my Uncle Matt? I mean, really like him?” Natty asked abruptly. The cell was in her hand, but she was focusing all her attention on me.
“I do.” My answer was genuine. Heck, I was jonesing for their uncle. Why hide it?
The girls looked at each other, then Nikki said, “Uncle Matt must like you a lot. He doesn’t usually bring women around here.”
Natty scoffed. “He never brings women here.”
I was getting a tad uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation.
“The media is always snooping around his life. They never leave us alone. Always printing stuff about the companies and our lives,” Natty continued.
“Must be hard for you,” I mused, squeezing excess water out of my hair.
“We’re used to it,” Nikki said. She was watching me dry my curls.
Natty’s cell beeped and she tossed it aside, violently. My eyes widened but I didn’t comment. Nikki, however, did. She’d seen my reaction.
“It’s her boyfriend,” she explained, shooting her sister a supportive look.
“Not for long,” Natty muttered.
I stayed silent and kept drying my hair. This wasn’t my business. I knew teenagers, and they always had drama. I had enough of my own drama. Plus, they had called me old.
The room descended into silence. I finished drying my hair and neatly placed the towel on the bed.
“He’s such a tosser,” Natty finally burst out. I said nothing and went over to the vanity. I didn’t know these girls, they didn’t know me. I was not getting involved. I peered at my face in the mirror. Without makeup, I looked young. Jailbait young. Damn it. The contents of my purse were soaked. Face powder, lip gloss and vex money. The money was in case of emergency. Always have cash to get your ass home if needs be. I began to brush my hair, deciding to leave it loose. In the mirror, I watched Nikki make her way over to her sister and rest a hand on her shoulder. Natty scowled at her, then her face fell.
Not getting involved. Not my business. I would go downstairs and plaster myself to Matt’s side until this night was over.
The look on Natty’s face though, it made me feel bad. I gritted my teeth together and kept brushing my hair. I had no advice to give. Before Matt, I hadn’t been in a serious relationship. I’d been on a few dates before, but they never panned out. It always felt like I was being untrue to Dante. And now I had Matt.
Nikki rubbed Natty’s shoulder and sat down next to her. “Forget about him.”
I put the brush down, then scrunched my hair between my palms. I looked all right. The cell beeped.
“I should get back downstairs,” I said, facing the girls. “Thanks for the clothes.” I had no freaking shoes on and was hoping they would spot it.
They barely acknowledged me, both staring morosely at the cell. I exhaled in a pointed manner. Someone needed to accompany me. I had no idea where to go. And there was the shoes problem.
Natty looked over, a conflicted expression on her face. “Boys suck.”
I nodded in agreement and glanced at the door. “Sometimes they do. We should head back down.”
Neither one moved. They stared at me. Maybe the heels wouldn’t be as squishy now. They were in the bathroom with my soaked, but folded, clothes. The girls were still staring at me.
I took a deep breath and asked against my better judgement. “What did he do? If you don’t mind my asking.”
Nikki answered, after getting the unspoken okay from her sister. “He’s been messaging one of Natty’s so-called friends on his social network page. He doesn’t know we have his password.”
Natty’s expression darkened. I glanced at the door.
“Last night she had a party. We didn’t attend, of course,” Nikki continued.
“Of course,” I murmured. Teenaged girls.
“There were pictures on her page, pictures of them together.”
“All cosy and smiling,” Natty ground out. “He’s a tosser. I know he’s cheating.”
I chewed my lower lip. Would it be out of place to offer advice in this situation? Shouldn’t they be talking to their mom about this shit? I pushed that ridiculous thought aside. Teenagers didn’t talk about their lives with their parents.
If my mom had been alive, I would have. God. My birthday was coming up. That was never a good time for me.
“First of all,” I said, all authoritarian—I was older, that had to count for something. “You shouldn’t be snooping around on someone’s page without their permission. That’s an infringement of their right to privacy and a bit stalkerish.” I shrugged, then added, “But I totally get why you did it. Guys be sneaky sometimes.”
Nikki giggled. “Oh my gosh. Your accent is so cute. I wish I sounded like that.”
I flashed her a smile before bestowing my wisdom. Ha, these seventeen year old girls probably had more relationship experience than me.
“Secondly, that friend of yours sounds like a snake. What sort of messages are they exchanging? If it’s normal stuff, then that’s fine and you might be overreacting, but if it’s inappropriate you need to call them out on it.” I chewed my lip. “But that comes with a price. You’ll have to admit you were snooping, and you’ll look like a psycho in training. Do you want people thinking you’re a bunny bo
iler? That shit sticks like glue to your reputation.”
