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“I think you might be right,” I replied. However, judging by the look in his eyes, I doubted he was talking about the weather.
I floated on my back and drifted away from him, but Nathan looked at me like he wanted to grab me and pull me closer to him. He must have decided against it though, keeping his word about giving me a few days to settle in.
We swam for a while, until I could feel the sun begin to really burn down on us. Nathan got out first and surprised me by helping me out of the water. He wrapped a towel around my shoulders and gave my arms a quick rub when I shivered.
“I can’t figure you out, Nathan, you rip me to shreds one minute with a look of total hatred in your eyes, then you look at me like you just did and I wonder...” I trailed off, feeling embarrassed. I hadn’t known Nathan long enough to talk this openly, and I didn’t want to make either of us uncomfortable.
“I told you, Rose, if you treat me with respect, then I will do the same. That’s all it is.”
Nathan led me back up to his bedroom to shower and get changed for dinner. Again, Nathan left me to shower alone, going to another room to get ready. We met back up in the dining room and once we were seated, Jane brought out our meals.
The food was fantastic, everything tasted so beautiful, and it was one thing I could get used to about living here. Luckily, my appetite had returned and I savoured every bite of the gourmet food. Nathan and I even managed to make some light small talk.
After dinner, Nathan retreated to his study claiming he had some work to do, leaving me to do as I pleased, as long as I didn’t leave the grounds of his home. I had no doubt Sam and Neil wouldn’t be too far away from me, no matter where I went.
I decided to take a walk around the massive mansion. It was two stories high and the whole back of the house, including the pool, overlooked Sydney Harbour. It was truly breathtaking. Inside the house there were five large bedrooms, all with ensuites, and there were another two bathrooms downstairs. The bedrooms took up the entire top floor. On the bottom floor there was a large kitchen, dining room, two lounge rooms, a media room and what I guessed was Nathan’s study. After I had a look around, I went back up to Nathan’s room and finding a landline, I decided to ring my brother. Nathan never said I couldn’t call Liam.
“Oh Rosie, I’ve been so worried. Are you alright? Has he hurt you?” Liam’s words came out in one long jumble.
“I’m fine, Liam, really. Nathan has a beautiful home,” I reassured him. I was here indefinitely, there was no point upsetting him with all the little details.
“He hasn’t hurt you, has he? Just forget this, Rosie, and come home. I can deal with whatever he does to me. I deserve it.”
“You do deserve it, but I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for Charlotte and the baby. Charlotte’s been through so much, she needs you and so does that child. You need to step up and beat this, Liam, you’re going to be a father. The gambling has to stop.”
Liam sighed and I could hear the shame heavy in his voice. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m never gambling again, I promise.”
Sadly, I didn’t believe him.
“When does Charlotte come home?”
“Tomorrow.”
I could hear someone coming up the stairs. “I have to go. I’ll speak to you soon.”
I quietly placed the phone back in the cradle just as Nathan opened the bedroom door.
“Were you just on the phone?” Nathan asked, a deep frown forming on his face.
I decided that it wasn’t a good idea to lie to him. “Yes. I rang Liam.”
“Why?” he demanded, his eyes darkening.
“Because he is my brother and I knew he’d be worried about me.”
Nathan scoffed. “Really? If he’s that worried about you, why are you here?”
“It was my choice to be here, not his.”
“But tell me, Rose, why are you here? Why take the fall for him? Maybe it would help your brother if you didn’t help him.”
“Let him learn from his mistakes?” I bit out. “What about Charlotte? She suffers too.” Just saying her name broke my heart.
“Maybe it would be good for her as well. She’d learn the consequences and leave him,” he said with no compassion.
“Liam’s not a bad person, Nathan. He has a problem, an addiction, I know that. But I’m not going to let it break up their marriage. They love each other.”
Nathan laughed a dry laugh. “Love? What’s that? If he loved her, he’d stop gambling, simple.”
