Page 71 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck
Drest’s gaze whipped back to me, and my breath caught. He was staring at me like I was the single most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He hurried toward me and eased the tray from my hands. His fingers skimmed mine in the process, lingering there a moment before he stepped away with the tray. He carried it into the sitting room.
I followed, one hand on my stomach, the other on my low back.
Drest’s friend brought up the rear, following me into the sitting room. The man kept stealing glances at me and my stomach as if I might bite.
“Rachael, you didn’t need to go to all this trouble,” said Drest, his tone even.
“It’s no trouble,” I responded, wanting to hug him. “It’s been a while since I last saw you. I mean, since you paid us a visit to check in on things.”
Speaking in code in front of his friend wasn’t my idea of fun, but I wasn’t sure how much, if anything, the other man knew about us.
Drest watched me closely, still holding the tray of tea. “I haven’t been able to get away. Iwantedto. Things have been busy at work.”
An awkward silence filled the room. Drest jerked slightly and then set the serving tray on the side table, opening the leaf to it shortly thereafter.
His friend stared at my stomach more, his eyes growing wider, making me wonder if he’d ever seen a pregnant woman before or if I was his first.
I was about to ask as much when the man finally stopped staring at me and turned his attention to the piano room. As he walked into the other room, I found myself locking gazes with Drest again.
Hormones got the better of me, and I started to tear up.
Drest tensed and mouthed, “I love you” while his friend’s back was to us.
I barely managed to control my emotions, mouthing it back to him.
Drest closed the distance between us and skimmed his hand over my arm, leaning in close as he did. For a second, I thought he was going to try to kiss me. When his friend pivoted and returned to the sitting room, Drest stood up straight.
His buddy went into the foyer, and Drest lifted a brow before following him.
“What is it?” asked Drest.
The other man nodded to the basement door. “Where does that go?”
I walked out behind them and swallowed hard, knowing deep down that my brother was in the basement doing something he shouldn’t. I just couldn’t seem to bring myself to say the words. Once I did, he’d be lost to me forever. Unlike Nile, I cared about what happened to Henry.
“The basement,” Drest said. “What are you picking up on?”
“I don’t know,” replied the other man. “But something isn’t right. The sensation is similar to what I get when I’m near a cemetery. Is there one close to here?”
I thought for sure I’d be sick. All I could think of was body parts being hung from the ceiling. That image had been burned into my brain for years now. Did Henry have that down there now too?
“Down the road,” said Drest. “Far enough that you shouldn’t be feeling it.”
“Are you getting anything?” asked the man, staring harder at Drest.
“No, but I’ve not been operating at full strength for some time,” said Drest.
What did he mean by that?
I waited for Drest to elaborate, but he didn’t. He just stared at me.
“Leave it be,” he said. “We can discuss it later.”
I wasn’t sure which of us Drest was speaking to.
“Something tells me we should have talked about it months ago,” added the other man with a grunt.
Additional bangs and loud noises came from below.