Nikki nodded in agreement, while Natty observed me with unhappy eyes.
“Thirdly, you’re seventeen, beautiful and rich. Why are you worrying about stupid boys? You should be focused on your education right now. Leave the boys for later.”
Natty let out a loud, frustrated sigh. “That’s easy for you to say, Madison. Can I call you Madi?”
I nodded, and she continued with the teenaged anxiety I assured myself I’d grown out of. “You probably can’t remember what it’s like having your first boyfriend.”
“Matt’s my first—” I slapped a hand over my mouth. Jesus Christ. I had gotten caught up in the teenaged drama. There was no other explanation for my slip of tongue. Both girls stared at me, mouths hanging open. I lowered my hand and avoided their incredulous blue eyes.
“Matt? You mean—our Uncle Matt’s your first boyfriend? You’re twenty-six. That’s crazy,” Nikki shrieked.
I winced at the noise and tried to school my features into blandness. “As I was saying, you should enjoy being a teenager. Forget about—”
“Wait a moment.” Natty was kicking off her heels. “No way is Uncle Matt your first boyfriend.”
I swallowed hard and blushed. “I don’t think this is an appropriate topic to be discussing. Ah, shouldn’t we be going downstairs?”
They exchanged a long look, then Nikki said, “I like her. She’s cool.”
Natty nodded slowly. “She’s nice. And we should change.”
The girls jumped off the bed and ran to the closet. What on earth were they doing? Crazy ass—
“Why are you changing?” I asked in confusion as Nikki unzipped her sister, who then returned the favour.
“Do you want to be the only one in t-shirt and jeans at my grandparents’ dinner party?” Natty asked dryly. “If I know Uncle Adam, he’s probably told all the other guests about the poolroom incident.”
My eyes widened. The girls had a point. A brilliant smile stretched my face until my cheeks hurt. “You girls would do that for me? You don’t even know me.”
Nikki paused in slipping her dress off. “Uncle Matt doesn’t bring his girlfriends to this house. He must like you.”
“If he likes you so much,” Natty added, stripping down her dress and kicking it aside, “then we do, too.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re black.” Nikki was standing in her underwear and rifling through the clothes. “We don’t care about that anyway. Only outdated people care about stuff like that.”
“Grumps is extremely outdated.” Natty grabbed the jeans Nikki held out to her. “But don’t worry about him. Uncle Matt’s his favourite and we’ll protect you.”
I arched my eyebrow at that as I observed their exuberant movements. In five minutes they were wearing jeans and t-shirts. I liked Matt’s nieces.
<><><>
Matt kept the strained smile on his face as he conversed with a couple of his parents’ friends. Internally, he was fuming. When he’d spoken to his mother, she’d given the impression it would be a relaxed family dinner. This was anything but. Had she done this on purpose? He wouldn’t put it past her. Matt tried to curb his negative assessment of his mother. Maybe this was her way of showing her friends she was fine with Matt’s new girlfriend. Maybe not, he thought as he glanced over to where the Gillifords stood in deep conversation with his grandfather. Louisa was a guest along with her parents. Bloody hell. What had his mother been thinking? After the necessary perfunctory greetings, Matt had avoided his ex-lover like the plague. He stifled his annoyance and agreed with Carter Bishop about the worry the man had over the government’s draconian measures in place to crack down on tax evasion. Matt spared a look past his shoulder. Where was she? Madi should be changed by now. The glimmer of a real smile tickled the edges of his mouth. His sweet poppet. The look on her face when he pulled her out of the pool. Priceless. The way she kept her calm when he introduced her to his family filled him with pride. Matt wasn’t a fool though, he suspected his laughter over the pool incident would earn him some form of well-deserved punishment at her hands. He glanced at the double doors leading off the grand salon. Where was she?
Hannah glided over with Stuart on her heels. The Bishops, on seeing their approach, politely wandered away.
“Have the girls not come down yet?” Stuart asked, swishing the whiskey in his tumbler.
Matt arched an eyebrow at his brother-in-law. His tone was dry. “Do you see them anywhere?”
Hannah smacked Matt’s arm, narrowing her grey-blue eyes at him. “The girls are probably getting to know her.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I love my nieces, but they never shut up,” Matt drawled, and Hannah gently smacked his arm.
“She seems nice, Matty,” Hannah said softly. There was a touch of uncertainty in her voice.
Matt winced at her use of his childhood nickname, but smiled at his only sister. “She is, Hannah.”
