Family Affair by Elle M Thomas
Chapter 1
Declan
I am struggling to eat breakfast, much to the amusement of my brother who has already cleared his plate, him, and our father who I am sharing a table with.
“Is this because you need to make a speech?” my dad asks but before I have the chance to reply, my brother chips in.
“Dec, you do know I’m the one who is supposed to get pre-wedding jitters, not you, don’t you?”
Him and my dad laugh again as I try to think of a plausible explanation for my inability to eat which is being caused by the dread in the pit of my stomach at being reunited with Anita.
“I’m going for a walk!” I growl and am already leaping up and turning to storm off but have no clue where I’m going.
I am barely out of the hotel restaurant when I feel Mase on my heels.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” he snaps as he reaches my side and tugs me back to look at him. “Is it the speech? Because if it is, don’t make one. In fact, don’t do anything you don’t want to. I am getting married today and so long as Olivia ends the day as my wife, I don’t give a shit about anything.”
I immediately feel guilty that I am stressing him out with my wobble rather than reassuring him through his own, not that he has any.
“Sorry,” is all I manage to mumble as my brother leads me towards a quiet corner table in the hotel foyer and I try to think of something else to say, an explanation to offer. “I’ll be fine.” I want to kick myself for being what I perceive as deceitful and a bit of a dick.
“Dec, I mean it. If you don’t want to speak or do anything that is fine by me. Just stand next to me at the top of the aisle. I’ll even look after the rings if that’s an issue.” He smiles and adds, “Even if you lose the rings, I am still marrying my girl so there’s nothing you can do to cock it up.”
I admire his determination to marry Olivia. That is his only intention, and he won’t let anything stand in his way. I am also slightly jealous of his obvious happiness and contentment, but who wouldn’t be envious of the huge smile on my brother’s face, especially when you consider the reason for it comes in the beautiful, sexy, funny and talented form of the brunette he met at my club.
“It’s the bridesmaid,” I blurt out and Mase simply laughs.
“I know there’s a certain tradition, little brother, but not only would Sarah kick your arse if you tried it on, her husband is considerably bigger than you and he is possessive of his pregnant wife so I really wouldn’t recommend it.” He laughs, clearly confused by who I mean.
Mase and I are close, and we don’t really keep secrets. We can and do talk about anything, but this, well, I have chosen to keep it to myself since it happened on the night of his engagement because I have no clue how he is going to react to it, especially if Olivia finds out and takes exception to it.
“Not that bridesmaid,” I confess in a hushed voice that I only know is loud enough for Mase to hear when I see his startled expression.
“Assuming you don’t mean our niece, I would say if you like Anita there’s no reason for you not to act on it, you’re both single…” He trails off and I assume my face has given away the fact that I have just made my previous move quite clear.
“What?” Mase asks, his tone is growing agitated, confirming that I might have already outed myself.
“We might have already hooked up. I didn’t know who she was, and it was an accident,” I stammer as I see his expression darken.
“What?” he asks again but his voice is raised, drawing attention to us, but not as much attention as his next question. “An accident? You accidently fucked my wife-to-be’s sister? How does that work exactly? Did you trip and accidently slip your dick inside her?”
I see the security man, concierge, whatever he is, approaching us and both Mase and I hold up a hand to assure him that this isn’t getting out of hand. That it is no more than raised voices.
“Come on.”
I dutifully follow him outdoors onto the terrace and once we have sat down together, he turns to face me. That look alone tells me all I need to know. It’s time to spill my guts.
“It was the day of your engagement party. Before the party. She arrived at the club, the caterer, and I had no clue who she was. I knew Olivia had stepsiblings, kind of, you mentioned them, but I had no idea who they were or what they were called. We were alone and ended up getting together, she was frosting the cupcakes,” I say, and immediately regret it.
“The cupcakes for my engagement party? You shagged her while she was icing them? I hope to fuck you didn’t contaminate them, Dec. I ate them, Olivia ate them!” He grimaces and I can’t help but smile.
“That butter cream shit was seriously tasty.” I smirk and I’m relieved to join in with my brother’s laughter.
