“How long ago did your mom pass away?” I asked her. I suddenly needed to know how long she had been struggling alone. It wasn’t like I could fix it now. I just wanted to know.
“Thirty-six days ago,” she murmured.
Fuck. She’d lost her mother a little more than a month ago. She hadn’t even had a chance to mourn. “Did your dad know she was sick?” I asked. I would kill him. Someone needed to make the bastard pay. He hurt everything he touched.
“Yes. He knew. I also called him the day she passed away. He didn’t answer. I left a message.”
I had never hated anyone the way I hated Abe Wynn at that moment. “Do you hate him?” I asked. She should. Hell, I hated him enough for both of us. When I beat his face in, I would do it for her. For her mother. And I wasn’t sure I would be able to stop.
“Sometimes,” she said.
I hadn’t expected the truth. Admitting that you hated your father couldn’t be easy. Unable to stop myself, I reached over and slipped my pinkie around hers. I couldn’t hold her hand. That was too much. Too intimate. But I had to do something. She needed some reassurance that she wasn’t alone. Even if I was the last person on earth who deserved to be there for her, I was going to be the one. I just had to find a way to do it and fix this hell I’d created.
“I’m having a party tonight. It’s Nan, my sister’s, birthday. I always give her a party. It may not be your scene, but you’re invited to attend if you want to.”
“You have a sister?”
I thought she knew that already, but when I thought back to the night Blaire had arrived, I realized that Nan had kept her distance and hadn’t actually met Blaire. “Yeah,” I replied.
“Grant said you were an only child,” she said, watching me carefully.
Grant had talked to her about me. He didn’t need me to explain anything to her. I wanted to protect her from the truth. I moved my hand away from her. “Grant really has no business telling you my business. No matter how damn bad he wants in your panties,” I said, before turning and walking back to the house. Why had I let that get to me? Dammit.
CHAPTER TEN
Nan had hired a party planner. I stood at the top of the stairs and watched as the decorating crew hauled in white roses by the truck-load. Did she think this was her wedding? What the hell?
“I don’t want to know what this party is costing you. Here,” Grant said, as he walked up behind me and shoved a glass of what smelled and looked like bourbon into my hand. “Drink it. You’re gonna need it.”
I took a long drink and let the smoothness of the liquor coat my throat. It didn’t make the fact that I was about to be faced with all of Nan’s friends any easier. Normally, when she had parties here, I limited the people she could invite. Tonight I had given her no limits. I was dreading that. All of fucking Rosemary Beach was likely to show up.
“The princess has ordered roses, I see,” Grant said, amused, as he leaned against the banister and watched the activity below.
“It seems that way,” I said. I was still pissed at him for talking to Blaire about me. I knew he wouldn’t tell her anything she didn’t need to know, but it still bothered me.
“Did you invite Blaire?” Grant asked, trying to sound casual.
“Did you expect me to make her hide under the stairs all night?” I replied. Because, honestly, I had thought about it. Inviting her to this damn thing only meant I had to watch her closely. Guys would be all over her, and girls would be vicious. She needed protection from both.
“Well, I wasn’t really sure. This is Nan’s party,” he reminded me, as if I needed reminding.
“It’s at my house,” I said, shooting him an annoyed glare.
Grant chuckled and shook his head. “Damn. Never thought I’d see you put someone else before Nan.”
“Don’t,” I warned him. “Don’t go there. I’m just being nice. Nothing more.”
Grant cocked an eyebrow, which he knew annoyed me. “Really?”
I slammed my glass down on the railing and walked back to my room. I wasn’t in the mood to watch any more of this or listen to Grant. It was going to be a long night.
One would think that Nan was the daughter of royalty, the way my house looked once the decorators were through. I moved through the rooms, keeping my eyes on the kitchen and, when I could, the pantry door. I hadn’t seen Blaire the rest of the day, but I knew she was here. I’d watched her while she’d lain out on the beach long after I’d left. I’d watched her swim in the waves and then take a walk. Hell, I’d even watched her read a book.
When she had finally picked up her towel and headed back to the house, I had stood up from my relaxed position on the sofa facing the wall of windows and went to get ready for tonight. I had wanted to make sure I was down here when she came out of her room for the party.
The party was getting packed, and the music was getting louder. Still no sign of Blaire. I wondered if she was scared to walk out into this. Should I let her stay tucked away in her room safely? Or did I need to go get her?
“I’ll keep my eyes on the pantry door while you go outside and get some blond surfer dude off the damn railing before he falls to his death,” Grant said in my ear, before shoving me toward the balcony.
Damn drunk college kids.
I went outside and found Jace already pulling the guy down off the ledge. “Dude, go drink some coffee,” Jace said with disgust, and slapped him hard on the back.
“You know him?” I asked.
Jace shook his head. “No. Just wasn’t in the mood to watch anyone die tonight,” he replied, before taking a drink of beer.
“Thanks,” I said.
Anya walked up and wrapped her arms around Jace’s waist, smiling at me. Seemed she had moved on. Good for her.
“Anya,” I said, nodding a greeting in her direction.
“Rush,” she replied with a teasing grin.
“And I’m Jace,” he said loudly over the noise. “As much as I love fun and awkwardness, I think we’ll go on out for a little walk on the beach,” he said, before leading Anya toward the stairs that led down to the sand.
I headed back inside and toward the kitchen. I was going to get Blaire out of that damn room. She didn’t need to stay there all night.
“She already came out,” Grant said, walking up beside me. “Woods has her in the foyer.”
“Woods?”
“Yeah, dude. Kerrington. Surely you’ve figured out that by now, he’s spotted her on the course. He plays a shit ton of golf.”
I shoved past the people in front of me and headed for the foyer.
The shy smile on Blaire’s face, looking up at Woods as he led her into the living room, stopped me in my tracks. Someone was talking to me, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying. The blush on Blaire’s cheeks had my complete attention. Woods’s hand touched her back in a possessive way, which bothered me. How well did she know Woods? Had I missed this completely? Blaire said something to Woods, and he stopped to look down at her. They were discussing something. Then he leaned in close to her, and my annoyance instantly transformed into being pissed off.
Blaire’s eyes shifted and locked with mine. They went wide with surprise, as if she didn’t expect to see me at my own house. Then she moved away from Woods and spoke to him quickly as she put more distance between them. She was saying something to him, but he seemed amused and ready to say whatever he needed to in order to get her to stay.
I knew exactly the kind of guy Woods was, because he was just like me. I wasn’t letting him touch her. He saw her as a conquest, and I would kill him before I let him use her. The idea of Blaire doing anything with Woods made my skin crawl. I started moving. I didn’t stop and think about it, and I didn’t give a shit if my sister saw me.