Page 71 of The Suit

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

I lifted Bell, cradling her as I dried the water from her face, then peered around Rafe to get a glimpse of whatever had caused the tidal-wave. Only he wasn’t there. He was back in the pool and dragging an individual who was laughing so loudly, with his mouth wide open, I genuinely worried he might drown from swallowing all the water. Rafe got out, then heaved the hapless individual after him to stand in front of me.

“Apologize,” he ordered using a tone even I wouldn’t mess with,

“Raffy, come on, it was a bit of fun.”

“Fucking apologize,” he growled. “Then when you’re done here, you apologize to Penn, then Murray and Kit.”

“Bro, they were already in the water.”

“Bell wasn’t, and considering you haven’t seen Murray since Bell was born, this isn’t the best introduction.” Given that he looked exactly as Rafe had done at school, his body the blank canvas that Rafe’s used to be, I had to assume that this was his brother. Rafe’s massive shoulders dropped slightly, and the edge to his tone disappeared. “Rory, what the fuck? I said you could come if you behaved. This is not behaving. This is being fucking annoying.”

“You said this wasn’t a weekend for partying, not a weekend attended exclusively by fun sponges,” he grumbled.

“You could have just walked in like a normal person, and said ‘hi’,” Rafe sighed, and I could see he was already close to giving up the fight. I made a mental note to find Rory later and ask him to give me tips on how to get Rafe to cave so quickly.

“Where’s the excitement in that?” His smirk was so cocky and self-assured, safe in the knowledge that Rafe was never going to stay mad at him, and it made me miss Jackson so much that the ache in my chest was visceral. Then Rory turned to me, his head cocked to one side. “You look familiar.”

Rafe tensed next to him. “No, she doesn’t,”

“Yes, she does.”

Cynthia had said that too, even in the daze of pulling up to this compound and staring out at the ocean I remembered that same, slightly confused look she’d given me. If either of them had seen a picture there was only one I knew existed and I took a wild stab in the dark…

“You probably recognize me from Rafe’s dartboard.”

Rory snapped his fingers, while Rafe had the decency to look marginally guilty, “Fuck, yes! The one in the den.”

“The den?”

“Yeah,” He pointed up at the house, “We always used to play when we came up here…”

“That’s enough,” Rafe snapped, just as Murray and Kit walked over.

“Causing trouble already I see,” drawled Murray, before he slapped Rory on the back.

I expected Rory to retort in the same way he had with his brother, but to my surprise his face fell and he met Murray’s gaze with something that looked like remorse. “Hey, man, I’m so sorry I haven’t called you. I should have.”

Murray’s eyes narrowed at him, before he tugged him into an embrace, “Don’t worry about it. Look at what came out of it.” He turned to me, still holding Bell protectively to my chest. “Think you could give me my daughter back, please?”

“Oh, yes, sure…” I lifted her up for Murray to take.

“She’s beautiful.” Rory stroked her cheek with more gentleness than I’d have thought he was capable of based on the nine minutes I’d been in his company.

“She is,” Murray agreed.

The moment was broken by a loud clap coming from Rafe, “Right, I’m fucking starving. Let’s go and eat. Pennington!” he called over to Penn who’d covered himself in a towel and gone back to sleep. “It’s brunch! Get up.”

There was an indecipherable grunt but eventually Penn rose, rubbed his eyes and wandered over to us. He took one look at Rory, then shoved him hard into the pool, where he fell with a splash, though nothing on the one he’d made himself.

Kit glanced over to me while the three boys bent over double with laughter at the look on Rory’s face as he emerged from underwater. “This is why I’m glad you’re here.”

I smiled at her, not wanting to set myself off crying again, and unable to find the words to express what I was feeling, how being here was making me feel; a swirling vortex of emotions I’d shut out for a long, long time.

Rory jumped out of the pool, and we all wandered up the path to the house. Penn was now carrying Bell, Murray and Kit were at the front, and I hadn’t failed to notice how Murray touched Kit at any given opportunity. Right now his arm was slung around her shoulder as he kissed her head. It was so sweet and innocuous, and it made my chest feel like it was about to cave in on itself. I startled as a warm hand found mine and Rafe pulled me back from the rest of group, until we were standing still.

I’d never allowed myself the opportunity to look into his eyes like I was now, so I’d never noticed how deep the blue was, how filled with earnest they were, like they could see through to my soul and the lies I was holding there.

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