The evening with Claire sped by too fast, as did every hour with her. As I dropped her off at her house, the pattern in my heart started aching just a little. Enough to remind me how inseparable my happiness was from having this girl in my life.
“I'll see you Sunday,” I reminded her between two kisses. It wasn’t the time to get carried away. Patience.
As she sealed her lips over mine one more time, I had to think of what I had said to Maureen. No one was going to hurt this girl. Ever. I wouldn’t allow it.
“I love you.”
Claire gave me a stunning smile, and I felt that she loved me. But she didn’t say the words, not yet. She was too busy fooling herself that she could hide anything from me. And as it settled in, my entire being warmed up from inside. She loved me.
It seemed to take forever for Sunday to arrive. I didn’t have the chance to confront Ben again or warn him to behave when Claire came over. It had become clearer that he had a serious problem with her. Every conversation involving her name, no matter how insignificant the part she played, derailed and ended with Ben leaving the room.
Jenna and Dad eyed each other as he disappeared through the front door Sunday morning.
“What was that?” Dad asked.”Did you two have a fight?”
I shook my head. How Ben could have gone from helping me get Claire to despising me for being with her had eluded me. If anyone could have seen that coming, it would have been me.
“He hasn’t met her, has he?” Jenna wondered aloud.
“Not that I know of.”
Ben’s behavior overshadowed my sunny mood and I was dreading the moment he would actually stand face to face with Claire. How would she feel about his negativity? If I couldn’t understand it, how could she? For a moment I considered warning her about what was awaiting her here, but then decided to let her make her own judgment. She was good with reading people—in her own, non-supernatural way.
“When is she coming?” Jenna asked as if she’d read my mind.
“I’ll pick her up at noon.” A smile stole its way onto my face at the thought of seeing Claire. “It’s a surprise. She doesn’t know she’s meeting you today.”
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Dad reassured me with a twinkle in his eye.
I had some reading to do for classes which I was grateful for as I waited for the hour-hand to move on my watch. Ever since I had accepted my talent to perceive people’s emotions, and gotten together with Claire, it had become easy to focus on excelling in classes again. It seemed my brain had gotten sharper, too, and my stamina, which was essential, not just for sitting through classes while waiting to see Claire again, but also for studying. Had the changes been slight before, almost unnoticeable, my senses were becoming more and more heightened by the day and my strength was building up in a way that made my emotional radar look pale.
As I had finished three papers, including notes and online research, I packed away my laptop and pulled a sweater out of the dresser before I left.
“Claire! Door!” Sophie called from somewhere inside the house when I rang the bell at the Gabriel’s. I had to suppress a smile. A couple of months ago she had been Library Girl, a familiar face on campus with what seemed like permanent residence at the library. Now she was Sophie, the sister and protector of the woman I loved.
Speaking of. Claire’s footsteps were rushing toward me almost as audible as if there wasn’t a closed door separating us. My heart was ready to feel her as she would be coming through that same door within a few seconds. I smiled in anticipation of seeing her face. Ben and his strange moods were forgotten the second she appeared in the doorway. How could anyone despise this innocent creature? Ben was wrong, and he would know the moment he saw her.
“Hey, love.”
“Hey, Adam.” Her jaw dropped as she looked at my face and her expression went blank for a moment. That made me smile even wider. It was wonderful to see how much of an impact my presence had on her. It made me feel important to her, worthy of her.
Before she could black out—which I feared, judging from the way her breathing had become shallow—I reached out and hugged her, leaning her against my chest. “Happy Birthday, Claire,” I whispered in her ear and she shivered. There was a hint of the longing I’d felt from her before…
“Come in, Adam,” Sophie appeared behind Claire.
With a quick motion, I put Claire back on her feet and straightened up, eager to make a good impression with her family.
“Really sorry, Sophie, but we’ve got to get going. I’m already late.” I glanced sideways at Claire who was eyeing me curiously. It was time to leave if we wanted to be punctual. Not that my family would mind, but I would. I took Claire’s hand, delight rushing through me at her touch, and started walking toward the car. “Next time. Say hello to Ian.” That was her boyfriend’s name, right? Claire had mentioned him and I knew his face from college.
I opened the door for Claire on the passenger side and Claire got in without objections, but with curiosity and a bit of annoyance.
“Where are we going?”
“Surprise.” The engine almost swallowed my answer as I started it.
Traffic was light and it didn’t take long until Claire’s eyes widened as she saw the Gallager estate in full view for the first time. I gave her the time she needed and didn’t comment. Instead, I played my role as the gentleman of good upbringing and offered my hand to help her out of the car.
She didn’t take it, too absorbed in gawking at the grounds, and it bothered me that my gesture had gone unnoticed.
“Welcome home, Master Adam,” Geoffrey answered the door and bowed as he saw I had company. “My lady.”
“Good afternoon, Geoffrey.” I grabbed Claire’s hand and pulled her to my side, wanting her close the first time she crossed my family home’s threshold. “May I introduce you to my girlfriend, Claire?”
