“You said ‘trust is for the weak.’ Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“And then you told me that it’s wrong because it takes a lot to put your faith and hope in another person.”
“It does.” I agree with his version of my words, leaning back into Casper.
“My grandad preached that to me. On repeat. How coincidental is it that my grandad and your dad would both swear by that gospel? It’s not one we share as a collective.” He looks at Casper and adds, “I think if we let Charles go, rough him up so that he needs help to get back on his feet…and then let him go, I think that he’ll lead us to my grandad. He’ll be broken enough that he won’t be thinking straight. He’ll fuck up. He already did, trying to send someone for Fleur.”
“And then what? If he leads you to Kingsley, what happens then?” I look him in the eyes, holding his stare for a moment.
I’ve spent the last few days trying to find any similarities. Anything that would make us alike. Family. And it’s only now, looking into his eyes, that I find it…he’s as thirsty for blood as I am.
“They pay.”
Chapter 37
FLEUR
He’s not happy. Casper is fuming, I feel it in my bones. The anger he’s reining is coursing through me as we eat dinner in awkward silence. His father is gone as is Georgina, and Freddie is doing everything he can to get a rise from him.
It’s what he does when he feels pushed out. And with Christopher firmly in the no deal with the Russians camp, he’s doing everything he can to be a nuisance. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here trying not to ram an elbow so hard into Casper’s side that I leave a dent or something.
“How are the wedding plans coming along?” Beatriz asks Cassie louder than she needs to, seeing as they’re sitting beside one another. I’m guessing she wants to break the icy atmosphere.
“Umm…okay, I suppose. We’re not really sure what we’re doing yet. We’re trying to accommodate things.”
Leo laughs, annoyance tinging his tone to match the clench of his jaw.
“More like her grandmother.” Penny shakes her head.
“Ah, yes. Emily.” Beatriz hides her knowing smile behind her napkin while she presses it to the corners of her mouth.
I don’t think she’s ever dropped a grain of rice on her lap, let alone gotten food around her lips. She’s so prim.
“You could elope. The chapel here has seen its fair share of secret weddings.”
“Now, now, Bea,” Filipe chuckles. “Don’t try to poke the bear.”
“Are you calling Emily a bear?” She looks at him wide-eyed, feigning innocence.
“Bea…” he grits out. “Para.” Stop.
There’s clearly water under that bridge. Where once it would’ve excited me to find out what it is, I can’t be bothered with it. It’s beyond me.
“Fine.” She shrugs but then turns back to Cassie with a rueful grin. “The offer is there if you want it. And at the peak of summer…it’s beautiful here. Meadows and sunshine. The trees are thick and green. It really is stunning. Don’t you think, Casper?”
“No comment.” He laughs for the first time since we’ve sat to eat. Wrapping his arm around my back, he kisses me on the head. “You’re stirring.”
“The problem with the two of you is that you’re meddlers,” Arabella says from the doorway. She’s got Grace all bundled up in her arms. “You’re both as bad as each other.”
There’s not a single sound coming from my little girl. And although my first instinct is to get up and take her back, I resist it.
“You’re one to talk,” Christopher tells her, pulling out the vacant seat between us. “Is there a single person in this room you haven’t meddled with?”
“Shut your trap!” Sitting down and turning to me with a molten smile on her face, she tells me, “She finished the bottle and dirtied. She’s the most adorable thing ever, and I’m telling you, she has blue eyes.”
Gently pressing a kiss to the top of Grace’s head, she sighs, resting her head on Christopher’s shoulder while she continues cooing over my baby girl.