by Douglas, Michelle; Gordon, Lucy; Pembroke, Sophie; Hardy, Kate
Thea nodded, sitting up and shifting closer to Flynn to make room for Zeke to sit beside them. ‘How did things go? With your father?’
‘Pretty much as expected.’ Zeke eyed the small space on the swing, then perched on the edge of the low table in front of them instead.
‘Which was...?’ Flynn sounded a little impatient. ‘I don’t even know what he wanted to talk to you about. Business, I assume?’
‘You didn’t tell him?’ Zeke asked Thea, eyebrow raised.
‘We were talking about more important things,’ Thea said, which made Flynn smile softly and kiss her hair again.
Zeke’s jaw tightened at the sight. He suspected he didn’t want to know what those ‘more important things’ were. ‘Your father wanted to try and buy my business,’ he told Flynn.
‘He’s your father too,’ Flynn pointed out.
Zeke laughed. ‘Possibly not, after tonight.’
‘You told him no, then?’ Thea guessed. ‘Why? To spite him? You’ve already admitted you want to sell.’
‘He wanted me to come and work for Morrison-Ashton.’
‘And that would be the worst thing ever, of course.’ Sarcasm dripped from her voice. ‘Are you really still so angry with him?’
Tilting his head back, Zeke stared up through the slats of the terrace roof at the stars twinkling through. ‘No,’ he answered honestly. ‘This isn’t... It’s not like it was any more, Thea. I’m not trying to spite him, or hurt him, or pay him back for anything. I just want to move on. Sever all ties and start a whole new life. Maybe a new company, a new field. A new me.’
‘So we won’t be seeing you again after the wedding, then?’ Flynn said, and Zeke realised he’d almost forgotten his brother was even there for a moment. He’d spoken to Thea the same way he’d always talked to Thea—with far more honesty than he’d give anyone else. A bad habit to fall back into.
‘Maybe you two would be worth a visit,’ he said, forcing a smile. ‘After all, I’ll need to come and be favourite Uncle Zeke to your kids, right?’
At his words Flynn’s expression softened, and he gave his fiancée a meaningful look. Thea, for her part, glanced down at her hands, but Zeke thought he saw a matching shy smile on her face.
Realisation slammed into him, hitting him hard in the chest until he almost gasped for breath. That was what they’d been talking about—their ‘more important things’. Children. He’d been so sure that this marriage was a sham, that there was nothing between them. But he hadn’t imagined kids. Even when he’d made the comment he’d expected an evasion, a convenient practised answer. Another sign that this wasn’t real.
Not this. Not the image in his head of Thea’s belly swollen with his brother’s child. Not the thought of how much better parents Flynn and Thea would be than his own father. Of a little girl with Thea’s dark hair curling around a perfect face.
‘Well, you know you’ll always be welcome in our home,’ Flynn said.
The words were too formal for brothers, too distant for anything he’d ever shared with Thea. And Zeke knew without a doubt that he’d never, ever be taking them up on the offer. Maybe he didn’t love Thea any more, but that tightly stitched line of regret inside him still pulled when she tugged on the thread between them.
He couldn’t give Thea what she wanted—never had been able to. She’d made that very clear. And in two days she’d be married, that thread would be cut, and he’d never see her again.
‘I should get to bed,’ Thea said, unfolding her legs from under her. ‘Another long day tomorrow.’
Flynn smiled up at her as she stood. ‘I’ll see you in the morning?’
Thea nodded, then with a quick glance at Zeke bent and kissed Flynn on the lips. It looked soft, but sure, and Zeke got the message—loud and clear, thanks. She’d made her choice—again—and she was sticking with it.
Fine. It was her choice to make, after all. But Zeke knew that the scar of regret would never leave him if he wasn’t sure she was happy with the choice she was making. If he wanted the freedom of that cut thread, he had to be able to leave her behind entirely. He had to be sure she knew what she was doing.
