Page 84 of Legally Mine

Chapter 19

The week passed uneventfully, with class in the morning and afternoons spent studying. Brandon was traveling for most of it, and other than a few study sessions with Jared, Eric and I mostly kept to our rooms to focus on a particularly difficult section of our class. By the time the weekend rolled around, I was more than ready for a reprieve.

Just as Eric and I walked through the door on Friday evening after spending the afternoon studying at Jared's apartment, my cell phone buzzed in my messenger bag. I pulled it out and frowned at an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?" I answered.

Eric walked into the kitchen to get a drink.

"Skylar? My goodness, darling, is that really you?"

The voice was friendly, female, and also made my skin crackle.

"Skylar?" she asked again. "It's Janette. Are you there, darling?"

The buzzer to the front door cut through the room. I turned to Eric, who was nursing a beer. I nodded my head at the door, and covered the receiver end of the phone.

"It's Brandon. Can you buzz him in, please? I have to take this."

Eric grumbled unintelligibly to himself, but nonetheless trudged over to answer the buzzer. I didn't blame him; I hadn't even met the partners at Kiefer Knightly yet, but I certainly wouldn't be thrilled if they were sleeping over every weekend.

"Thank you," I mouthed, trying to look appropriately apologetic.

Eric nodded, and I took a seat at our small kitchen table.

"Janette?" I said. "Sorry about that. You still there?"

"Yes, darling, I'm here. How are you? You sound absolutely marvelous."

"Um, I'm fine." I stared at the lacquered wood tabletop. My mother was the kind of person who acted like she was your best friend in the world when she actually took the time to speak to you. The rest of the time, you didn't exist. It didn't matter if you'd known her for years. It didn't matter if you were her blood.

"Did you receive your graduation gift? I picked it out myself. Well, a man from a piano shop in Boston did, but I spoke to him myself about it."

This was also typical Janette: assuming accolades for normal actions that most people would just do without a single thought. I didn't know what she wanted me to say. Making a phone call didn't make her a saint, and especially not after being largely absent for most of my life.

"Yes, I got it," I said. "It was definitely a surprise."

"I'm glad you liked it!" Janette exclaimed, despite the fact that I'd said no such thing.

I mean, it was certainly a nice piano and all, but aside from the fact that I'd barely be able to play it between studying and respecting the noise restrictions of an apartment building, there was also the awkwardness of receiving an extravagant gift from someone who barely knew me.

The apartment door opened, and another person with a penchant for extravagant and at times inappropriate gifts strode in, stern until he found me, at which point I was rewarded with an ear-splitting grin that raised the wattage of the room by at least ten points.

Janette continued to gab about the piano, but I barely listened, happy instead to ogle Brandon. He had clearly come from work, still dressed in the remnants of a summer suit: light gray pants and a starched white dress shirt, a dark red tie loosened around an unbuttoned collar. He tossed his jacket and briefcase on the couch and made a beeline toward me.

"Hey beautiful," he whispered as he engulfed me from behind.

His nose and mouth unerringly found that sensitive spot just below my ear, and I arched against him while Janette continued her chatter.

"So what do you think, darling?" Janette was asking.

"Hmm? What’s that?" I murmured, closing my eyes as Brandon's tongue touched my earlobe.

"In two weeks. The Cape. I'd love for you to meet Annabelle and Christoph."

"Um, yeah. I'll think about it," I said, half-dreaming as Brandon pushed my hair off my other shoulder and resumed his work on the other side. Honestly, I should have known better than to have any conversation while under the spell of Brandon's deft touch.

"And tomorrow sounds good for dinner?"

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