“You are disgusting, you man whore!” he accuses, but I simply shrug.
“Guilty as charged and you weren’t always so conservative,” I tell him as I recall my brother’s like of pretty girls in the past, pre-Liv, although she is his ultimate pretty girl.
“Declan, do not mistake monogamy for conservative,” he replies with a grin of Cheshire cat proportions that tells me that my brother is in no way deprived or missing out between the sheets, but that’s not for me. I still don’t get the attraction of one woman forever, not anymore. “So, you and Anita, do you plan on pursuing it? I have no objections if you do, and I can see the attraction. But for fuck’s sake do not mess her around because if you do that will piss Olivia off and that would mean your actual fucking would end up fucking with my life.”
“I’m almost tempted to do it if only to piss you off,” I taunt but immediately back track. “Afterwards I missed her leaving, but intended to find her on the night, if she was working and if not, I figured I could find her via Liv or her dad. I really liked her, fancied her, had enjoyed what we’d shared. However, she rocked up for the party as a guest and was introduced as Liv’s sister, which threw me, both of us, really, and we avoided each other mainly.”
“Mainly?” Mase asks.
“Hmmm, yeah. I spoke to her, apologised for what had happened, explained that I had no clue who she was and assured her that I would never have touched her had I known.” Hearing my own words along with my brother’s expression I can see for the first time that Anita might have been offended, which would explain why she simply shook her head, gave me a death inducing look and walked away from me.
“Bet that made her feel special.” Mase frowns. “If she shares this with Olivia you are fucked and I would guess that I am too and not in a good way, so I am telling you now not to make this worse, not today. I am getting married to a woman who deserves to be happy, the same woman I have been kept from for the last seventy-two hours meaning if you piss her off and I don’t get laid tonight, I will kill you!”
I laugh at his almost pained expression at the thought of not getting his special time with Liv tonight, but he is deadly serious making me laugh louder and harder until I consider how amazing that one time with Anita was and how my words might have made her feel. I vow to myself that I will speak to her, make amends because there is no way anything I say could make things worse, is there?
Anita
I have been cooped up in this hotel for the last two or is it three days and I am beginning to go stir crazy. My dad is driving me mad because he is flapping and is now rechecking everything that has already been checked. I understand his need for perfection for Olivia, but honestly, Mase is paying serious cash for that to be achieved and Liv herself has double checked everything.
A small smile curves my lips when I see Olivia give our dad a rather harsh sideways glance when he asks if the caterers have come with references and then goes on to suggest that we could have self-catered. I refer to him as our dad because he is Olivia’s natural father and my stepdad. Olivia lost touch with him when she was about ten and her mother and stepfather threatened him with claims of abuse to keep him away. He became my dad shortly afterwards. Olivia finally loses the battle of biting her tongue and snaps at Dad.
“Dad!” she growls. “The catering is fine. The company is one Mase has used countless times. The menu is set, everybody knows what they are doing and if they don’t, we’re fucked because I am getting married in two hours.”
I watch my mum shoot my dad a warning glare as he prepares to reply and possibly tell Liv off for swearing.
“Nigel, I think Liv and Anita might need to start getting ready,” my mum suggests even though we all know it’s simply a ploy to put some space between them.
Fortunately, he doesn’t argue but simply follows my mum out and leaves us alone. Liv let’s out a huge sigh that makes me laugh, laughter she joins in with.
“I don’t actually know why we needed to take up residency here for so long before the wedding, but I swear, had I had to stay any longer I might have said some really bad things to Dad and run away back to Mase,” she confesses.
I know how much she and Mase love each other, and I know that our dad has been driving her crazy since we arrived here, but my face must betray something else, maybe the fact that her need to be with Mase might be viewed as a little pathetic. Although the truth is that I am a little jealous of what they have. In addition to that, I can’t get over the fact that I shagged her husband-to-be’s brother on a stainless-steel kitchen countertop without knowing who he was, and it was fucking fabulous. The downside is that he was a complete and utter tool afterwards, not immediately afterwards but when he found out who I was, who my sister was.
