Her stiff nod relaxes the tension in my shoulders. I dry her tears away and offer her an apologetic smile. “We haven’t started yet.”
“I’m in dire need of wine.” Her croaky voice wavers when more tears swell in her eyes, but she blinks them away.
“Luckily for you, Amberley is here,” I muse, hooking my arm around her neck and walking us back to the group sitting around the table. Amberley is already on her fourth glass and talking animatedly. My sister finds a place next to Perry, who pulls Kat into a tight hug, and she grumbles that he smells like garlic. We laugh, and the sad tension she brought with her disperses.
Amberley offers to help Lauren serve, and I refresh the glasses. “Are you on call?” I ask Matteo when I notice he isn’t drinking much.
“No, but I'm driving, anyway.” He cradles his glass and leans back to watch the girls chuntering away in the kitchen.
“How are your parents?” I ask. I know he is due to travel to visit them soon.
“Insufferable.” He smirks. He’d do anything to lessen their involvement. I, on the other hand, would give anything to have my father back.
“It will be good to see them. It’s been years since you returned home.”
“It won’t be an enjoyable visit. They’ll have women lined up out the door and will be trying to pull me back into the fold.”
“Take a woman with you.” I nod towards Amberley, and he frowns.
“I think the attraction is one-sided,” he muses, watching as Amberley sings into a serving spoon and flicks sauce on her cheek. A slow smile tugs at his mouth, and then he is frowning again and rotating to face the table.
I lift a napkin and throw it at him. “Don’t cry, mate. She’ll come around.” I snigger.
Glaring at me, he stands and folds the napkin. “Shut up, Cain.”
I laugh deeply, and Kat twists to see what has humoured me, but Matt is already skulking off. “You love-sick fool!” I call after him, bending the napkin into a heart to mock him further.
“What's that all about?” My sister smirks, pushing up to see what I’m doing.
“Can’t say. It’s bro code.”
“What about sister code?”
“That's different, and you know it is.” I give her a doting wink and head into the kitchen to bring the plates through.
“Where's Matteo?” Lauren frowns when she returns to find his chair empty.
“Probably giving himself a pep talk in the bathroom.” I snort evasively.
Matt stalks back in and levels me with a hard stare when he cops a look at my handy work with the napkin. “You’re a prick, Carson.”
My eyes slant to my girl, and she bites her lip as she lowers into her chair. I grip her chin, tilting her face to mine. “A massive cacti,” I affirm throatily. “This looks amazing.” There is an ease around the group, a quick and playful banter between us. Conversation flows, and Lauren is laughing by my side. It feels good. Matteo grins at something Amberley says, and then she is up out of her chair, demonstrating something to the group. We’ve barely tucked into the homemade paella when, as I ask Perry to pass the wine, there is a knock at the door. Frowning, I stand and check my intercom is working because Walter didn’t announce a guest. “Back in a sec.” I scroll my phone, but no announcement is listed. Perplexed, I pull the door open and scowl as Olivia, my mother, storms in, her heavy perfume stagnant and too sweet. Years of memories bombard me, and I blink furiously as the rage burns through my skull.
“Where is she?” My mother’s narrow face is set in a tight pinch. Her blonde hair is secured in a severe knot, and the designer dress she has on is a crisp white. To many, she is the picture of innocence, the grieving widow who fell in love with her dead husband's business partner. But there is nothing pure about this woman.
I cut her up, refusing her further entry. “You don’t get to walk in here. You don’t get to just show up.” I bare my teeth, too angry to control my dislike. “There is no one here who has any interest in talking to you, Olivia.”
She sniffs haughtily. “Does referring to me by name somehow make this easier for you, Cain? I’m your mother!”
“You’re anything but,” I growl as Kat and Perry appear.
“Katherine, get your belongings. We’re leaving,” she snaps, vehemently pinning Kat to the floor with her signature scowl, reserved for those she is severely disappointed in, the kind of look that makes you squirm with anxiety. It works. My sister looks like she just swallowed an insect.
“Kat, stay.” I keep my tone low and reassuring, but my eyes are stabbing straight through my mother. “You know I will look after you.”
“Like you do me?” Olivia harps, dragging her eyes down me in disdain. “Katherine, we’re leaving now. Don’t you dare turn your back on your father.” I cough out a sardonic laugh. She was happy enough to leave me high and dry.
“I… I.” Kat searches all our faces, indecisive about what her next move should be. Slowly, she edges forward to comfort Olivia. “Mother, please, this is all happening too fast,” she whispers, visibly shaken. Her pained expression pales further when our mother gasps dramatically, bypasses me, and slaps Kat hard. The yelp that ricochets between us sets my blood boiling.