In Front of Me

by Dana LeCheminant

  “I think it’s time for you to go,” Seth said carefully. His eyes were on Catherine and the way she suddenly seemed on the verge of tears. I didn’t know much about her mother, just that she’d died when Catherine was young.

  I held my breath in anticipation. This short conversation felt like it was right on the edge of its breaking point, and I wasn’t sure it would end well.

  “Go,” Catherine whispered. “You don’t belong here.”

  “I am a Davenport,” Milton snarled back, and he grabbed Catherine’s wrist.

  Someone screamed as Seth moved so quickly that I barely saw it. He suddenly had Milton’s throat in his hand, though he didn’t hold tight enough to do any damage. Yet. “You’re done with this family,” he said, and he sounded just as calm as ever, even if his voice seemed to have dropped an octave.

  Milton, on the other hand, stood as tall as his fear allowed and set his jaw, trying to hold his ground. But I could practically feel his utter terror. Seth was so much bigger than him in every way.

  “If I get even a whiff of you trying to ruin this family more than you already have,” Seth continued, “you’ll find out exactly how far I’ll go to protect the people I love. You’re not a Davenport anymore, and we’re done with you.”

  “Just leave,” Catherine added.

  Milton sent one pleading look to his daughter then scurried away through the crowd that parted for him easily. I had a feeling, though, that that wasn’t the last Seth’s family would see of their black sheep.

  Seth’s stiffness dissipated the instant Milton was gone, and he pulled his wife into his arms and hugged her tight. At the same moment, some intelligent cellist struck up a tune that his fellow musicians quickly picked up with him, easing the tension of the room by epic proportions.

  “In a way, I’m glad he came,” Gordon said, almost under his breath. I’d practically forgotten he was even here. “I look like a saint by comparison.” Seth had managed to get rid of one father; apparently it was my job to get rid of the other, though I wasn’t sure I had the energy after watching that bit of drama go down.

  “Why are you here?” I asked again, turning my full attention to the man next to me now that the danger had passed.

  He burned a bit red and grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing server. “Obviously I’m here to celebrate my son’s happy day,” he mumbled.

  Sure. Our father was about as attentive as Catherine’s, though he lacked the sheer idiocy. “Let me rephrase that,” I said. “Why are you here talking to me?” He had done his best to avoid this exact thing for long enough that I really couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he was sitting right next to me.

  His immediate answer died on his tongue the minute he saw my expression.

  “Okay,” he said, letting out a huff of air. “I know I haven’t been very fair to you.”

  “Understatement of the century,” I replied. “Get to the point.” I’d never expected anything from the man who seduced my mom then vanished, and I certainly didn’t expect anything now. He was just half of a biological equation. Nothing more.

  He downed his champagne then took a deep breath. “I want to try, Lissa.” Ha! “I know that may be hard to believe, but I want to try being your father before it’s too late.”

  Interesting. “What,” I asked coolly, “are you dying or something?” Maybe if he had done this when I was eight, I would have considered it, but I gave up on the idea of having a father twenty years ago. I didn’t need one. If he wanted to be in my life, he should have made an effort when Seth first told him about me when I was in college.

  Paling a little, Gordon resumed twisting his scarf as he fought to find the words that would best work to his advantage. “I almost lost my son a few years ago,” he said quietly.

  Yes, when Seth was captured and tortured by someone trying to get to him. As the Secretary of Homeland Security, Gordon Hastings was worth a lot.

  “I know it’s taken me a while to realize it,” he said, “but… I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost him. I don’t want to lose you either, Lissa.”

  I was too tired for this. I reached for my glass of champagne and drank it in two gulps. After a quick glance around the room, I realized Brennon had entirely disappeared, which only added to my track record of being perpetually single. It was a bit sad how much I wished he would come back. “You know,” I said, “in order to lose me, you need to have had me in the first place. You can’t just claim me because you’ve decided to act like you’ve had a change of heart.”

