King Hunt (Boys of Brisley 1)

Charlie hummed, wiggling his toes and reaching over for his glass of water. “She’s terrible at chess and even worse at being a person. No empathy, that one.”

“Gross. What did he see in her?” I asked, massaging his ankles for the first time since I found a proper how-to guide.

“She needed him. That’s what he saw and that’s all it took.”

I frowned, trying to understand him. “And what about his needs?”

“As I understand it, he has his own way of dealing with those.” He coughed, then leaned back and sighed happily at the relief in his ankles. “You’re n-not bad at this. Anna would rather chop off her own hands than try, so you’ve got that on her, too.”

The fact that Charlie was comparing us worried me that he thought Sterling and I had a future. “Charlie ... that’s his type? I’m not it. I bet her and I don’t have one thing in common besides knowing Sterling is gorgeous.”

“Oliver has a type. A very specific, virtually non-negotiable type. Sterling does not. And if he did, it wouldn’t be Anna. Not anymore, anyway.” He tapped me to get me to stop the massage, then met my eyes. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know. A fool could see the spark between you and my son. Don’t snuff that out because Anna can’t let go of the mistakes she’s made.”

I nodded, glancing at the door to ensure we were still alone before speaking again. “Have you ever seen her comfortable? Like not in heels?”

“No. I didn’t live here when they were together,” he admitted.

“I see. Where did you live? Is it the house I saw in a bunch of photos?” I asked enthusiastically, wanting to change the subject from that gorgeous woman to something that might make Charlie smile.

“Yes. That was the house I built with my Ellie. I stayed there as long as I could, but Sterling in-insisted that I either move here or into a home once things with Anna ended. It wasn’t a question for me.” He took a sip of his water and glanced toward the door. “I wonder what she could possibly want from him after all this time.”

“Me too.” I looked down as I contemplated that, but the sound of Carl barking pulled me out of it. I walked over by the stairs to listen and heard the front door close, then rushed back to Charlie to tuck him in. “I’ll go ask him.”

“Good luck, my dear.” He gave me a knowing smile and relaxed, pulling his blanket up a little higher. “Good night.”

“Night.” I clicked off his light, took a deep breath and then went down to find Sterling with a drink. “Hey,” I said softly, pouring one for myself and sitting next to him. “You okay?”

“That’s a loaded question right now,” he muttered. “I’ll be fine. How are you? My dad?”

“Fine, we’re fine. He’s in bed, loved the foot rub. I learned some tricks if you want to be another guinea pig.” I took a drink and set it aside, holding out my hands with a give-me motion. “Come on, big guy. Let someone help you for a change.”

He tilted his head but nodded slightly, then shifted to put his feet in my lap. “You don’t have to do this, you know. I daresay it doesn’t fall in your job description.”

“Do I have one of those?” I smiled at him and started rubbing. “I’m sure a zoo trip wasn’t on there either, but I still did it. I like doing these small extra things for you guys.”

“Honesty, I should give you a raise just for making Anna uncomfortable,” he said softly. “The rest is just a bonus.”

“Did I?” I straightened my back playfully. “Was it the hair? No, definitely the Crocs, huh?”

“Both. She was angry I defended you, too. But don’t worry, I highly doubt she’ll be coming back.”

“Good. Wait, defended me? Did she talk shit about my fashion?”

“Among other things,” he admitted. “She’s like that with everyone though, so don’t take it personally.”

“I won’t. Her opinion means absolutely nothing in my life.” I continued rubbing and watching him closely. He was so close to opening up, I just had to tread lightly. King hunt. “What did she want?”

He huffed. “She wanted her job back. Apparently, she’s made a habit of fucking her bosses and it’s come back to bite her in the ass. Not on my fucking life, though. I’d rather give up the whole company than have her work for me again.”

I scrunched up my face at her audacity. “Wow. I’m sorry Sterling, but your ex sounds like a real bitch.”

“I don’t like speaking that way about anyone, but yeah. You really don’t know the half of it.” He drained his glass and carefully extricated his feet, then stood to get a refill. “Want another one? Hell, get me drunk enough and I might just tell you all about it.”

“In that case, bring the bottle, Silver. Let’s have a night.”