Page 92 of Dead Serious with Benefits
“I wish either of my biological sons had taken after me,” Matilda quipped as she took a drink and set it back down with a smile. “Sadly, only my daughter ended up with my sensible traits.”
“Warden mentioned that you had a few children,” she said as if there weren’t more than a few. “And that only half of them were yours.”
“Oh, all of them are mine. At least as much as they want to claim me,” Matilda chuckled. “Mason, Moira, and Milo are mine by blood, but I knew Dominic since my late friend gave birth to him. Arlo and Elijah might have come to me later in their lives, but they’re just as much mine as the rest.”
“Matilda has never made any distinction between the kids she thinks of as hers and those born to her,” I explained with a fond smile. “And Marcus has treated us as his own as well.”
“I notice you call her by her given name,” Amelia said as she watched me.
“She is Mother to me, but I have always fallen back on calling her by her first name,” I said carefully, knowing I was walking a thin line over a deep abyss regarding the subject. “I still refer to her as my mother when speaking to others; I don’t want anyone to think otherwise.”
“That’s always been the way Arlo is,” Matilda said, giving me a little wink. “I’m not his first mother, but I hope to be the last.”
“I see,” Amelia said, her eyes still on me, the corners scrunching up when Ward cleared his throat softly. “Well, that is quite sweet. I can see how you managed to raise six children; you have the patience, understanding, and love. You would have to, I imagine, with all those children and a business to run.”
“It got easier when they grew older,” Matilda said, glancing at Marcus. “And with this one to help, it became a lot easier. Not easy, mind you. Trying to keep Mason out of trouble and prevent Milo from killing himself proved to be a second full-time job.”
“Oh yes, there is nothing quite like a son to teach you a few lessons,” Amelia said before taking a drink.
“And nothing like a mother to help prepare you for the life ahead,” Ward added.
Marcus glanced sidelong at me, and I smiled as he looked between mother and son. When he looked back at me, I picked up my drink and took a larger sip than normal. Alcohol wasn’t going to solve the problems at the table, but perhaps a little buzz might make it easier to bear. These two could not help taking small jabs at one another. A glance to my right showed Marcus smirking into his glass before he took a deep drink.
Another set of footsteps drew our attention as Ward’s father walked in, dressed in a suit and a tired look around his eyes. He smiled when he saw everyone. “Good evening. I apologize for the delay; I lost track of time.”
“Come and sit down, Eric,” Amelia said in a cool voice. “We’ve started the drinks, but I’m sure you can find your way to the bar to get one. The food should start coming out soon.”
“Of course,” he said, his smile faltering slightly, but he didn’t waste a second heading toward the room Amelia had disappeared into when we’d first arrived.
When he returned, Matilda didn’t miss a beat. “I’ve been told you’re the reason for the house’s decor. I must say that it’s absolutely beautiful. Your hard work has paid off perfectly, if you ask me.”
Eric looked a little surprised as he sat beside his wife. “Oh, well, thank you. It’s a rather expensive hobby, but it passes the time.”
“Well, it was time well spent if you ask me. Ward was telling me you also have a conservatory on the grounds?”
“I...we do,” he said, and I watched his gaze flicker toward his wife when he corrected himself. “It’s a hobby I picked up from my mother, who had quite the green thumb. I’ve had to work harder than she ever did, but it’s lovely out there.”
“I wouldloveto see it,” she said earnestly. “The city has one, of course, but seeing a private one would be a special treat.”
“If there’s time after dinner,” Amelia said. I felt an internal twitch of displeasure when I saw the way Eric and Matilda deflated slightly at the obvious tone of dismissal.
“She fights with every inch of her being to keep plants alive to...uh, not so great effect,” I admitted to Eric with a smile. “But she loves to see other people’s work.”
I glanced at Ward, who hadn’t been watching his mother for once but his father, with a slight frown. I didn’t know enough about their relationship, save that they barely had one. The few times he’d mentioned his father, I felt he was neither fond nor unhappy with him, but simply ambivalent. If anything, I hadbeen struck by the feeling that he was almost dismissive of his father.
And while I didn’t think it was fair, I could see why Ward might come to that conclusion. Obviously, they were not a power couple sitting at the table with us, or a marriage of loving equals as with Marcus and Matilda. Amelia dominated their relationship in all aspects. Even a chance for her rather meek husband to shine under someone else’s attention has been quashed in a heartbeat, ground under her expensive heel as if it were a particularly irritating bug.
The first round of food arrived on a cart pushed by the same small woman as before. She ducked her head as she served the soup and then the salad to Amelia and Eric. She looked up when Matilda thanked her for the food, but to me and Marcus, she kept her eyes averted. She managed a small smile when Ward thanked her by name, but was back to her quiet self when she wheeled the cart out of the room.
“So, the two of you are together now?” Eric asked as he waited for Amelia to poke her fork into the greens on her plate. “I mean in a more official sense.”
Ward and I glanced at one another; the subject hadn’t been one that we’d discussed fully. His eyes searched mine for a minute before smirking. “I suppose you could say that, yes.”
“You suppose?” Amelia asked once she had chewed and swallowed. “I thought you were being more...dedicated this time.”
“We’re taking things as they come,” I said before Ward could bite out a response. “We’ve both discussed our situation enough to know that we’re interested in one another, and only each other. But we haven’t put any title or label on things yet.”
“Yet? So it’s inevitable.”