  He stood when I did. “Lissa.”

  “I’m going home tonight,” I told him. “You don’t have to pretend to want anything to do with me.”

  “Lissa, wait.”

  “Hey, Dad.” Seth’s voice hadn’t fully softened from his encounter with Milton Davenport, so when he spoke just behind me, I jumped a little. “What are you doing here?”

  To my surprise, Catherine was next to Seth and stepped forward to pull me into a tight side hug. She hadn’t talked to me much today—not that I blamed her for focusing elsewhere on her wedding day—but her smile was just as warm as it always was when she and Seth came to visit me. “We can make him leave if you want us to,” she said softly.

  “Just say the word,” Catherine’s cousin Matthew added, appearing nearby. What, did the whole family feel the need to come to my rescue when I had everything handled already?

  “I’m fine,” I told all of them, Gordon included.

  “Answer the question, Dad,” Seth pressed.

  Gordon swallowed, but he wasn’t quite as afraid of his son as the rest of the world, maybe because he’d seen him when he was a scrawny little kid playing rich person lacrosse instead of little league. “I wanted to offer congratulations, son. You made a fine choice.”

  “You’re dang right he did,” Catherine said, impressively smug. That comment brought a small smile to my lips, and a second later, I realized she and I were now sisters. And I was perfectly okay with that. It took a special woman to deserve my brother, and Catherine was all of that and more. At least something good had come out of today.

  Taking one step closer to our father, Seth held out his hand in a reluctant gesture of truce. Gordon was right, if only a little; compared to Catherine’s dad, he wasn’t nearly as bad as he could have been. “Thanks,” Seth said coldly. “And now you can go. I don’t need you pretending you actually care about family. Not tonight.”

  Gordon barely looked at Seth, even while shaking his hand. He kept his gaze locked on me, and I could almost see his sincerity. Interesting. “Don’t shut me out, Lissa,” he said. “I meant what I said.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied as he wandered out of the room. I still had no idea why he was even bothering. Outside of dying from some horrible disease, he had no real reason to want to try. It was hard to believe he actually cared, not when there were likely other young people out there just like me whose mothers had fallen under Secretary Hastings’s spell. But over my time working for Mikaelson, I’d come to learn how to read men and catch the lies behind their words and gestures. Gordon Hastings was telling the truth, and I was almost curious enough to try to figure out why. Was it really because of what almost happened to Seth?

  “Now that both our fathers have thoroughly embarrassed us,” Catherine said, pulling my attention back to the loving family beside me. “Can we please have some fun? I didn’t get married just to add some drama into my life.”

  Seth laughed and immediately lifted her into his arms to carry her back to the dance floor, bridal style. “Sure you didn’t,” he said to her, back to his warm and happy self. I’d rarely seen that side of him before he met Catherine, and it was nice to see him content with life for once. He deserved it.

  Matthew touched my arm, and I couldn’t help but smile at his concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, and there was an undercurrent of strength in his voice. From the outside, he didn’t look like much, but I had a f
eeling there was more to Matthew Davenport than most people realized. “We’re pretty equipped to deal with difficult parents, if you haven’t noticed.”

  I really didn’t know much about Matthew, but I knew Catherine considered her cousin to be one of the best men she knew. I could easily see why just from the expression on his face. He would probably face down a man twice his size if he thought I needed him to. “I really am fine,” I told him. “Go dance with Indie.”

  His eyes lit up, and he hurried off.

  Leaving me with an empty feeling in my chest.

  Some people were meant to find love, and they thrived on it. Most of the time I just hoped I’d get through the day, knowing I would have to do it on my own for the rest of my life. It wasn’t like I’d expected to find love at this wedding, but my one chance at romance tonight had disappeared, and that fact certainly followed the pattern of my life. I wasn’t naive enough to think I needed a man to be successful—the utter stupidity of that thought had fueled my motivation through business school—but life could get lonely. As much as I knew I was strong enough to live my own life, I would forever wish I could be lucky enough to find a partner to share it with. To face my battles with, side by side. Just like Seth had.

