“Hello, Vera. You look stunning.” He swept his eyes hungrily up and down my body—with his own fucking father standing right next to me. His gaze was hot and needy. Devastatingly tormenting. Wrong. His gaze had the power to start a war within my body. I was a home for need that had nowhere to go.
“Hamilton. You’re here. I didn’t think you would show up,” Jack said while taking a step toward his son. He didn’t even seem to care that said son was giving me bedroom eyes. Hot bedroom eyes that made me squirm.
“Hey, Jack,” Hamilton replied, not moving his eyes from me. “I’m assuming my invitation got lost in the mail again. First the wedding, now this?”
“I told Joseph to—”
“Save it. We both know I’m not welcome, but you can’t very well kick me out without making a scene, now can you,” Hamilton said, his voice dark. “You’re so transparent, Jack.”
“Don’t be silly, Hamilton. I’m happy you’re here. Hell, I invite you to dinner every single time you’re home. I’ve missed you. If your mother were here—”
“Don’t talk about my mother,” Hamilton snapped, his hand balled up in a fist at his side. “You don’t get to talk about her. I’m here for the open bar, the free dinner, and…” Hamilton paused to look at me. “The company. It was nice talking to you, Jack. Now run back to Joseph and focus on him. Like you always do. Like you prefer to do.”
Jack’s shoulders slumped, and for a brief moment, I almost felt bad for him. Jack stared at his son, the skin around his eyes bunched up in pain. He seemed genuinely upset that Hamilton was pushing him away. Jack might be overprotective of his family, but I sensed longing in him where Hamilton was concerned. I couldn’t tell if he wanted a relationship with his son or if he wanted him to get in line and obey the standards associated with the Beauregard name. Hamilton was rebellious and an outcast. He didn’t hide the fact that he wanted nothing to do with his family. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on what Jack wanted. My new grandfather was normally a proud man, but his spine was bent, like he was physically pained from Hamilton’s words.
“I love you, son,” Jack whispered before giving me a lingering look, his mouth hooked to the side, as if he didn’t know what more to say. “Let’s chat later, Vera.”
Hamilton huffed and wrapped his arm around me protectively. Jack eyed the possessive move, cocking his head to the side with scrutiny. “Bye,” Hamilton gritted.
I watched Jack’s back as he walked away, noting the defeated slump of his posture. Then, I slowly shrugged out of Hamilton’s grip—or at least, I tried to. He held me tight against his hard body, his lips hovering over my ear. “You blocked me, Petal,” he whispered. “I’ve been trying to text you all sorts of naughty things.”
“I told you to leave me alone,” I gritted before stomping on his foot. Hamilton let out a guttural groan the moment my stiletto jammed the top of his dress shoes. He let go of me to bite his fist, and I started walking away, grabbing a flute of champagne from a nearby tray as I went. It wasn’t long before Hamilton caught up to me, though. I felt his hungry presence at my back, like a wolf stalking his prey.
I didn’t turn around to greet him; instead, my eyes turned to the front of the room where Mom was standing with Joseph and greeting some of the guests. She’d given me a polite hello earlier, but the two of them were now too busy schmoozing other important people to really pay attention to me. Taking a sip of my drink, I watched them. Joseph had a bright smile. His chest was puffed out proudly as he shook a diplomat’s hand. Mom stood dutifully by his side, her hair tied up in an elegant updo and her gold evening gown brushing the ground. I eyed her stomach, thinking about the baby. Would I really know my younger sibling?
“Is that why you blocked me?” Hamilton asked. His presence at my back sent a shiver up my spine. “Are you trying to please your mom? I suppose I can understand that. If Joseph had his way, he’d send me to hell for half a chance at never seeing me again. Although, he’s had a room booked at the devil’s hotel since he was born.”
“What does it even matter?” I asked in a low voice while spinning on my heel to face him. “I said I was done. Why are you here?”
Hamilton grinned and grabbed a champagne flute. With his dark eyes on me, he downed it whole. Once his glass was empty, he slammed it down on a nearby table and wiped his plush lips with the back of his hand. “Free booze and a pretty girl.”
My brows raised. “That’s why you’re spending time with family you obviously hate?” I asked incredulously.
“Do I need more of a reason?” he asked before invading my personal space. Hamilton was constantly invading my personal space.
I glanced over my shoulder at my mother. I was expecting her to be giggling over something Joseph said, but no, she was glaring at me. Her posture was stiff, and the angry rise and fall of her chest made me duck in shame. Beside her, Joseph kept his expression void of emotion, but he was aggressively adjusting his cufflinks. “Please leave me alone,” I whispered. I didn’t want any trouble. I didn’t want to make things more difficult for my mother.
“I can’t even talk to you? That’s not fair. I have a job for you that I wanted to discuss,” Hamilton pouted.
“What?” A job?
“I’m leaving for the rig tomorrow. They called me back early. Jess officially moved in with Infinity, and I need someone to watch Little Mama while I’m gone. I was wondering—”
No way. I was going to get to dog sit! “Yes. Absolutely yes. Can I come get her tonight? Do you need anything for her? I should get her a bed for my apartment. A kennel? Dog treats. Toys. A leash.”
Hamilton grinned. “Whoa. Hold up. I have all of those things. I can bring it over tomorrow, but you’re going to have to unblock me. I need to be able to FaceTime Little Mama at least once a day.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “This feels like a trick.”
“I’m just using every advantage I have. Blame it on my Beauregard blood,” Hamilton replied before reaching out and running his index finger down my arm. I shivered at his touch. I knew if I looked down that my chest would be flushed. Fuck, this was not the time or the place.
“Fine. I’ll watch her. But this”—I gestured between us to emphasize my point—“can’t happen.”
“Sure, it can,” Hamilton whispered. “What are you afraid of?” I looked back at my mother. She was whispering to Joseph, her eyes locked on me.
“Why does Joseph hate you so much?” I asked.
A bit of the playfulness in Hamilton’s expression faded. “I’ve given Joseph plenty of reasons to hate me over the years. Hating someone doesn’t make you right and them wrong, it’s just an outlet for hurt. There’s a lot of hurt in our family, Vera. I’m sure you’ll learn all about it soon enough. Does that scare you?”
“A little,” I admitted. Hamilton wrapped his large hand around my wrist. The push and pull between us was exhausting.
“Come with me,” he whispered before pulling me through the crowd and away from the interrogative eyes of my mother, though I could feel her hard stare on my back.