Zeke got to his feet. ‘I’ll walk you to your room.’
CHAPTER FOUR
THIS WAS EXACTLY what she didn’t want. Which, in fairness, was probably why Zeke was doing it.
It had been too strange, sitting there with the two brothers, talking about her future as if Zeke might be part of it—in a role she’d simply never expected him to take. Hard enough to transition from fiancée to wife to mother with Flynn, without adding in her ex as her brother-in-law. It had all been so much easier when she’d imagined he was out of her life for good. That she’d never have to see him again. She’d got over the hurt of that loss years before.
The villa was in darkness, and their footsteps echoed off the tiled floors and painted stone walls. The place might be luxurious, but in the moonlight Thea couldn’t help but find it creepy. From the hanging tapestries to the stone arches looming overhead, the shadows seemed oppressive. And it felt eerily empty; everyone else must have gone to bed hours before.
She’d expected Zeke to talk, to keep up the banter and the cutting comments and the jokes, but to her surprise they walked in a companionable silence. She could feel him beside her, the warmth of his presence a constant reminder of how close he was. If she stretched out a finger she could reach his hand.
But she wouldn’t.
As they climbed the stairs, Zeke only ever one step behind her, his hand next to hers on the banister, she catalogued all the questions she wanted to ask.
Why are you back?
Why didn’t you call?
Are you really going to stay?
What do you want from me now?
There had to be a rhyme and reason to it all somewhere, but Thea couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Maybe he didn’t know the answers, either. Maybe that was why he seemed always on the edge of asking a question he wasn’t sure he wanted her to answer.
‘I’m just down here,’ she whispered as they reached the top of the stairs. ‘You’re over that way, right?’
Zeke nodded, but made no effort to head to his own room. After a moment Thea moved towards her door, very aware of him still behind her.
Hand on the door handle, she stopped again. ‘What do you want, Zeke?’ she asked, looking at the door in front of her.
She felt his sigh, a warm breath against her neck. ‘I want to be sure.’
‘Sure of what?’
‘Sure that you’re...happy. That this is really what you want. Before I leave.’
‘You’re not going to come and visit again, are you?’ She’d known that even as he’d talked about being Uncle Zeke. She’d known the truth of it all along. She already knew the answers to all her questions in her heart.
Zeke was here to say goodbye.
‘No.’
She turned at the word, and found herself trapped between Zeke’s body and the door. He had one arm braced against the wood above her head, the other at his side, fist clenched.
‘Why?’ More of a breath than a question.
‘I need...I need to move on. Away from my family, from yours. For good.’
‘Eight years wasn’t long enough for you to stop hating us, then?’
‘I didn’t—’
He stopped short of the lie, which Thea appreciated even as his meaning stabbed her heart. She’d known he hated her. She couldn’t let herself be surprised by the confirmation.
‘It’s not about that any more,’ Zeke said instead. He gave a low chuckle. ‘I’ve spent so long caught up in it, in proving myself to my father even as I hated him. So long living my life because of my past, even if I didn’t realise I was doing it. And it’s time to stop now. Time to build a life fo
r myself, I guess.’
Without us, Thea finished for him in her head.
‘So what I need to know is—are you happy? Is this really what you want? Or is it just what you think you’re supposed to do?’
Zeke’s gaze caught hers as he asked his questions, and Thea knew she couldn’t look away from those dark eyes even if she’d wanted to.
Was this what she wanted? She thought about Flynn. About how easy it was with him compared to in her previous disastrous attempts at relationships. About everything she could have with him. This wasn’t just for their fathers, this time, or even for Helena. This was for her. To give her security, the safety of knowing her place in the world. Knowing where she belonged.
She blinked, and told Zeke, ‘This is what I want.’
Time stretched out between them as he stared into her eyes as if scanning for truths. Finally his eyelids fluttered down, and Thea snapped her gaze away.
