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“How’d he die?”
“Brain tumor.”
“I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible.”
“It was,” I say hoarsely and clear my throat.
Bryan is a sacred subject to me, so I’m relieved when she changes the subject by asking where I grew up.
“Dayton,” I say. “You?” I add belatedly.
“We were all in boarding schools with some exchange programs. Our parents wanted us to be culturally literate, so we’ve all done multiple continents. Well, Ash kept getting expelled so wound up doing most of his high school years here in Columbus at the public school. If he’d gotten kicked out of that last option, he’d have landed himself in a military school known for being rather… brutal. We all know he was bribing the public school’s principal to overlook his shenanigans so that wouldn’t happen. Technically we all grew up here between semesters, though. Have you met any of the others? Did Derek give you the lowdown?”
“No and no,” I reply.
“So, there’s Elijah, our oldest brother. He’s married. None of us has any kids yet. Lord help whoever is the first to make our mother a grandmother. She could have a coronary when it happens.” She snickers. “Then there was Thad born next. He… you don’t need the gory details. He was very temperamental. Classic narcissist. Development delays but coddled by his nanny and our mother and then… yeah, no point going into detail. Anyway, then Derek here before Jonah. Jonah’s single. Asher is single. Nay is married. Ash and Naomi are fraternal twins, but they don’t get along. In fact they pretend one another doesn’t exist. Then there’s little ole me.”
“And you’re single, I take it?” I ask, just to keep the conversation going.
“I am,” she says wistfully and then lets out a dramatic sigh.
I look down as I feel Derek taking my hand again.
I try to pull it away, but his grip tightens. The vibe he’s giving is so sexually charged, it makes the contents of my belly take a dive.
“It’ll just be all of you with your parents today then?” I ask over my shoulder. “Or other relatives as well?”
“I don’t think Eli’s wife will come. They’re having … issues. And she and our mother don’t exactly see eye to eye so she avoids Steele family things whenever she can. Nay’s husband loves being a Steele spectator and would typically come, but Joshua is a neurosurgeon and she said he had a big surgery, so he won’t be there. You’ll meet him at the bigger party, I’m sure. And that’s where you’ll meet the rest of the Steele clan. Cousins. Uncles. Aunts. So forth. There are a lot of us.”
Great. All these people today and me the only outsider.
“The big party next weekend will be all sorts of family and friends, a lot of business associates and A-listers. It’ll be a bash. We’ll get drunk then, too.”
Not if I can find my way out of this situation by then.
Grace adds, “By the way, our mom will give you a whole talk about dealing with the media. Any new love interest gets the speech. Don’t let it scare you. I mean, it’s a serious thing so do take what she says seriously but don’t let it scare you. She can be dramatic.”
We pull up to an impressive estate behind gates that open with a remote Derek has on his visor. I’m about to ask why there is a valet if there are only immediate family members expected, and those family members have remotes to get in, but don’t bother. It’s not like I’m truly interested in the family dynamics anyway. My goal is to figure out who to talk to and go from there.
After a valet takes Derek’s car, we’re greeted by a smiling man opening the front door and guiding us inside. I quickly realize that wealth at this level is not something I’m accustomed to.
“Carson,” Derek greets the man who welcomes us in.
“Mr. Steele,” the man greets, then his face warms as he looks at Grace. “Miss Steele. Lovely as always.”
She kisses his cheek with a flourish.
“This is Chloe Turner,” Derek says. “Chloe, my parents’ estate manager, Devlin Carson. He oversees a whole lot of day-to-day including all their residential properties.”
“Miss Turner,” the man of upper sixties, perhaps, greets. He’s tall, slender, and wearing a stylish suit. He has a head of thick, white hair but a dark mustache and a mostly white beard. His smile is almost disarming, and I find myself attempting to stammer something polite in return as he takes our coats and hands them off to an older woman in white blouse and black dress pants.
“Are we the first to arrive, Carson?” Grace asks.
“You’re the final guests to arrive, Miss Steele. Your family waits in the solarium where brunch will be served. Follow me.” He walks ahead of us, leading the way as if Grace and Derek don’t know where this solarium is in their parents’ house.
This place is practically dripping with money. Beautiful art adorns the cream walls of the foyer. There are gold and red accents everywhere. It feels palatial. And while I can appreciate the incredible architectural details and how the rugs from the front door to where we’ve walked to alone probably cost more than the house I bought with Adam, it’s also a kind of disgusting display of wealth. It feels like we’re being led toward royalty as we stroll past expensive sculptures along art-lined halls.
“This is the original homestead,” Grace cheerily advises as if it’s got a homey feel instead of a museum-feel. “Bought for them by my grandfather when they got married. They have six other residences in various places. Daddy went from rich to disgustingly rich, but wanted to maintain this as home base. We grew up here and this is where we spent most of our time when we weren’t in school.”
