“Hey, Bro,” I say, turning to Toby.
“Hey, Sis.”
He pulls me in for a hug, and I hold him just that little bit longer than I probably should, just soaking up his strength.
It turned out that discovering that Jonas had another son wasn’t the only secret that cunt was keeping, because after doing a little more research and then some DNA testing, it turned out that everything Toby and Maria suffered over the years was for nothing. Toby isn’t Jonas’s son.
He’s my dad’s first born. My real brother.
Something that we’re all convinced Jonas was well aware of. He was so fast to DNA test me as a baby that there’s no way he wouldn’t have done Toby, but he was so damn desperate for control, for an heir, that he claimed him as his own and spent the next nineteen years torturing him for something he had no control over.
Safe to say that revelation fucked with Toby’s head more than he was expecting. I hate seeing him suffering. I wish there was more I could do for him other than offering a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear when he wants to talk.
But I have every confidence that he’ll be okay, just like I will. Jonas, despite his best efforts, will not break us.
I have no idea what’s happened to him since they captured him, and quite frankly, I don’t need to know.
He’s out of our lives now, and we’re all able to put him behind us. That’s all that matters.
“You ready for your first Thanksgiving?” I ask him, butterflies fluttering in my belly, knowing that I’m about to have my first holiday with my family. My real family.
“Have you seen the amount of food Angie and Mum have been preparing? Hell yeah, I’m ready.”
I laugh at him before two people approach me from behind.
Turning around, I find a sheepish-looking Calli.
“I’m sorry. I almost told you so many times. I’m not good with secrets.”
“No shit,” I laugh, pulling her in for a hug.
“Come on, dinner’s ready,” someone shouts, and everyone moves toward the extended dining table.
I search the room, looking for the person who’s obviously absent from this little gathering. and my heart aches for her.
Emmie has kept herself away from us after what went down at her grandfather’s clubhouse. I understand why. She feels guilty for not knowing what was going on under her nose. But I get it, and I don’t blame her at all.
I just wish she could stop blaming herself so she didn’t feel she had to miss out.
Seb takes his place at the head of the table, with Theo at the other end. I can’t help but laugh at the pair of them.
The food is incredible, the company is amazing, and we all have the best afternoon. At some point, Seb brought his tablet to the table and we were able to video chat with everyone in America and properly introduced them to the rest of our family. As expected, the guys spent most of the call arguing about the correct shape of a football. Seb had backup this time, so it went on way longer than necessary.
“Hey, baby. Can I steal you for a minute?” Seb asks after finding me on the couch talking to Dad, Maria and Toby.
“Yeah, of course. Excuse me,” I say to them, taking Seb’s hand and allowing him to drag me through to our bedroom.
“Seb,” I warn. I might be open to screwing his brains out when our friends are close by, but I draw the line at my entire family. It’s already bad enough that Toby has heard—and seen, for that matter—way too much. I don’t need to extend that to Dad and Maria. “We can’t.”
“You’ve got a one-track mind, Hellion. I haven’t brought you in here to fuck your brains out. Although,” he says, taking a step toward me, “now you’ve mentioned it…”
“Behave, Sebastian.”
“Me? Never.”
“Nightmare.” I roll my eyes dramatically at him.
He tugs my hand so I have no choice but to fall down on the edge of the bed beside him.