“Are you okay?” Liv asks with a concerned frown in my direction.
“Yes, fine,” I reply with a forced smile. “Sorry, just nerves, I think. I hope I don’t let you down.”
I feel slightly guilty as Liv moves to sit next to me on the bed where she wraps an arm around me. I am worried I will let her down, but I mean letting her down by behaving in such a way that will show the world that I have shagged her brother-in-law.
“You’ll be fabulous,” she reassures me. “You look bloody marvellous in your dress and if you get nervous you will have Sarah to lean on, but if you really don’t want to be a bridesmaid I understand. I know I’m not really anything to you,” she says genuinely with no intention to sway me or gain sympathy or pity.
“No, no. Of course, I do,” I say in a rather high-pitched voice. I quickly change the subject to something that will refocus her, Mase. “Can I ask you how you knew Mase was the one?”
Olivia’s face breaks into the biggest of smiles at the mere mention of her fiancé’s name. “We had a connection from the second we met,” she begins and then laughs. “He was my first one-night stand, only one-night stand, then I went to work, and he was there. It really was a done deal from that point on, although we did have a few false starts.”
“Really? A one-night stand?” I ask a little disbelievingly at that nugget of information because ever since I have known them, she and Mase have very much been a proper couple and she doesn’t seem the type, to trust so easily and with good cause.
“Clearly, this is not common knowledge, and I don’t think Dad needs to know but we didn’t even trade names,” she says with a gasp and a giggle that suggests she still can’t believe it. “We met at Dazzler, so I figure Dec knows, plus he and Mase are close. That better not feature in his wedding speech, either of their speeches.”
“Bloody hell!” I reply wondering if there is something about those Harding boys because when I met Dec that day in the kitchen at the club, I was powerless to resist or maybe it’s the club rather than the Harding boys themselves. “No, Dad would have a heart attack or something if he was faced with that information.” We both laugh until Liv turns conversation to me.
“Are you okay, really?” she begins and then expands, “you seem sad, distant…if ever you want to talk. I know I am smugly in love and for that reason alone I want everyone to be as happy as me, but I really do want you to be happy.”
“I’m fine,” I protest dishonestly and sensing more probing from Liv, I divert attention back to her and her favourite topic of conversation, Mase. “So, are you saying you knew you’d marry him before you even knew his name?”
“God no! I never wanted to get married!” she shrieks. “Like I say there was something; a connection, a pull, but it was after that night. He took care of me, made me feel safe. What I felt with and for Mase was like nothing I had ever known. I have dated before, been kissed before, but when Mase kisses me it’s like I am being kissed by a man for the very first time every time.”
I smile at her words and sentiment because apart from anything she deserves to be happy more than anyone else in the world after what she’s put up with. Her next words have me roaring with laughter that she joins in with, but her glittering eyes and dazzling smile suggest she means every word.
“And the sex is abso-fucking-lutely out of this world, mind blowing, shoulder clawing, I think I might actually fucking die phenomenal.”
“I met someone,” I clumsily blurt out and immediately Liv’s eyes fix me to the spot, demanding I expand. “Your engagement…”
Before more words leave my mouth, the door flies open to reveal a very amused and flushed looking Sarah.
“You alright?” Liv asks her pregnant best friend.
“Yeah, but your husband-to-be is a pain in the arse. I had to feign illness to get ahead of him to stop him coming up here…he’s missed you.” She grins and in response both Liv and I do too. “He has given his dad and Dec the slip and was at a loose end so thought he’d come and say hi.”
“I don’t mind,” Liv says with a very salacious expression.
“No!” Sarah screeches. “No way! As your chief bridesmaid I cannot have you walking down the aisle like you’ve just been fucked in a cupboard, like you did at my wedding.”
“We fucked in a cupboard after your wedding, as well you know,” Liv corrects but still has a huge smile plastered across her face.
My eyes are out on stalks as I imagine Liv and Mase huddled in a cupboard on the day I first met her, but all too soon, I actually wonder if there is any way I can get myself some cupboard action.