Finn sighed and sat back in his seat. “Okay, tell me.”
“Well, you will soon learn, if you don’t remember, that Mother likes to throw parties. We’re always being summoned to the family home for big soirees. Charity events, weddings, garden parties for one thing or another. She lives for it. And once I told her you were flying back today, she started planning a welcome-home party for you Saturday night.”
Finn didn’t bat an eye. “What’s so bad about that? It seems like a nice-enough gesture. I won’t know anyone there, but maybe meeting them will jog my memory.”
Sawyer shook his head. “You don’t get it. This isn’t going to be twenty folks gathering to shake your hand and have nibbles and cocktails. When Mother throws a party, it’s always a catered event for at least a hundred people. There will be an orchestra playing. It will be black-tie, for sure. If the weather holds up, it will be in the gardens. Otherwise she’ll have it in the ballroom.”
Willow groaned inwardly. His parents’ home had a ballroom? She definitely hadn’t packed the right outfit for that. She didn’t have any beaded gowns in her closet and if she did, they would have husky hair on them. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Maybe one of his sisters was short and flat chested and could loan her a dress? She doubted it.
Finn seemed equally startled by the news. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack,” Sawyer said flatly. “She’s been wanting to show off that ballroom, so I bet she has it inside no matter what. She had the whole thing redone after it was blown up last year, but Morgan had an outdoor wedding, and Kat and I eloped in Hawaii, so she hasn’t had a chance yet.”
“Did you just say someone blew up the ballroom?” Willow asked. The craziest statements seemed to roll off Sawyer’s tongue like they were everyday occurrences for normal people.
“Well, he wasn’t very successful, but he did enough damage that Mother had an excuse to redecorate.”
“Do people normally try to blow up our family?” Finn asked. “This seems like something I should know.”
“No, that was new. Honestly, things were pretty normal with our family until we found out that our little sister had been switched at birth. We grew up with Morgan, but our biological sister is Jade. The guy that tried to kidnap and ransom Jade as a baby tried again last year, and when it didn’t work out again, the guy posed as a caterer and tried to blow us all up.”
Both Willow and Finn sat in stunned silence. The awkwardness was only broken by Gloria approaching everyone with individual plates of fresh fruit and croissants. At this point, Willow was happy to get something in her stomach to go with the champagne. Her head was starting to swim, and given the current conversation, she might say something rude. Were the lives of all rich people like a big soap opera?
“Anyway,” Sawyer continued, “no one was hurt. And things worked out in the end. But I’m telling you, Mother’s itching to have people over. She had to get off the phone with me last night so she could start making calls. Don’t be surprised if there are two hundred people there to see the infamous Finn Steele return from the dead.”
Finn looked at Willow and put a grape wordlessly into his mouth. She could tell from his expression that he was just as blown away by the conversation as she was. Only for him, this was regular life. He couldn’t remember it, but there had been a time not long ago where he could speak about his family without batting an eye, too. It made Willow’s family seem tragic and boring by comparison.
“Gloria?” Finn spoke up, turning to the back of the jet, where the flight attendant was working in the galley. “I think I’m going to need that Xanax.”
* * *
“Don’t leave me,” Willow whispered between the gritted teeth of a feigned smile. “I don’t care what anyone says or does, please stay with me.”
“I was going to say the same thing to you,” Finn admitted. “Aren’t we a pair?”
Finn looked up at the huge antebellum mansion in front of them. It was massive with two-story columns and dark shutters that stood out against the stark white limestone. Coming down the long driveway lined with moss-covered live oak trees had been intimidating enough, but this? How could this possibly be his childhood home? It seemed impossible.
The doors flew open and Finn clutched Willow’s hand. A few women around their age came out first—a blonde, a brunette and a redhead—the redhead visibly pregnant. Some men followed behind them. One had to be his brother Tom based on the resemblance. The others must be his sisters’ husbands, because they were both big, dark, bearded and completely unlike the Steele men in every way. An older couple, presumably his parents, came out behind them, followed last by a tiny old woman who looked more like the Queen of England than old Elizabeth Windsor herself.
The crowd rushed forward at once. It was a cacophony of words and hugs and tears, most of which Finn could barely understand. He stood stiffly, accepting each embrace as everyone said their hellos, but not really reciprocating. The only one to keep their distance was the old woman still on the porch, leaning on her cane.
“You all are going to scare him to death. The boy doesn’t know you from Adam. Look at his bewildered face. Don’t smother him.”
Everyone took a step back and Finn made note of who really ran this place. He would guess it was Grandma.
“Come in,” she said, gesturing inside. “It’s hot as blue blazes out here.”
Still holding Willow’s hand, Finn walked toward the house with the others in their wake. Inside the mansion was equally imposing. A large, grand staircase greeted guests as they entered beneath a sparkling crystal chandelier.
It was all very nice. And about as unfamiliar as the Palace of Versailles. Finn swallowed his frustration as he crossed the foyer. He’d hoped that coming back here would jog his memory. The people he’d just met were supposedly the most important people in his life. His family. He was in the home where he’d grown up. And yet he might as well have been anywhere, meeting any new group of strangers.
