“Leaving you was the only way they’d let me go. You know what they were like, how they controlled everything. I had to grab my chance and run.”
I felt an unwelcome moment of empathy. I’d done the same thing, blindly escaping that stifling house and their vicious tongues and iron hands. But I’d been seventeen, alone, and I’d run with nothing. He’d been almost thirty and left with my mother’s inheritance and without me.Not the same thing.
“Don’t you want to meet your brother and sister?” he pressed on.
No. Maybe?“How old are they?”
“Annette is nineteen and Louis is twenty-two.”
I choked a laugh, because so much for needing my money to support his children. “You can tell them where I live. If they’re curious, they can contact me. But I’m not giving anyone money.” I was maybe lying. If my nineteen-year-old half-sister was in trouble, I’d probably help. But I’d put the cash in her hands, not Papa’s. “Good chat,” I added. “I hope I don’t see you around.”
“Wait!” Papa stepped into my path. “What am I supposed to live on? I always counted on that inheritance when my funds ran out. It should’ve come to me.”
I knew this was about the money.“There’s this thing people do to earn money. It’s called work. You might try it sometime.”
“I’m fifty-five with no employment history. No one’s hiring.”
Shane had been admirably silent at my side, though I’d felt him tensing as my father spoke. Now he said, “You could become an escort. You have a bit of that silver fox thing going on. Or maybe silver badger. Still, you’re probably someone’s type.”
“Anescort?” Papa stared at Shane.
“Yeah. Like, money for sex? It’s honest work, unlike grifting.”
Papa gritted his teeth. “Thibault, whoisthis person?”
I laughed, which was a blessing at that moment. “The man I love.” I realized I’d never said that to Shane before. What a crappy way to come out with those words. I ignored my father, turning my head to look at Shane. “I love you.”
He grinned at me. “Apparently. We’ll talk about your timing later.”
“Thibault!” Papa practically stamped his foot.
I slipped my arm off Shane and stepped toward my father, looking him in the eyes.Gray. Same color as mine. I’d forgotten.Didn’t matter, though, how many genes we had in common. “My name’s Theo. And we’re done. You spent the last two years trying to rob me, walked into that meeting to undermine my project, and then have the nerve to ask to get to know me? You can go back to France and dig ditches or whatever it takes to pay for your designer haircuts. Just stay the hell out of my life.” I whirled and strode off toward my car.
Shane jogged at my elbow. I heard Papa say something, but his words were lost in the pounding of my pulse in my ears.
At the car, Shane put a hand on my arm. “Want me to drive?”
“You don’t have a license yet.”
“You said I’m a good student, though.”
“Fuck, no.” I’d been teaching Shane in the parking lot of the venue. He still cut his corners too close. “Get in. I can drive.”
I headed back toward my place, my mind churning on autopilot till we were almost there. “Oh, sorry, I could take you to the venue. I assumed.”
“You assumed right.” Shane waved ahead. “Keep going.”
Thank God.I really didn’t want to be alone, not after my father, the meeting, the first time I said, “I love you,” to someone who meant the world to me. It also hadn’t escaped me that Shane didn’t say it back.
Foxy barked from inside as we pulled up. These days, we let her loose in the house when we were out, although we kept the puppies safe in their room behind a low gate. Their mom greeted us at the door, probing at our hands with her wet nose and tagging at our heels, in the hope we’d brought her treats. Behind the barrier, the puppies trundled over, squeaking and tail-wagging, still a bit wobbly in their excitement. My spirits lifted at the sight. “Hi, babies. Did you miss us?”
Shane laughed. “The wonders of furry love.”
I set my hands on Shane’s shoulders. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“All the handholding and?—”
