Page 5 of Thicker than Blood

“Won’t you join us, Cas?”

“Of course. I would love to.”

“Oh good! You can walk with Mae while I escort Maria.”

Her smile drops from her face, and she pales a little. I can understand given the bad impression I left her with of me last night. I take her hand from where it is lying on my grandfather’s arm and intertwine our fingers. She tries to pull her hand away, but I hold firm. As soon as my grandfather steps away, I am speaking, keeping us at the back of the entourage heading to the lake on the west end of the property.

“I want to apologize for what I said or did last night.”

“Where you drunk?”

“What? No.”

“High?”

“Oh, you think… no, I misread your relationship with my grandfather. I thought…”

“I know what you thought. I’m not stupid. You thought I was buttering up an older man because of his money and his short life, which is disgusting, by the way! You also thought because I was only after money, I would hop on your lap in a heartbeat so you could, and I quote, ‘be my sugar daddy’. Is that about right?”

She’s stiff and the tilt of her chin is so high she’s in danger of getting a nosebleed. And I love it! Every little sign of defiance just turns me on.

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t after his money.”

“By what? Seeing if I would go after yours?”

“Yes, actually. If you love my grandfather, I want to know it’s for more than his money or the security that he can provide you.”

She stops walking causing me to pull up hard before I start dragging her and turn to meet her stormy eyes. “You are a sad man if you think that is all there is to love. Or that the only love that exists is sexual. I have you know, I love Eddie because of who he is, not what he can do for me. And maybe if you were here more often…”

“Don’t tell me about my grandfather, little girl. It’s you who are naïve if you think this is something that doesn’t happen when you…”

“Because it happens to you all the time. How many, what are they called? Sugar babies? How many of them have you got in the city? Do they all know about each other, or do you try to keep just one at a time for simplicity's sake?”

“Are you two coming?” My grandfather has turned around and is taking the two of us in.

Not yet, but by the end of my visit, one of us will be.

Chapter Six

Maple

I break away from the ass as soon as I can and come up by Eddie’s side. I didn’t think his grandson could get any more odious, any lower, but he certainly did. And look at the hypocrite in the party! I’m one to talk to Caspian about love when I don’t know a damned thing about it myself. This man has probably had hundreds of women falling over themselves to satisfy his every sexual whim and here I am telling him about love.

I didn’t lie though. I do love Eddie for all he has done for me when he didn’t have to. I love him for who he is and the soul he has. Just not in the way his grandson thinks I do. There is nothing but daughterly affection towards Eddie and I know Eddie well enough that I can tell it’s the same on his side. He looks at me as a daughter to dote over and worry about, someone close to him he can give all that love to.

I wonder if it wasn’t me would Eddie do the same for any young lady? Eddie is like a father figure to me but maybe… maybe he’s just a really wonderful person and would treat any girl like he treats me. Which makes me not as special as I had felt before his grandson paid him a visit and started questioning everything and in so doing, making me question everything. Damn it!

“What’s on your mind, dear?”

“What?” Eddie is the one who pulls me out of my moroseness. “Oh, nothing. I was just…”

“Maybe she’s worried about her apartment, Gramps.”

My mouth falls open and I shoot the bastard a horrified look. Why? Why would he say anything?

“You’re apartment. What’s wrong with your apartment?”

“Not a thing, Eddie. Not a thing. There’s nothing for you to worry…”