At least he had Willow here with him. He looked at her and tried to smile reassuringly. She seemed to be just as nervous as he was about all of this. But she was here. His rock when he needed her the most. He’d never be able to properly thank her for her support. Not even with all the money he supposedly had in his accounts. But he’d have to find a way.
They followed the old woman as she clicked across the marble floors with her cane to a large family room.
“Have a seat,” she said as she lowered herself into a velvet wingback chair fit for a queen.
Finn chose a love seat, putting Willow beside him and keeping the others at a comfortable distance. Almost immediately, an older woman he hadn’t met yet arrived and offered them both tall glasses of sweet iced tea. She also placed a platter of cookies and finger sandwiches onto the coffee table in front of them. When she was done, she reached out and cupped Finn’s face for a moment, tears in her eyes. “Welcome home, Finn,” she said, and then disappeared from the room as quickly as she’d arrived.
“Who was that?” Finn asked.
“That’s Lena, the housekeeper. She took your accident especially hard. She’s wonderful, been with the family since the children were young. Since you were young,” his grandmother corrected. “I think you may be her favorite.”
Once everyone was seated, they took turns introducing themselves in a slower fashion he might actually be able to keep up with. The older woman was his paternal grandmother, Ingrid Steele. His parents, Trevor and Patricia, were seated on the sofa. His brother Tom lurked in the corner nibbling on a cookie and saying very little. He looked more like their father than he or Sawyer did.
The woman with platinum-blonde hair like Patricia was his biological sister, Jade. The petite accountant was in sharp contrast to the massive man hovering around her—her husband, Harley. He was some kind of former military security specialist and he looked the part. Th
e dark-haired woman with the dark-haired man were his sister Morgan and her husband, River, a real estate developer. She had left the family company to start her own charity for premature babies the year before. Lastly, there was the redhead sitting beside Sawyer. Kat. She was a wood-carving artist. She was also seven months pregnant with his daughter, Beatrice.
If he recognized any of them, he thought it would be her. The woman he’d seduced and accidentally impregnated while pretending to be his brother. It was such an incredibly shitty story to hear about himself. But he tried to tell himself that things had worked out. Kat had married Sawyer and they were blissfully happy. If the baby looked like Finn, that meant it would look just like Sawyer, as well.
It did worry him, though. How many other stories were there where he was an asshole? It sounded like he went through women like tissues. It didn’t feel like that’s who he really was. But they would know better than he would. The more Finn learned about his life before the plane crash, the less he wanted to regain his memory. Maybe it was better if he didn’t and could just start his life fresh.
“And who is this young lady?” his mother asked once everyone else had been introduced.
“This is the woman that saved my life.” Finn squeezed her hand and looked at her with appreciation in his eyes. “Everyone, this is Willow Bates. She’s a mystery writer that just happened to live in the middle of nowhere where I turned up. I don’t know what would’ve happened if she hadn’t found me and taken such good care of me.”
“Wait a minute,” Jade said. “Are you S. W. Bates? The author of the Amelia Mysteries? I love those books. I have about a dozen.”
“That’s me. S. W. Bates is the pen name I use. If you bring one of the books by, I’ll be happy to autograph it for you.”
Finn seemed surprised by the whole exchange. He knew she wrote books and did well enough, but he didn’t know she and her characters were recognizable names in the genre. “What does S.W. stand for?” Finn asked.
Willow looked at him with a touch of hesitation lining her brow. “My initials, is all.”
“Willow isn’t your first name?”
“No, but I’ve gone by Willow for many years now.”
There was something about her expression that urged Finn not to press forward. She was embarrassed of her name, perhaps. He understood that, coming from a whole clan of Mark Twain characters. So, he’d let it go. For now. But eventually, he’d find out what that S stood for.
“Well, we can’t thank you enough for what you did for our Finn. We really did think we’d lost him along with the others. We were making the final arrangements when Sawyer called and told us that he’d found you in Seattle.” Patricia’s eyes were blurred with tears as she spoke. “I couldn’t believe it. You’re his miracle.”
Willow shifted uncomfortably. “Finn’s surviving the fall was the miracle. I don’t know how he ended up on my beach, but all I did was take him home and call a doctor.”
“And get me medicine and clothes, and feed me and take care of me,” Finn added.
Willow only shrugged. “It was what any decent person would do in that situation.”
“Somehow I doubt that, but you’ve more than earned the reward we advertised for finding Finn.”
“I don’t need any reward.”
“Posh,” Patricia said dismissively. “You’ll take that hundred grand and do something swell with it. Buy a boat. Pay down your mortgage. Give it to orphans. But you’ll take it.”
Finn glanced over at Willow, who seemed mildly irritated but not enough so to argue with his mother on the subject.
Patricia continued on, unfazed. “I’m sure Sawyer has told you about the welcome-home party I’ve been planning for you Saturday night,” his mother said to the two of them. “It came together quickly, but I think it’s really going to be a lovely affair. And considering everything you just said, I think Willow should also be a guest of honor at the party as the person who saved Finn. People will be so pleased to meet you, as well.”
