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My eyes flitted toward the living room regardless of my determination to keep my focus on the dining room straight ahead.
Head down, Drake fiddled with his T-shirt. His hair had grown out a bit since high school, and a neatly trimmed beard lined his strong jaw. The arms that used to hold me tenderly appeared to have doubled in size, his wide shoulders even more broad and muscular. The man was a beast—and a sexy one at that.
Blood pooled in my groin, drying my mouth.
Same as always, Drake wore jeans that looked worn and soft as butter. He was no longer of an age that Jacqueline could demand he dress properly for dinner.
Shaking internally, I bit back a satisfied smirk to find him unchanged at least in that way and quickly glanced away before he noticed my stare.
Devlin seated Jacqueline, but before I could pull out my chair, warmth cradled my entire backside.
My breath caught, and I froze as Drake placed a hand on my lower back and did it for me the same as Devlin had for Jacqueline.
“Good to see you, kid.” Drake’s low voice caressed over my skin like a sweet kiss, leaving goose bumps in its wake.
“You too,” I whispered rather than arguing his nickname. Unable to help myself, I fell into my chair and watched him round behind Devlin to sit across from me.
Our gazes caught, the flower arrangement low enough it didn’t impede our line of sight.
Drake shuttered his blue eyes with a maturity he’d lacked as a teenager. Or maybe he no longer had the feelings for me he definitely had when we were younger. I’d felt the evidence of his desire that last night he’d been in my bed.
Perhaps I had been right all along and had only been dreaming his comforting arms when I’d been heartbroken over his imminent departure the following day.
Drake’s face remained unreadable, closed off and obvious in his disinterest for more when it came to me.
Swallowing hard at the thickness wanting to shut down my throat, I glanced at Jacqueline.
Her lips still pressed in a thin line as she glanced between us.
Fuck me, I had to keep my eyes off Drake before she learned the truth about my sexual orientation and who my heart longed for.
She shook out her linen napkin and lay it over her lap, glaring the entire time. “The board has settled on the new CEO, since you’re unable to take your rightful place, Preston.”
Disappointment coated her words, and I barely managed to keep from sinking deeper in my chair from the wish to disappear beneath the floorboards. “I’m glad to hear it.” I managed to strangle some words out.
“Your second cousin Frederick hardly qualifies to occupy the seat meant for a Casswell. He’s just as fragile and timid as you are.” She sniffed with a haughty glance around the table as though looking for support.
Both Hemmings men knew better than to offer a comment.
Doing the same, I simply listened to Jacqueline drone on about family and responsibilities as a woman dressed in black served our meal. I didn’t taste the scallops or risotto. Barely sipped at the sharp white wine in my glass.
Awareness of a silent Drake kept my nerves on edge and my heart in my throat, making eating difficult.
Why had he accepted the invitation to dinner when Jacqueline had told me he’d brushed off countless ones in the previous six years?
Jacqueline soon answered that question by offering Drake a job in the family business, since her other son didn’t have what it took to properly represent the family.
I couldn’t find it in myself to care she did so with the intent to hurt me. I focused on the fact she’d in a roundabout way called him her son, something she’d never done in the years since Devlin and Drake had come into our lives.
Risking a glance over at Drake, I found him pale, muscle ticking in his jaw. Blue fire raged in his eyes.
Breath once more held, I waited for him to finally lay into her, to give her a piece of his mind as he’d often told me he’d wanted to do.
He opened his mouth but hesitated when my cell played a Bach notification loud as fuck.
Heat rushed through me, flushing my face, and I pulled my phone from my pocket to glance at the screen.
“Preston!” Jacqueline admonished, but I tapped on the text regardless of her displeasure. “You know better!”
