I make my way up to the kitchen, because I can’t remember much else of this damn maze that is the Kensington mansion, and find Tobias amidst the chaos of way more people than I thought would be needed for a simple dinner for four.
Apparently I’m Jon Snow and I know nothing—because nothing about this looks simple.
Yes I’m a nerd, so sue me. I’ve binged Game of Thrones at least four times at this point. Jon Snow should definitely have been king, and that is that.
“Ah, Briar, you’re here. The others are in the formal dining room already. Would you like a drink?” Tobias asks when he spots me by the door looking more than a little terrified.
“Erm,” is all I manage before he smiles at me.
“The gents have whiskey, your mother has wine. What's your poison?”
“Tequila,” I joke, but shake my head. “Probably not a good idea, though. Maybe just water?”
“How about both? You might need the extra help getting through dinner,” he says with a wink, not helping my nerves about tonight even a little before he disappears.
He comes back with a shot glass and a tall tumbler. He hands me the shot first and I decidefuck it. Tobias knows these people better than I do. I throw the tequila to the back of my throat and swallow, surprised at how smooth it is. I am a lover of tequila, but this must be the good stuff.
I hand him back the shot glass and he hands me the taller one. “This is called a Matador. Tequila, pineapple juice, and lime juice. Not too strong, but will help you get through tonight while still keeping your wits about you. Thought you might prefer this over the water.”
“And this is why you’re my favorite,” I say with a wink as I take the drink from him. I take a sip and am happily surprised at how good it is. This could be dangerous. “Just how bad is tonight going to be?” I ask, my heart fluttering in my chest.
“For you, probably notthatbad, more awkward than anything. Chase and Travis… well, they have a hard relationship. I’m not going to say any more than that, it's not my place.”
“Sounds like me and my mom.”
He raises an eyebrow at me and I wave him off. “Maybe Travis and I have more in common after all. Anyway, I suppose I better go face the music. Where is the formal dining room again?”
He smiles warmly and offers me his arm. “Let me escort you, m’lady.”
I laugh softly and loop my arm through his. “Why thank you, kind sir.” He leads me through the maze of the house to the formal dining room where my mom, Chase, and Travis are already waiting. The tension in the room is thick enough to make me feel like I’m suffocating before Tobias even releases me.
“Good luck,” he whispers, patting my arm before abandoning me in these shark-infested waters.
Traitor.
“Briar! Sweetheart! There you are,” my mom coos as she swishes across the room like she’s lived in luxury life her entire life. She grasps my arms and kisses both cheeks before hugging me. I can’t remember the last time she smiled at me, let alone hugged me. And she’s sure as hell never called me sweetheart. This isn’t my mother. This is a pod person. “It’s so good to see you. You look beautiful.”
She pulls back and runs her gaze over me, like she’s assessing my choice of a little black dress paired with Penn’s ridiculous stilettos that I’m still amazed I can walk in. I actually look at her properly and realize how different she looks. I guess money will do that. Her skin seems smoother, clearer, her hair is shinier and bouncier, and there's just something lighter about her. So I put on a smile and slip into the good and doting daughter role she obviously wants me to play. “Thanks, Mom, so do you.”
“Let me introduce you to Chase,” she says, her smile widening, and for the first time that I can ever remember, she actually looks happy.
She squeezes my arm again and turns to face who I can only assume is Chase. He looks like an older, more distinguished version of Travis. Their likeness is almost uncanny, except there's a harshness in Chase’s eyes that Travis doesn’t have yet and a spattering of gray through his dark hair, though it’s a shade or so lighter than his son’s.
Chase’s demeanor softens when he turns from his son to my mom, a smile tipping up the edge of his mouth when he looks at her, like she actually makes him happy, too.
Maybe I was wrong about the two of them. Maybe they actually do love each other. Maybe Mom wasn’t just looking for a meal ticket after all.
Color me shocked.
“Briar, it’s lovely to finally meet you,” Chase says when we reach him, and pulls me in for a hug. I try not to be too stiff, but it's hard to ignore the coldness I saw in him a second ago and I’m really not a hugger. Plus, no one can just shut that down entirely, that quickly without it being a red flag, and I can’t help but wonder which version of him is more prominent. “I trust Tobias and Travis have been looking after you.”
“Oh, yes,” I stutter. “Travis made me feel right at home.”
Keeping the sarcasm from my words isn’t easy, especially when Travis splutters on his drink, but considering the way I saw Chase looking at him, a part of me doesn’t want to make life harder for him, even if he has been a bag of ass since the morning I discovered who he was.
“Tobias has been great, making sure I have everything I need,” I add on, not wanting to get him in trouble either.
I glance over at Travis, who has managed to get over his sputter and now looks unaffected by any of it. If I hadn’t seen how stiff he was when he was talking to Chase before, I’d never have known something was wrong, but now that I know, I can see it in the tightness of his shoulders, in the clench of his jaw, and how he holds the glass of amber liquid as he lifts it to his lips and takes a sip.