AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Was it that obvious?” I laugh as we turn the corner of the house. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and the breeze immediately blows it across my cheek again. I tuck it behind my ear again. “It’s just, you have this Charlie Hunnam thing going on. My best friend, Liv, is kind of obsessed.”
“Really? Tell me more about Liv. She sounds very interesting.” He grins, and I throw my head back with a laugh.
“She’s going to come visit. You can ask her whatever you want to know.”
The two of us continue chatting about the house and the gardens, and David tells me about his older brother who he runs his landscaping business with. By the time he’s done drinking his soda and gone back to tidy up his tools, it’s almost time for dinner, so I decide to head back into the main house to freshen up.
A loud voice hits me the moment I step inside. It’s coming from Magnus’s office. In order to reach the bottom of the main staircase, I need to walk right past. My feet pause on the stone tiles as the voice scoffs.
“She drinks it straight from the carton like an uncivilized delinquent.”
“Can’t stand the stuff,” another voice I recognize as Magnus’s chuckles.
“It’s poor manners. Someone else might want to drink it. She leaves her berry-flavored lipstick all over the rim.”
Berry flavored.
“Who else would want to drink it?” Magnus asks.
“Me!” Jet’s voice pitches and goosebumps scatter up my spine at how incensed he sounds over a little bit of juice.
“You hate the stuff, said it makes you feel sick,” Magnus replies.
I lean a little closer, straining to hear Jet’s response, but it’s a deep mutter of something I can’t make out.
“She should use a glass,” he grits, his voice gaining power again. “Even if no one else likes it, it’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point, Son? Because as far as I can tell, you’ve come stomping in here like your ass is on fire, and so far, all you’ve talked about is juice. I thought you’d come to fill me in on your talk with Hayden?”
“I just don’t see why you’re so enamored with her. You know nothing about her.”
“I know exactly who she is. She’s William’s granddaughter.”
The breezy tone of Magnus’s response, like it explains everything, seems to rile Jet up further and there’s a thud that sounds like a hand slamming down against a desk.
“Are you screwing her?”
The venom in Jet’s tone makes me flinch.
“What?”
“Is that why she’s here making herself comfortable? Turning the pool house into her home office?”
“Of course not!” Magnus mirrors Jet’s volume for the first time.
I should leave. This isn’t for me to hear. But to get upstairs, I run the risk of them seeing me as I pass the door.
I hover, scanning the hallway for another route but come up empty.
“How dare you even suggest that… There’s not been anyone since…” Magnus chokes on a sob before clearing his throat. The sound is weighted with something that makes my heart clench.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean…” The remorse in Jet’s voice is just as tough to listen to. It sinks into my skin and scrapes over my bones. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”
“Jesus Christ,” Magnus mutters. “Listen, Son. We’re all feeling this. We’re all fucking stressed. We can’t go firing off at each other at the first sign of trouble. We’re in this together. You might be across the pond, but Atlantic Airways is one family, always has been.”
Heavy silence stretches out before Jet says, “This is all my fault. I need to be the one who fixes it.”
“You couldn’t have seen it coming. We’ll deal with it together. Now… what do you need?”