Geoffrey bowed again and nodded at me in acknowledgment. Seeing we had a butler, Claire now could guess the full extent of my family’s financial resources. There was no going back now. No matter how humble my clothes or my car, she would know what’s behind it.
“Hi.” Claire waved shyly and felt awkward as she took in the dimensions of the entrance hall. Her eyes lingered on the ceiling, then she studied the paintings and carvings on the walls.
“Mom.” Jenna had appeared in the door to the parlor, ready to meet Claire.
I pulled Claire toward her, excited to introduce her to my family.
“You could have warned me,” Claire whispered and poked me with her elbow.
“Why?” Was she not ready to meet them?
“Because we are standing in the middle of the White House.”
Relief made me chuckle to myself quietly as I realized my house bothered her more than meeting my mom.
“Hello, son,” Jenna kissed me on the cheek.
Claire got a bit nervous next to me as Jenna’s eyes fell on her with a smile.
“And this is—”
“—Claire.” She held out her hand. “Claire Gabriel.”
This was easier than I’d expected. No drama, no weirdness. At least not until now. Who knew what Ben might bring on.
Jenna shook Claire’s hand and nodded at me, approving of my choice, I thought.
“Welcome to our home. Adam’s already told us some things about you.” She smiled one of the smiles she normally reserved for Ben and me.
“Only the good things, I hope.”
Claire’s emotional climate peaked in panic until Jenna laughed and answered. “Mainly that today is your birthday. Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Gallager.” She relaxed and so did I. Had I felt I might have made a mistake pushing her into a situation like this without warning, now I knew it was okay. They would get along.
“Please, call me Jenna.”
“Fine then, Jenna.”
They smiled at each other and Jenna led us to the parlor, giving Claire another room to apprecia
te. Having seen Claire’s house, it was clear our home must feel as if she had walked into a fairy tale castle. The heavy furniture, wooden floor, and creme-colored brocade sofa of the parlor probably fueled that image.
“Please, have a seat,” Jenna invited and I waited for Claire to sit down before I settled next to her on the sofa.
Claire eyed me with an expression I couldn’t interpret, but it was clear she didn’t feel one-hundred percent at ease with the house—not the people. Jenna seemed to notice too as she observed Claire from across the coffee table, hands folded in her lap.
“The tea, my lady.” Geoffrey set the table with five cups. While he served the hot beverage, Geoffrey informed us that Dad and Ben had arrived.
Dad’s eyes fell on Claire the second he entered the room and his emotions were positive. He approved of her, while Ben was not as controlled as I had hoped. I sighed.
“Claire, this is my dad, Chris,” I introduced the new arrivals, “and this is Ben, my little brother.”
While Dad rushed over to shake Claire’s hand before she could get any more uncomfortable, Ben just stood there, glaring at her.
“Nice to meet you.” She reacted as neutrally as anyone could, handling Ben’s surprising—for her—hostility with grace.
Dad smiled and a flash of recognition ran through him before he looked at her the same way Jenna had, as if she’d always been part of the family. Again I wished I could read minds rather than emotions.
“So you are the beauty Adam has been talking about all the time.”
While my dad found this funny, a jolt of embarrassment ran through my system. I held on to Claire’s hand tightly, so she wouldn’t bolt. She didn’t flinch or run. Instead, she sat calmly, watching Dad sit down and kiss Jenna on the cheek.
“Why don’t we sit down and have some tea?” he suggested and I pulled Claire down to the sofa where we had sat before.
I was glad to be the buffer between Claire and Ben, who were sitting on each side of me, Ben still studying her with cold eyes. What had she done to offend him?
As I watched him from the corner of my eye, things snapped into place. It was there in his every fiber. He had a thing for her. His mask was hiding his feelings well, but it was obvious now, attraction was piercing through me from Ben’s direction, searching its way toward Claire. I cleared my throat.
“Adam told me it’s your birthday,” Dad opened the conversation. “So, we got you a present.” He gave her a package wrapped in the blue and green paper we’d gotten for Jenna’s birthday last year. I smiled. My parents truly wanted to welcome Claire into our family. I wish I could say the same for Ben.
“Er—thanks.” Claire was back in stress-mode. And who could blame her? Ben’s cold stare, my parents’ going overboard, and the palace we lived in. What had I been thinking, bringing her here?
“Aren’t you going to open it?”
Instead of answering Jenna’s question, Claire looked at me for guidance. I encouraged her with a nod of my head, anticipating the look on her face once she opened it.
“Go ahead, it won’t bite.” Dad had a way of making people feel comfortable with his jokes and it worked with Claire. She dug through the paper and pulled out the old book, her expression not disappointing me in the slightest. She was delighted.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare,” she murmured as she ran her hands over the book’s spine. We all watched her, sharing her appreciation of the book. Except for Ben, he was marveling at Claire over my shoulders, not realizing I was still paying attention. Did I need to worry?
“It’s an antiquity. I got it in London a week ago,” Dad interrupted my thoughts.
“Thank you so much. This is amazing.”
“You're welcome. Adam told me you love books, and this is a classic. Something you can read over and over again.” They smiled at each other. The beginning of a friendship?
