Page 43 of Thrown

“Your dad can’t seriously be thinking about selling Hawthorne House immediately, can he?” Nate asked as Rebecca walked Robbie down the length of the table.

Robbie met Toby’s eyes, and for a moment, the rest of the room disappeared and all that was left was the hot, pulsing sensations Robbie had felt when it was just the two of them in the hotel room. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could have Toby whenever he wanted him. But he could have Keith now, too.

“I’m seriously thinking about it,” Dad said in a raised voice as he and Rhys entered the room, snapping the moment between Robbie and Toby. Robbie twisted to face him. “But thinking about it isallI’m doing right now.”

“I can’t believe Mr. Duckworth tried to get Dad to sign something on the spot,” Rhys said, looking beyond irritated. “That smacks of desperation to me.”

“I thought so, too,” Robbie said, sense and focus returning to him. “Don’t contracts like that usually take weeks to work out with multiple layers of lawyers looking them over?”

He turned back to Toby.

“They do,” Toby said.

He paused, his face pinching slightly, like he was dealing with some sort of internal struggle. Robbie wondered if it had anything to do with the conversation Toby and Duckworth hadhad in the hall outside the ceramics studio. Whatever it was, it had Toby’s eyes filled with far more emotion than Robbie would have expected to see in an impartial efficiency expert come to assess an estate’s potential value.

Again, Robbie thought of the paracetamol and the note Toby had left for him in the hotel the morning before.

“I’m eager to hear more about this offer from Silver Productions,” Dad said, gesturing for everyone to have a seat at the end of the table as he pulled out his mobile phone and started dialing.

“It wasn’t so much an offer as an expression of interest,” Toby said, taking a seat at Dad’s right-hand, where Rafe usually sat.

A moment later, Dad smiled and said, “Janice, good morning, sweetheart.”

Silly though it was, Robbie breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, knowing his dad had just called his mum.

“I’m going to put you on speaker so you can take part in this meeting,” his dad went on.

He tapped a button, and his mum’s crisp, bright voice came through with, “…quickly, because I’m not certain this cell service is entirely reliable.”

“Hello, Mum,” Rebecca called out, waving at the phone, which made Robbie want to laugh.

“Morning, Rebecca dear,” Mum’s voice sounded. “Who else is there?”

“Rhys, Robbie, Nally, and Nate,” Rebecca said.

“Oh! That’s nearly everyone,” Mum said. “Morning, all. I trust you’re getting into the appropriate amount of trouble without me?”

“Of course,” Nally answered with a fond grin. “But we wish you were home.”

“I will be next month,” Mum said, which, again, put Robbie more at ease.

“We can chit-chat later,” Dad said. “Right now, Toby Tillman is here to tell us how we can save the estate from falling into the hands of Willoughby Entertainment Group.”

“You’re not actually considering their offer, are you Robert?” Mum asked.

“I don’t want to,” Dad said, “but two hundred and fifty million pounds isn’t a sum you can just turn your nose up at.”

“We don’t need to be millionaires,” Rhys agreed. “We just need to keep the place in the black.”

“And I think Silver Productions could be one facet of a plan to do that,” Toby said. “With your permission, Mrs. Hawthorne,” he said, speaking up for the cell phone.

Robbie grinned and even flushed a bit at the easy, teasing way Toby spoke, almost like he was one of the family.

“You don’t need my permission,” Mum said. “And call me Janice.”

“Right,” Toby said, clapping his hands together. He looked straight at Robbie, which had a bolt of excitement coursing from Robbie’s heart to his balls. “It’s not a quick and easy solution, but Aaron Powter from Silver Productions has expressed interest in taking a look at Hawthorne House, specifically the grounds, to see if it would be a suitable place for filming.”

“For filming what?” Mum asked.

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