He could feel Willow tense beside him. Finn knew very little about himself, but he’d grown so familiar with Willow that he could read her like one of her books. Every flinch, every sigh, every gasp of pleasure... He knew exactly what was going on in her mind. So he spoke up.
“I’m not so sure it’s the best idea right now. It’s awfully soon after the accident. I’m still in a lot of pain and my memory hasn’t returned. Maybe we could push it out a little bit. I’m not sure I’m ready to face all those people.”
“Nonsense,” Patricia said with a dismissive wave of her elegant fingers. “Everyone is dying to see you and we have to celebrate while Willow is still here in Charleston. A party might be just what you need to shake out the cobwebs in your brain.”
“I also don’t think Willow packed for that kind of event, Mother. I had no idea about the party until after we’d left.”
“We can take her shopping,” Morgan offered brightly. “We’ll have a girls’ day out, just Willow, Jade, Kat and I.”
“That’s a great idea,” Jade added. “We’ll get to know her better and we’ll help her pick out something just right for the party.”
“It can be our gift to you,” Kat said. “For keeping Finn safe. A beautiful dress for a beautiful lady.”
“I don’t know,” Finn began. It sounded like it could be overwhelming for her to spend the day with the girls. Never mind him having to go it alone all afternoon while she was shopping.
“It’s okay,” Willow said. “That sounds nice. They can probably do a better job helping me pick out a dress than you could.”
“Yes, Finn’s much better at taking them off than putting them on,” someone quipped. Maybe Tom.
Finn sighed as the others tittered with laughter. He was getting tired of those comments. Even if he deserved them, there had to be more to his life than his pursuit of women. Being a rich playboy couldn’t have taken up all his time, could it?
“I do hope you two will consider staying here for a few days. Upstairs there’s a whole wing of the house that’s empty now that all the children are gone. It will be very private, and you won’t have to worry about cooking or cleaning with Lena here to handle things.”
“Mom, Finn owns his own place just a few miles from here,” Sawyer argued. “It might be better for him to spend time in a familiar environment. Being surrounded by his own things might be what brings his memories back.”
“And I don’t want to be underfoot,” Finn added. “I’d really like to see my place. You’re right, the more of my life I’m exposed to the better. That’s what the doctors said,” he lied.
In truth, he would go anywhere he could have time alone with Willow. He’d barely gotten to touch her since they’d made love that night at the hotel. Once he’d gotten the call from the hospital, it had been all drama and personal revelations. They’d shared a bed in Sawyer’s suite the night before, but it had felt awkward to do more than spoon with his brother so nearby.
He didn’t care if it was his place, or a hotel, or the garden shed in the yard; he just wanted some privacy. And to stroke Willow’s soft skin. To talk her out of wearing that shirt so he could worship every inch of her. She’d made noises about being sensitive, and in the heat of the moment, he hadn’t wanted to argue. But they couldn’t go on like this forever. Whatever she was hiding from him, he wished she’d share it with him. And she wouldn’t with his family lurking around.
“Well, if the doctor said so,” Patricia relented. “But don’t be a stranger around here.”
Sawyer looked over at Finn and winked conspiratorially. Finn was really beginning to like his brother.
Eight
“You’re so petite,” Morgan remarked. “Anything will look good on you, like Jade and her ballerina’s figure.”
The three sisters had gotten Willow up early the next day and taken her to King Street in Downt
own Charleston where all the high-end boutiques and department stores were located. She’d been hesitant to leave Finn, but if she didn’t want to make a fool of herself at this party, she needed his sisters to help her get ready.
So far things had gone well, but she was a little overwhelmed. The women gave no notice to price tags or sales. They just picked up whatever they liked, making Willow thankful that they’d offered to buy her dress as a thank-you. She wouldn’t even pay these prices for a wedding gown. Not that she’d ever need one.
“But you’ve got curves,” Jade complained and clutched her barely B-cup chest. “I would’ve killed for your boobs in high school. Hell, I would kill for them now.”
“Boobs are overrated,” Morgan said.
“I doubt River would agree with that statement,” Jade replied with a knowing grin.
“Well, neither of you have to buy a maternity gown today, so I don’t want to hear it. I was hoping to get through this pregnancy without having to dress up. Now I’m going to look like a giant disco ball or a humpback whale in a beaded dress.”
“I think a killer whale would be appropriate since it’s black-tie attire,” Morgan quipped.
Kat gave Morgan a cutting glance. “I will hurt you.”
Willow listened to Finn’s sisters all bicker at each other like old girlfriends. None of them were related by blood or had even grown up together as true sisters, and yet they had an amazing friendship. Her relationship with her own sister was strained and nothing like this at all. Their banter was amusing to listen to, but it was also a lot to keep up with. Especially knowing that a changing room and partial states of undress were looming in her future. She didn’t imagine these ladies had a lot of boundaries. She was wearing her padded mastectomy bra and hoped it was enough to cover the scars and divert any questions.
“Ladies, these dresses seem a little over the top for me.” Willow glanced at a price tag and winced. “I know you said it was a gift, but I’m not comfortable letting you pay this much for a dress I’ll only wear once.”
Promises from a Playboy--A secret billionaire with amnesia romance Page 9