Hannah peered at his face, as if searching for some indication of how he truly felt.
Stuart cleared his throat softly. Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, he added, “Adam mentioned something about her owning a dance company. Is she classically trained?”
Matt shot him a suspicious look as he nodded. “She attended the School of American Ballet. You can ask her about it when she comes down.” He glanced at the double doors. “If she can escape your girls.”
“Stuart, darling.” Hannah dimpled up at her husband. “Go see what the girls are up to. I want to have a word with Matt in private.”
Stuart promptly moved away. Matt covered his amused chuckle with a fake cough. Hannah might no longer carry the Bradley name, but she was a Bradley through and through. She wore the pants in her marriage.
“So,” she began, twirling the champagne flute between her well-manicured fingers.
“So,” Matt repeated, eyeing her intently. Hannah could be outrageous sometimes. He hoped now was not one of those times.
“It must be awkward for you.” Hannah glanced over in the direction of the Gillifords speaking to their grandfather. “What with Louisa being here.”
Matt shrugged. “It’s unexpected. Bearable, but definitely unexpected.”
Hannah nodded. “Yes, I have no idea what Mother was thinking, but you know how persistent she can be. She’s not pleased with the recent publicity.”
“Neither am I, Hannah,” Matt said curtly.
Hannah didn’t react to the obvious change in his demeanour. Instead, she reached up with her free hand and fixed the collar of his shirt. “Does Madison know about your past with Louisa?”
Matt felt a spurt of alarm. “No, and I’d rather she didn’t.”
Hannah scoffed lightly. “I can’t see how it can be avoided, Matt. They’ll be seated at the same table, and you know what Louisa Gilliford is like. Completely obsessed with you. She’s determined to have you and our name.” Hannah waved that unsettling comment away to say, “Adam told me he had dinner at your place in Kensington last night, with Madison.” That uncertain air returned to hover around her.
Matt simply waited for her to continue with whatever she was getting at while his mind frantically tried to work out a way of explaining his past relationship to Madi.
“He mentioned something you may have said.”
Matt’s mouth tightened slightly.
Hannah noticed, but she forged on. “Do you honestly feel that strongly about this woman, Matthew?”
Matt pondered his sister’s words for a moment, then said the only thing he could, “Yes, I do.”
She scrutinized his face for a few minutes. Matt held her unwavering gaze and grinned like a schoolboy.
“I hope she’s worth it.”
“She is,” Matt informed her, still grinning.
Hannah cocked her head at him. “Would you like me to speak to our parents on your behalf?”
Matt shook his head. “I am far from being a child anymore, Hannah. You don’
t have to intercede on my behalf. Thank you, though. Don’t tell Adam, but you’re my favourite sibling.”
She chuckled and swatted his arm. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have protested so much when Stuart made known his intentions to marry me all those years ago. And you would spend more time with the girls. They hardly see you.”
Matt leaned over to press a kiss to Hannah’s cheek. “First of all, you and Stuart together seems a bit incestuous to me.” Matt received a mock glare from his sister. He continued jokingly. “Spend more time with Terror and Trouble? You must be losing your mind. I’d rather give up my claim to the inheritance fortune.”
Whatever retort Hannah planned on making wasn’t uttered as they saw Louisa gliding over to them.
“Bollocks,” Matt muttered under his breath.
“Indeed,” Hannah murmured back. “Would you like me to play interference for you?”
“No, I might as well deal wi—” Matt broke off to coolly regard the blonde bombshell who was a few feet away.
“Matt, darling,” she crooned, closing the distance between them. “I feel thoroughly neglected by you tonight.”
“Don’t be silly, Louisa. No one could possibly ignore you,” he said pleasantly, gripping Hannah’s arm when she tried to slip away. Matt was more than capable of dealing with Louisa, but if it could be avoided, then he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. She’d been giving him bedroom eyes from the moment he said hello.
“How’s your charity work going?” Matt asked into the charged silence. He saw her change of expression and knew what it meant. She was angry and trying to hide it.
“Fine,” she said. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen each other. We’re long overdue a catch up.”
Matt knew exactly what sort of catch up she was implying. The bedroom eyes were back. His gaze wandered over her impeccably dressed form before returning to her face. Yes, Louisa was beautiful, there was no doubt about her stunning features.
But Madi was perfect.
The realization that, only a few months ago, he’d resigned himself to proposing to the woman standing in front of him was just this side of terrifying. Matt felt giddy relief blossoming inside. That relief turned to something more intense and all the more consuming when he saw Stuart ushering Madi and the girls—