Page 134 of False God

Another voice joins our conversation before I have to answer. I assumed his ownership was common knowledge, but I guess not.

“Why am I not surprised you two are hiding out here?” Oliver Kensington approaches, yanking his tie so it loosens a little.

“Relaxing,” Crew corrects. “Not hiding.”

“Stargazing really,” Asher adds.

They knock fists.

Oliver rolls his eyes, then turns to me and sticks out a hand. “Oliver Kensington.”

“Charles Marlborough,” I reply.

“Nice to meet you, Charles.”

We shake hands.

Oliver bears a striking resemblance to Crew—strong genes in this family—but his demeanor couldn’t be more different. His mannerisms remind me of my father actually. Nonplussed and assured, but a little uptight.

“Charles?”

I glance to the left, my jaw tightening when I see my mother standing a few feet away.

“Excuse me,” I say to Oliver.

He nods, then turns to talk with Crew and Asher.

I walk toward Georgia, who’s wearing a floor-length gown and a diamond necklace. Her hand is looped in Derek’s elbow.

“Hello … Mum.”

I’m never sure what to call her to her face. Mum seems too warm. Georgia too cold.

“Charles,” she repeats. “What are you doing here?”

“I was invited.” I give her the same answer I offered Lili and hate the comparison.

One woman means a lot more to me than the other, and it isn’t the one standing in front of me.

“Oh. You—I didn’t know you were in town.”

“It was last minute,” I answer.

I wait for her to ask more questions. But she doesn’t. She doesn’t bring up Blythe either.

Georgia simply stares, like she doesn’t know what else to say to me.

Maybe she doesn’t. We’re so far from a traditional mother-son relationship; it’s almost laughable.

“All’s well in England?” Derek, surprisingly, is the one who speaks next.

“It’s fine,” I tell him. “Enjoy the rest of your evening,” I say to them both.

Then, I head for the doors, having had my fill of the balcony.

My mom doesn’t try to stop me, and I resolve to stop trying with her.

32

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