  Chapter Four

  Several drinks and three hours later, I finally managed to convince Catherine’s cousin, Lanna, to drive me home. Luckily for me, she and her husband were eager to go pick up their young son from Lanna’s parents, and I was just drunk enough that they took pity on me and convinced Seth and Catherine to let me go. They dropped me off at Catherine’s building with content smiles and their own personal remedies for curing the hangover I’d be facing in the morning.

  Though it hadn’t been my plan to stay any longer than I had to, I couldn’t stomach the idea of hopping on a plane in my current, unsteady state. I couldn’t stomach much of anything, and I had to pause at the base of the stairs until the world stopped spinning. Oh boy. I took the stairs slowly—no way was I using the elevator—and made sure I took deep, even breaths. I’d overdone it for sure, but I was also pretty sure it was the only way I made it through that wedding. My father’s strange declaration coupled with being surrounded by so many adoring couples was a doozy.

  Thank goodness for Catherine’s apartment or I would have gotten lost trying to navigate an endless hall of identical doors. At least here, there were only three or four apartments per floor—she certainly liked to live large—so I was almost positive I was at the right door. But where in the world was my clutch?

  I may have been drunk, but I could easily picture my little purse sitting on the car seat in Lanna’s car, which was long gone. As were my phone and the keys to Catherine’s apartment. Oh good.

  Maybe the door was unlocked? I tried it, wiggling the handle as much as I dared without making too much noise, but of course it didn’t budge. Seth Hastings was not the kind of guy who would leave his door unlocked.

  “I’m thinking you want 202,” said a voice behind me.

  I jumped, nearly fell over, and pressed a hand against my chest to keep my heart from beating out of it. “Brennon,” I gasped. At least, I thought that was his name. The man who didn’t believe in love. I’d barely given him another thought after the rest of the drama. “Did you follow me?” That was concerning, and I wondered how hard it would be to get a hold of Matthew. I certainly wasn’t going to call Seth to come save me, not on his wedding night. Besides, it wasn’t like I had my phone, anyway.

  “I’m surprised you can remember,” Brennon replied with a chuckle. “Unless you’re confusing me with the other me.”

  “Ha,” I grumbled, though he wasn’t wrong. Exhaustion and alcohol made it hard to combine both of him into one single image. Oh man, how much did I drink?

  He put his hand on my shoulder, and surprisingly that helped keep me steady enough that I could see him more clearly. “For your information,” he said, “no. I did not follow you. I actually live here.” He held up his keys, and I squinted to see the name of the building on his little shiny keychain.

  “Oh,” I said. “Right. That’s how you know Catherine.” Would it be rude if I just stopped talking to him and settled down on the floor? I just wanted to go to bed. “For someone who doesn’t believe in love,” I mumbled, “you spent a lot of time at your neighbor’s wedding.”

  His smile really was breathtaking. “Just because I’m a bit of a cynic doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun,” he said.

  “Fun.” I blew air through my lips then decided I had best sit down before I fell over. It wasn’t easy in the dress Catherine had put me in, but I managed to get myself against the wall with a little effort.

  To my surprise, Brennon sat next to me, close enough that I was acutely aware of his cologne wafting over to me but far enough that we weren’t touching. “I probably had more fun than you, unfortunately,” he said gently. “I’m sorry your father showed up and made things weird for you.”

  It wasn’t that he made things weird. He made me confused. It had been so long since I wanted his recognition that I wasn’t sure what to do with it now that I had it. “You can’t choose your family,” I mumbled, squinting a bit as I tried to keep Brennon’s face in focus.

  He smiled again, probably because I could barely get the words out. “No, you can’t,” he agreed. He seriously smelled amazing. I hadn’t been close enough to notice at the wedding, but he smelled like timber wolves and pine. “Timber wolves?” he asked with a laugh.