“You should see her room. It’s overflowing with books.”
Ben snorted quietly at my statement and I couldn’t figure out what bothered him so much.
Just as I protectively laid my arm around Claire’s shoulder in an attempt to make clear I wouldn’t accept any interference from his side, Geoffrey brought in the birthday cake for her. Chocolate with strawberries hidden on the inside. Geoffrey’s cakes were better than anything you could get in the stores or bakeries.
“Happy birthday, Miss Gabriel.” He handed Claire a plate which she took willingly and rolled her eyes from pleasure as she tasted the cake.
I watched patiently as Claire got into a long conversation with Dad about her work at the library. He appreciated that she was working hard to get by. It didn’t make him think less of her. Not in the slightest. He was impressed by how much Claire was handling on a daily basis. Jenna interviewed her about school and her plans for college—which she hadn’t made her mind up about—and I kept marveling at how well she was handling the situation. She seemed to even have forgotten Ben was still there in the room, glaring from the corner of his eye. Lucky her, I couldn’t ignore his emotions. He was radiating ambiguity with a tendency toward adoration. I ground my teeth and got to my feet
“It’s time to let the dog in.” It was getting dark and Antonio had been in the yard since Dad’s return. I got to my feet and left Claire alone with my family. It was the only way to escape Ben’s wheel of feelings for a couple of seconds.
Antonio was sitting right outside the back door as I opened it. He squeezed past me and looked up expectantly.
“Claire’s here,” I told him and he barked softly. “Let’s go say hello?”
Claire looked fine when I returned. She was calm and deeply engaged in conversation with Jenna, only breaking away when Antonio claimed her attention.
“Hello, friend.”
“Adam was right, he really likes her.” Ben startled both Claire and me as he decided to speak. He sounded nervous, but the total carousel of emotions he was spinning didn’t surface in his voice.
Claire eyed him for a long moment. It was almost painful for me to watch as she studied him, probably seeing what most girls saw: a well-built, attractive young man, with sparkling eyes and a boyish smile. I was grateful he didn’t bestow the smile upon her though. Was I jealous of Ben? If anything, I should be worried about his cold glare toward her, but it was the vague chance Claire would return his hidden attraction that bothered me.
“Want to see the rest of my home?” I forced myself to grin and offered Claire an escape from Ben’s stare—or was it me who needed to escape—and tempted her with a tour of the estate and my open hand, ready to help up.
Relief washed over me as she took it and I pulled her to her feet with such unintentional force that she crashed into my chest. Pleased with the closeness and Ben’s now spiking jealousy, I cradled Claire against me, ignoring Jenna and Chris who were both radiating with amusement and joy.
“Give her a sightseeing tour, and don’t leave out anything, Adam,” Jenna called after us, but I was already focusing on Claire and her every feeling as we passed the entrance hall and made our way up the stairs. She examined the handrail in amazement and wonder, shaking her head almost imperceptibly as she climbed step by step next to me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you are a prince and live in a castle. And that your parents are exorbitantly rich.”
“I didn’t find it important.” Was this the moment I’d feared, where she would trade my love for my money any moment?
“I mean, this is amazing.” Enthusiasm pushed her eyebrows further up and she looked back to the entrance hall before she noticed the expression on my face.
“I didn’t think you were the kind of girl that is easily impressed by material goods,” I explained before she had a chance to ask.
Claire burst out with laughter then touched my cheek with the back of her index finger. “Hey, I’m not impressed,” she clarified. “I’m shocked.” I cocked my head, wondering
if my fear had clouded my senses. “I’m more than shocked. I can’t understand why you didn’t tell me. It’s not your fault you were born the son of rich people. The house is…well, amazing.”
I was disappointed with my own assessment of the situation.
“What now? Are you disappointed with me because I like it?”
“No…”
“What then?”
“Usually I don’t tell anybody who doesn’t already know. I want to be seen as a normal guy. I knew some people who wanted me for my money rather than my personality…”
“And now you think I’m the same.” Claire didn’t let me finish my thought.
“Not really. I just don’t want to lose the girl I love to my parents’ money.”
She blinked at me and as I read her again, there was honest astonishment surrounding her, no greed, no desire for status…a bit of humor was there, as she teased me with her gaze.
“You should really show me the advantages of picking you before the money, then.” She came closer, leaning against my chest. An invitation to wrap my arms around her.
I smiled, picking up on her mood. The house was the least of her concerns. She wanted me for me and not for the lifestyle that came with my family’s wealth. I closed my arms around her and pulled her against me.
“I’m already forgetting about the marble under my feet…”
Her aura was now clear of anything but her longing to be close to me and I played along, kissing her neck.
“You’re good—1:0 for you versus the money,” she sighed as I lifted her chin with one hand and sealed my lips onto hers for a short minute. She shuddered and giggled, mind still set on proving to me that I was the only thing she was interested in.
“So, am I going to see the rest of this repellent building?”
I was appeased as her attention seemed to be only half on the dark furniture and curtains of Dad’s library, and couldn’t wait to bring her to my own room, wondering what she would say when she saw how different it was from the rest of the house.
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