‘Okay...’ Zeke spoke softly, and she was sure she heard relief in the word. ‘Okay.’
When she looked back he lowered his lips and kissed her, soft and sweet, before stepping away.
‘I hope to God you’re not lying to me this time, Thea,’ he said, and he turned and walked away to his room.
Thea stood and watched him go, the wood of the door at her back and her grip on the door handle the only things holding her up.
‘So do I,’ she whispered when his door had closed behind him.
* * *
Loosening his tie, Zeke threw himself onto the bed and pulled out his phone. He’d promised Deb an update when he arrived, but between Thea in her underwear and thwarting his father he hadn’t had much of a chance.
He checked his watch; London was behind them anyway. She’d still be up.
‘So?’ Deb said when she answered. Her usual greetings and pleasantries were apparently not deemed necessary for him. ‘How’s it going?’
‘My father wants to buy This Minute.’
‘He heard we were selling to Glasshouse?’ Deb asked, but there didn’t seem to be much of a question in her words. More of a sense of inevitability.
Suspicion flared up. ‘Yeah. Any idea how that might have happened?’
‘Not a clue,’ she replied easily. ‘But it’s kind of handy, don’t you think?’
‘No.’ Had she leaked it? Why? He should be mad, he supposed, but he trusted Deb. She always had a perfectly logical reason for her actions, and he was kind of curious to find out what it was this time.
‘I do,’ she said. ‘I mean, with two interested parties the price will go up, for starters. And, more than that, this gives you a chance to decide what you really want.’
‘Other than to get out of here?’
‘That’s one option,’ Deb said. ‘The other is to return to the family fold.’
Zeke remembered the look on his father’s face when he’d turned him down. That had felt good. ‘I think I already burnt that bridge tonight.’
‘That works too.’ Deb sounded philosophical about the whole thing. ‘At least it was your choice to make this time.’
Sometimes Zeke really regretted the occasional late-night drinking sessions with his business partner. His tongue got loose after alcohol, and she knew him far too well as a result.
‘Anyway, it’s done,’ he said, steamrollering past any analysis of his relationship with his father that she had planned. ‘Now I just need to get through the wedding and then I can get back to my real life again.’
‘Ah, yes. “The Wedding”.’ Her tone made it very clear that it had capital letters.
‘That is what I came here for.’
‘And how was it? Seeing Thea again?’
A vision of her standing there, wedding dress around her waist, flooded his mind. But Deb really didn’t need to know about that. ‘Fine.’
‘You think she really wants to marry your brother?’
‘I do.’ He was just unsure about her motives.
‘Then do you really have to stay?’
‘I’m the best man, Deb. Kinda necessary to the proceedings.’
‘Zeke...’ Her voice was serious now, and he knew it was time to stop joking.
‘It’s fine. It’s just a couple of days and I can put it all behind me.’
‘You don’t have to put yourself through this, you know. If you’re satisfied that she’s not being coerced into this by your father—’
‘Oh, I’m pretty sure she is.’
‘But you said—’
‘Which doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to go through with it.’ He sighed. Explaining the peculiarities of the Morrison and Ashton families to outsiders was never easy. ‘Look, I need to stay. I need to see this through. It’s the only way I’m ever going to...I don’t know.’
‘Have closure?’ Deb said, knowing his own thoughts better than himself as usual. That was always disturbing. ‘Fine. But if you need me to manufacture a work emergency to get you out of there...’
‘I know where you are. Thanks, Deb.’
‘Any time.’ She paused, and he got the impression she wasn’t quite done with him yet. ‘Just...don’t stay just to punish yourself, okay?’
‘Punish myself for what?’
‘Leaving her in the first place.’
The phone went dead in his hand. Apparently goodbyes were no longer necessary, either. He tossed it onto the bedside table and flopped back onto the bed.
This time Deb didn’t know what she was talking about. Zeke had absolutely nothing to feel sorry for.
He just hoped Thea knew that, too.