  Oh, sweet mercy. “I said that out loud,” I whispered, absolutely mortified. I rarely drank, mostly because it tended to open up my mouth when I wanted to keep it shut. Life was easier when I had full control over myself.

  “Beautiful and poetic,” Brennon said. He was quiet after that, the silence stretching out between us until I couldn’t handle it anymore.

  “So what’s your story, Brennon Ashworth?” I asked, bumping his shoulder with mine. I hoped his response would answer a completely unrelated question: Why would you be interested in me?

  He smiled, his pearly whites glittering in the fluorescent glow of the hall light as he looked up at the ceiling. “My story’s pretty boring,” he said. “Grew up here. Went to Stanford. Got a job and have been there ever since.”

  “You’re right,” I said, “that’s pretty boring.” I had to wonder if whatever he was leaving out was worth digging for, but I so did not have the energy—or the sobriety—to find out.

  Laughing, he held his hand palm up on his leg and raised an eyebrow. Tempting me. “What about you?” he said when I took that hand and pulled it into my lap so I could play with his fingers. “What about your story? Please tell me it’s more interesting than mine.”

  I shrugged. “What do you want to know?” I said. But that was dangerous, so I quickly added, “And I reserve the right to refuse to answer, so choose your questions carefully.”

  “Do I get a limit?”

  Limit. Yeah, that was probably smart. “Three,” I said. “And you can’t ask for more questions. That’s cheating.”

  He put on a thoughtful face and rubbed my thumb with his as he gazed down at our hands. “Only three, huh? Hmm. Okay, first, are you from California, or somewhere else?”

  That was an easy enough question to answer. “I grew up in Vermont,” I said. “I currently live in Boston.”

  “That’s a long way to come for a wedding.”

  He wasn’t wrong. Sighing, I dropped my head against the wall and tried not to think too hard about what was waiting for me back on the East Coast. “Well,” I said, “I couldn’t exactly miss my brother’s wedding.”

  “I was under the impression you would not be attending,” Brennon countered. “Catherine was all sorts of upset about it. Complained constantly. I started having to avoid her in the hallway just so I wouldn’t have to hear another word about how the wedding was ruined because Seth’s sister didn’t approve and thought green was a terrible color for the bridesmaids and—”

  “You can shut
up now,” I said and gave him a glare. I so hoped he was kidding and that Catherine hadn’t actually thought that about me. I was a terrible sister in a lot of ways, but there was no one better for my brother than her. If I had thought not attending would have made Catherine think I didn’t like her, I never would have let myself forget the wedding.

  I hoped.

  “You’re wrong, you know,” Brennon said.

  “About what?”

  “Green is a great color.”

  “I never said—shut up,” I growled and threw his hand back over to his own lap. I instantly missed his warm fingers and the distraction they had been. Now I could hardly concentrate on anything but the headache pounding in my skull.

  Laughing yet again, Brennon simply scooted closer and leaned his head against mine. He seriously smelled so good. “Are you ready for my second question?” he asked.

  “If I have to be. Though technically that was a question.”

  “Why would you come all this way just to be miserable?”

  I sat up so I could look at him then promptly pressed a hand to my temple as the world swayed a bit around me. “You think I’m miserable?” He didn’t have to answer that question, since I was pretty sure I hadn’t really been trying to hide it. “Right,” I muttered. “Well, it’s not like I’m not happy for Seth and Catherine. The wedding was great.”

  “But?”

  “But I just lost my job. I mean I quit my job.” There was a difference. “So I’m a little stressed at the moment.” And I didn’t want to be talking about this, particularly with a man who clearly had his life together. His apartment building alone was a testament to that. “I should get some sleep,” I said with a sigh. There was little point in dragging this out. “It was good to meet you, Brennon.”

  “I still have one more question,” he replied.

  I was regretting giving him three, and I vowed to never get tipsy when I might be in the company of men like Brennon Ashworth. Men who were too charming for their own good. There was no telling what my tongue might say. “I still might not answer,” I reminded him.