Gavin grimaced and shuddered. “Ugh, Tariq, no!”
Tariq laughed heartily. “Think of the beautiful babies you would make! You know that’s what attracted me to your mother, her blond hair.” He ruffled Gavin’s hair again.
“I would step in front of a moving train before I’d marry into the d’Antonio family,” Gavin scoffed, then paused, watching his father. It was not in Tariq Binyamin’s nature to just drop in and make small talk with his only child. “What are you really doing here, Father? Honestly.”
“Your Mama and I have been talking,” Tariq began, “and we both think it’s time you settled down, Gavin. You know, babies, a wife, day job.”
“You mean like you did?” Gavin retorted. Tariq arched a brow in response. “No thanks Daddy. I’m set.”
“I would be happy to make a match for you if you’d let me. I met an Egyptian model two months back. Plus, my friend, Saul…”
“An arranged marriage? Now I’ve heard everything.”
“I’m asking you to marry her. It’s not like you actually have to be friends with the lady.”
“Father, you are not allowed to give anyone marital advice at all!” Gavin promptly declared. “Besides, if I ever get married, I’d like it to be more than company acquisitions and mergers.”
“My boy,” Tariq chuckled, “but fair point. When I met your mother, I wasn’t exactly thinking of our company’s bottom line either. And I said you’d never grow up.” He laughed shortly.
“Hey, I’m older and wiser,” Gavin drawled.
“No, you’re not.” Tariq shook his head. “You’re the youngest of the boys here.”
“I’m one year older than Jeremias.”
“And yet I’m prettier,” called out a passing Jeremias.
“Look, if you’re not too busy, perhaps you might stop by in London for me? I’ve got a thing there that needs some attention.”
Gavin rolled his eyes. Of course, he thought dryly. “You should have just led with that. Where in London?”
Chapter Two
Reina Gardener thanked the elderly couple one last time before they strolled out through the front door. She stood for a while, taking in the patrons who remained at her small city bed and breakfast. A few college students were milling around and chatting over morning coffee. One slight man sat hunched over his laptop in the corner, and a woman with her puppy was just coming in from a morning run. All in all, a full morning. Reina surveyed the area and frowned. She hadn’t caught sight of Roy yet, and he should have been back by now.
Reina had been looking after her young nephew, Roy, for the past six years. His parents, her sister Jade and her husband Ben, had lost their lives in a car crash. Reina and Roy had remained with her mother in the Welsh countryside for the first two years, but Reina’s mother became ill and passed. Reina decided it was time for a fresh start. She had moved them to London, and with her savings, purchased a boarding house from an elderly woman.
Gardener’s Inn was supposed to be a haven, a place where Roy could grow up and be a child without the painful memories of his parents' deaths. And there were a lot of painful memories, Reina soon discovered. After the death of her mother, Margaret, other secrets came to light. Perhaps the most prominent was that she had a father she had never known about. A father that her mother hid from her all her life, seeing as she was too young to remember. A father who was hell-bent on becoming a part of her life.
Oh, her father hadn’t barged in directly; he sent his son, or his lackey as Reina liked to call him.
A voice intruded into her thoughts. “Excuse me, miss, but where do you keep the top-shelf alcohol?”
Reina was about to reply that she didn’t keep alcohol at her Inn but scowled when she saw who had spoken. Speak of the devil, she mentally groaned at the sight of her half-brother, Elijah Melissinos.
In response to her scowl, Elijah sent her a wide grin and stretched out his hands in a mock hug.
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“You’ve been dodging me, little sister,” he sang.
“I’m not your sister.”
“Sure, you are,” Elijah chuckled. “I dare you to look in the mirror and argue that.”
“I told you to tell that man—”
“Our father,” Elijah cut in smoothly. “That man is our father, and he is very old. Sick unto death, I believe, is the Biblical way of putting it.”
Reina glared at him. “I’m not one of your lackeys, Elijah. Don’t think you can manipulate me into doing just whatever you want.”
Elijah cocked his head to one side before slowly stepping inside the inn. His presence was intimidating and Reina anxiously looked around him out the door. “Except, sister, it’s not about what I want. It’s about what Roy wants, and he’d really like you to reconsider meeting with our father.”
At the mention of Roy’s name, Reina’s insides did a nervous little leap. Elijah was cold, calculating, and she’d heard rumors of downright cruelty before, but he wouldn’t…at least, not to his own nephew. “Elijah, what are you implying?”
He stared at her gravely. “I’m not implying anything, Reina, but I think it would be a damn shame if Roy were no longer able to see you because of a little family misunderstanding. Don’t you?”
Reina’s face went white as she attempted to hold Elijah’s unwavering stare. “You can’t! Jade and Ben named me as Roy’s guardian! They said…”
“Jade and Ben aren’t here anymore, are they, Reina?” Elijah interrupted smoothly. “And besides, arrangements can always be adjusted with the right, er, factors.” Elijah waited and watched as the message sunk in, then he sighed. “Look, Sis.” Reina flinched at the word. “You don’t have to like me, or even our father. He’s a bastard, but he always gets what he wants. And he wants to see his grandson. Don’t let your pride force him.”
“Force you, you mean?” she shot back, meeting his gaze with accusation. “You just said that he’s sick, didn’t you, Elijah?”
Elijah parted his lips to speak, but the door burst open, and Roy’s exuberant chatter filled the room as he bounded in. He had a stranger in tow, but Reina focused on her nephew.
“Aunt Reina!” he shrieked with joy, and she winced. “Aunt Reina!” He made a beeline for her and hugged her. “You won’t believe what happened!” Roy immediately launched into an ecstatic re-telling of his afternoon, which apparently included being jumped by a pack of bullies and saved by a hero called “Gavin” with “a really cool car!” Roy paused for breath and finally noticed his uncle watching with a small smile on his face. “Who are you?” Roy finally demanded after assessing him.