* * *
Thea didn’t sleep.
She dotted concealer under her eyes the next morning, knowing that Helena would spot the dark shadows anyway. She’d just have to tell her that it was pre-wedding nerves. Which would no doubt lead to another rousing rendition of the ‘It’s not too late to back out’ chorus. Still, that had to be better than telling her sister the truth.
The truth about the past, that was. Thea wasn’t even sure if she understood the truth of her and Zeke in the present.
Helena had laid out her chosen outfit for Thea to wear the day before her wedding and Thea slipped into the pale linen dress without question. One of the advantages of having a younger sister with an eye for style, colour and fashion was never having to worry if she’d chosen the right outfit for an occasion. This week, more than ever, she needed the boost to her confidence of knowing she looked good.
She appreciated it even more when, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was accosted by Ezekiel Ashton, Senior.
‘Thea! Excellent. I just need a little word with you, if you wouldn’t mind.’
Whether she minded or not, Ezekiel ushered Thea into his temporary office—away from the tempting smells of hot coffee and pastries.
Ezekiel’s desk was covered in papers and files, his laptop pushed away to the corner, precariously balanced on a stack of books. Thea cleared a ream of paper covered in numbers from the visitor’s chair and sat down. His office at the company headquarters was usually neat to the point of anal. Had he been up all night working after his meeting with Zeke? Or was he just missing his terrifyingly efficient PA Dorothy? And, either way, what exactly did he think he needed Thea for?
What if this wasn’t business? What if this was some sort of ‘welcome to the family, don’t hurt my son’ talk? And, if so, how could she be sure which son? Because he was a little late for one of them...
Laughter bubbled up in her chest and Thea swallowed it down as Ezekiel creakily lowered himself into his chair. This was Ezekiel Ashton. Of course it was going to be about business.
‘Now, Thea. I appreciate that work might not be your highest priority today, given your imminent nuptials. But this wedding has given us a unique opportunit
y. One I need you to take full advantage of.’
He gave her a meaningful look across the desk, and Thea’s heart sank. This was business, yes, but it was personal, too. This was about Zeke.
‘What are you hoping I’ll be able to do?’ Thea crossed her legs and stared back at her father-in-law-to-be. She couldn’t promise anything when it came to Zeke. She’d burnt that bridge long ago. But how to explain that to Ezekiel without telling the whole miserable story?
Ezekiel leant back in his chair, studying her. ‘Zeke has always been...fond of you.’
He waited, as if for confirmation, and Thea forced a nod.
‘We were friends. When we were younger.’
‘I’m hoping you might be able to utilise that friendship.’
No sugarcoating it, then. Not that she’d really expected any such thing from Ezekiel.
‘We haven’t seen each other in eight years,’ Thea pointed out. ‘And we didn’t...we weren’t on the best of terms when he left.’
A slightly raised eyebrow was the only hint that this came as a surprise to Zeke’s father. ‘Still. After all this time I’m sure you can both forgive and forget.’
Forgive? Thea thought she’d managed that years ago, until Zeke had shown up and reminded her of all the reasons she had to be angry with him. Almost as many as he had to be angry with her.
Forget? Never.
Thea took a breath. Time to refocus the conversation. ‘This is about This Minute, right?’
Ezekiel gave a sharp nod. ‘I’m sure you can understand the value to Morrison-Ashton of bringing Zeke’s little business under the company umbrella.’
‘I’d hardly call it a “little business”,’ Thea said. Its turnover figures for last year had been astronomical. Far higher than their own digital news arm. ‘And I think the detrimental effect of not buying This Minute is of far higher importance to you.’
‘True.’
His gaze held a hint of grudging appreciation. Good. In her five years working her way up to running the PR department of Morrison-Ashton Ezekiel had never given her a single sign that he appreciated the work she did, or believed it really added value to the company. It was about time he realised she brought more than a name and some money to the table. She wasn’t her father, after all.