Page 13 of Six Years
She groans. “Don’t call me that.”
“I happen to think it’s a great nickname,” a deep voice from right behind me says. There’s only one man this voice could ever belong to.
Wringing myself out of Allie’s hug, I turn around to lock eyes with Atlas Storm, next to him, his wife and the other three kids.
He’s one reason why tonight hopefully won’t go the way our family dinners usually go.
That man has nothing to do with my family, other than the fact that his daughter is dating my cousin. But he doesn’t have to behere. At my father’s birthday dinner. They only came because I asked for their presence.
Storm doesn’t like my father very much, nor does he like my uncle. He’s investing in my father’s company anyway, but I think it’s only because Li Co. happens to make him tons of money, not because he has an interest in baby stuff.
But now that all of them are here at the same time, I might as well ask them for a little favor. “So, uhm, my best friend from New York is here with his wife and daughter. If it’s possible, could you not ask them about Brooke’s mother? It’s a sore topic.”
???
Dinner’s going great so far, much to my surprise.
The Storms’ presence does actually keep my father’s wrath at bay. I think it’s mostly Atlas Storm who keeps my father quiet. If that man terminates the contract with my father’s company, sales will go down by millions, if it doesn’t ruin the entire company, because once you’re on the bad side of that man, nobody will want anything to do with you.
But I can’t shake the feeling that something’s about to happen. Today went too smoothly. It was too quiet to be true. If my father doesn’t go off on me at least once a day, it isn’t right. Just yesterday he yelled at me because I came out of the bathroom shirtless, and my brother had a friend over.
I took a shower inmybathroom. Myen-suitebathroom. As it seems, when my siblings havemalefriends over, I am not even allowed to take showers anymore or walk around in my room without a shirt on.
“Uncle Grey?” Brooke says and pulls on my hand to get my attention. She’s sitting on the floor, playing memory games with Connor Storm.
I get up from my chair, not wanting that little girl to somehow annoy my father by talking too loudly or excitedly. For someone who owns a company focusing on babies and toddlers, he sure has a hatred for little children.
I kneel down to her and she immediately abandons playing games with Connor to launch herself into my arms. I love this little kid. She’s the absolute sweetest girl and I’m not just saying this because she happens to be my best friend’s daughter. It’s the truth. Miles has done a great job raising her so far, and I don’t know why he still struggles to see that sometimes.
“What’s up, tiny princess?”
Brooke giggles and buries her face right into my chest. “You play the games with us?”
I sigh softly. “I can’t right now, Brookie. Later, okay?” If I sat down on this floor right now, my father would have a stroke. Connor and Brooke aren’t his kids, so he doesn’t care about their presence on the floor. But if I sat down, he’d start yelling because no kid of his should let themselves down to that level. Floors are the lowest you can fall, apparently, and rich people don’t sit on floors.
“Okay.” At least she doesn’t sound upset.
I plant a quick kiss to the top of her head and then get back up. Brooke immediately turns her attention back to Connor and the game.
Once I stand, I allow myself to look outside for a moment. It’s a beautiful view from up here, but a sad one as well. The beach would be crowded or at least you’d still see a few people walking or sitting on the sand at this hour but that private beach of ours steals that sight. So it’s just plain and empty out there.
It's a little windier today, the waves bigger than they were the days before. It would be a great evening to surf, but my father would murder me before I’d ever make it out there to do just that. It’s a miracle he lets me play ice hockey.
We’re businessmen, Grey, not adrenaline junkies, he used to say every time I wanted to pick up surfing. Can you believe it? I grew up next to the sea with perfect waves, and I never learned how to surf.
Looking out of another window, one that shows a little more than just our private beach, I catch a glimpse of dark curly hair. It could be anyone but…
I stare out for a little while longer, praying he’ll turn around, but even if he did I wouldn’t be able to tell if I know that guy or not. It’s too dark.
This is just my mind playing tricks on me anyway. Why would he show up here almost a week after he left without giving me anything to reach him? Besides, I gave him exactly one sign of interest that night, why would he ever think I’d consider seeing him again?
I seat myself back down at the table, forcing myself into conversation with my cousin and his girlfriend while also still listening to the conversation between Miles, Emory, and Allie. She can be a lot to take in sometimes, and she’s very curious but that’s only because she likes knowing the people around her. It’s a family thing, I’m pretty sure.
I spend a good time scrolling through my phone underneath the table, but mostly to check the security cameras. Maybe the cameras caught the guy outside better than I could with my eyes in the dark. I doubt it, but I am hopeful. Why is this bothering me so much anyway? It’s not Luan out there, and even if it was, there’s nothing I can do.
Even if it was Luan, going out there is a really bad idea. First of all, I wouldn’t know what to say. We’re not friends, and we certainly aren’t dating. We met once. Twice. Both times didn’t last very long. Both times I didn’t really speak either.
Luan has me intrigued. He’s piqued my interest with his tendency to babble and fill silence with conversation. Something about that guy is a mystery even though he seems to be an open book, and that entices me. He’s a puzzle I want to solve, and it fucks with my head.
