Page 9 of My Favorite Sin

I grab Ally’s luggage from my trunk and carry it to the front door, by which time Amabella has her daughter wrapped in a hug.

“Sweetheart.” Amabella wipes the tears of joy from her eyes. “My goodness, look at you. So beautiful. I’ve missed you so much.”

Dad really did get lucky landing Amabella as a wife. He’s in his early fifties. She’s still in her thirties and is stunningly beautiful like her daughter. Long, blond hair, and always dresses in designer labels. Even with all the hardship she’s been through—a teen mom and losing Ally’s father to sickness when Ally was only a baby, then the physical abuse from her next partner—she still had the courage to open her heart to my father, along with all four of his sons.

“Dan, you’re not escaping a hug.” She lets go of Ally and draws me into her arms. “Come here, darling.”

“It’s good to see you again,” I tell her, and it’s the truth.

She’s the only mother figure I’ve ever known and has always been good to me. Too good, considering what I’ve done with her daughter. The whole family is under the impression that Ally and I are just really close friends and I’m a protective older brother due to the bullying and social struggles she’s dealt with. Fuck. If only they knew. I’d lose any credibility I have with Amabella. She’s a big part of the reason why I never took things further with Ally.

“Please tell me we’ll be seeing more of you now that Ally is back from Paris,” she says.

Before I can answer, the front door opens and my father steps out, all smiles for Ally. My jaw works, tensing at his presence. The sight of him in his casual attire, willowy cotton shirt and long pants, takes me a moment to adjust to. I’m used to the city version of Josh Blackwood. The version of him that’s always in the media. Business suits every day of the year and gelled, black hair.

“Ally, I thought I heard your voice.” He tucks Ally beneath one arm. Beneath the other, Dad draws Amabella into a group hug. I stand on the outskirts of the reunion, observing this happy family I’ve never fit into.

Felix was only five when Mom died giving birth to me, but he tells stories from that time and the following years, of how distraught our father was over her death. Understandably so, but his coping mechanism was the issue. Our father threw himself into work, focusing on his hotel development projects that brought in the big money, and hired full-time staff to take care of me and my three brothers. Maybe he thought the best way to be a father was to give us financial stability, opportunities, and an education. He did give us all those things, but at the cost of no relationship with his sons.

Most of my childhood memories of my father are of seeing him on TV in a press conference or an image of him in the tabloids. He’d leave early in the morning and return late at night. Some days I wouldn’t see him at all.

I spent my early years trying to impress him with academics, believing I could earn his affection that way. He never seemed proud, so I stopped trying. I always got the sense I wasn’t good enough, and that every time he looked at me, he was reminded of my mother’s death.

He went through women like crazy. Never any girlfriends and he never brought them home to meet us. But I’d hear all about it in the media. When he started dating Amabella, he was suddenly a changed man. He was all about us being a family. He insisted we all spend quality time together and take family vacations. But the effort was too late for me and my brothers. The damage had been done. Tyler and Felix had already moved out of our home and were lucky enough to escape the forced family time. Killian and I were still finishing high school.

“Dan, join the family hug,” Amabella urges.

I force a smile. She tries to fix the tension between me and my father, but that’s a task she’s not capable of. “I’m fine where I am.”

Finally, after the initial reunion is over, my father steps back and looks at me for the first time. He offers me a firm nod. “Son. It’s good to see you. Thank you for dropping Ally off.”

“Actually, Dan is staying for dinner since he hasn’t seen you two in a while.”

My eyes dart to Ally as soon as she says the words. She sees the frustration in my eyes and responds with an innocent smile. The sweet girl act she loves to pull. It’s what makes me feral for this girl, knowing I’m the only one whosees the real Ally and that there’s nothing sweet and innocent about her. She knows what that smile does to me, and she has the nerve to use it on me right now. The fucking little brat.

“You’re staying, Dan? Excellent,” Amabella says. “I’ll add an extra place setting to the table.”

Staying for dinner hasn’t turned out to be such a bad idea. With all the focus on Ally as she retells her time in Paris, I’m barely a part of the conversation. Amabella’s cooking is delicious, and the beach views from where we’re dining on the back veranda are nice. The house is right on the water with every luxury you’d expect to find in a Hamptons mansion.

When Dad and Amabella started dating, we made proper use of this beach house for the first time and migrated here as a family every summer. Those vacations weren’t so bad, considering how massive this place is and the freedom we had. I basically never saw my father except at mealtimes. I was always doing something with Ally and my brothers, whether it be lounging around the pool, using the tennis courts, wandering the gardens and hedge maze, even playing secret games of poker in the library. The list of things we got up to was endless.

“Oh, Ally, honey, there’s something I need to ask of you.” Amabella finishes her meal, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “Forever Families has a benefit next Saturday night. I’d love if you could play a few songs on the piano as a little entertainment. Can I count you in?”

“Of course. I’ll happily perform. Where is the event held at?”

“Thank you, sweetie. Here in The Hamptons.”

Great. I guess I’m not seeing Ally next weekend if she’s busy up here.

“We really appreciate you playing at the benefit,” Dad tells Ally. “Since you’ve been gone, your mother has been suffering from empty-nest syndrome and has been pouring all her energy into Forever Families. It’s her new baby.”

“Yes, and my baby is thriving.” Amabella laughs, then switches her focus to me. “Dan, what have you been up to lately?”

I lean back in my chair, having finished my meal too. “Same old.” No point on elaborating. It won’t get me anywhere good.

The sound is quiet, but I swear my father scoffs in response. He swirls a glass of red wine and clasps his other hand with Amabella’s in the chair beside him. “Now that you’re back from Paris, Ally, your mother and I would like to organize a family lunch to officially welcome you home. Dan, I hope you’ll be here for it. Your brothers have confirmed. We’re planning on hosting it here in a couple of weekends once Daxton and Jordan have returned from a work trip.”

Daxton is Amabella’s cousin and one of Ally’s closest relationships. He helped raise Ally and took care of them both when he learned how bad things were with Amabella’s ex. Being a big name in hotel development, he also worked alongside my father, back before Dad decided to focus solely on Forever Families, which is how Amabella and Dad met. Jordan is Dax’s fiancée and also extremely close with Ally. I know she’d love to see both of them.

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