Regency Romance: A Duchess in Disguise (Historical 19th Century Victorian Romance) (Duke Fantasy Billionaire Romance) (57 page)

The doorbell rang loud in the living room, and I did my best to look casual.  Mother hurriedly paced to the door and tore it open.  The frame of the figure standing at the
door
was much larger than I expected.

“Hello, Gladys.  I hope you don’t mind if I brought my boys along.  They’re going to have to meet sooner or later, I figured now is as good a time as any,” said the man. 

Such an odd way to phrase it, and I wondered what he meant by ‘sooner or
later.'

I stood from my chair, attempting to peer
around the door
to see who might be talking.  Then I saw Rick walk inside the house.

Rick.

“What the hell are you doing here,” I asked, with my mouth agape.

Rick turned to find the source of the voice and squared up when he saw me. 

“You’re the last person I expected to see here, how do you know Gladys?” he asked.

“I’m her daughter,” I replied coldly. 

I gave him a stare that would kill a rhino in its
step,
but he looked unfazed by it.  Then another young man strode into the house hoisted up by a pair of crutches. 

“Who’s this, Rick?” I prodded.

“You could just ask me,” he started, “I’m Trenton,
nice
to meet you.”

He seemed so upbeat; I reached out to his outstretched hand and gave it a shake.
 

“So, this is your brother, Rick?” I asked.

They did look quite similar, but Trenton was younger and had more
childish
features, but still the same piercing blue eyes.

“Did you want to sit down, Trenton,” I asked.

He nodded, so I showed him to my reading chair.  I think he liked it quite a bit as he sat his crutches beside the fireplace.

I stood partially
alone
with Rick in the walkway.

“If you tell my mom about what happened I will seriously kill you,” I said.

“I haven’t told a soul and don’t intend to start now,” he replied.

I stormed off to the kitchen to click off the stove.  Steam billowed from the noisy kettle, so I removed it from the burner and started pouring myself a glass.  Then I remembered my manners.

“Trenton, Rick, would you guys like some tea,” I asked curtly.

“Just me,” replied Trenton.

I fixed him a nice warm cup and brought a glass of water back for Rick.  As I walked into the living room where they sat, I saw Trenton holding Rick
inside
a headlock.  Rick was doing his best impression of
being stuck
, but it didn’t fool me.

“Geez, Trenton, you keep working out and you’ll be laying everyone flat.”

Trenton giggled. 

I handed them their drinks and sat on the couch opposite them.  My mother and the stranger at the door continued to chat in whispers until she finally came into the living room.

“Okay, we’re just going to come out and say it,” my mom said.

“We’re getting married!” added the man I’d never seen before.

I stared at the two with an expression of disbelief.

“Okay, mom, whatever you say,” I said.

Rick stood up and walked over to his dad, taking him in for a big hug.

“I’m sure mom would be proud that you’ve finally moved on,” he said.

I couldn’t tell from the
distance,
but I thought I caught a glimpse of tears forming at the edges of his eyes. 

I stood and joined my mother.  I had questions that needed answering.

4.

“It was incredibly cute; we were at a singles dance night at the community center.  My partner had wandered off and was flirting with another girl, so I found myself raiding the punch bowl. 

“While I was over there, I noticed Bill looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody was looking.  I did my best to look like I hadn’t
noticed
but apparently he knew I was watching. 

“He pulled an entire bottle of Vodka from his coat and dumped it in the bowl.  I laughed so hard that people started staring.  And, when people started staring at me, they saw Bill still pouring the bottle.

“We ended up both getting kicked out of the dance, but we still spent the evening talking about old times.”

My mother kept her gaze on Bill the entire time she told the story; I did think it
was, at least,
a little cute.  Still, they’re getting married, and that was difficult to wrap my head around. 

“Why are you guys getting married so quickly?  It’s only been a
couple of
months,” I asked.

“When you start getting up to my age, you
start
to realize that every second
you
have is a gift, and
getting
to send all those seconds with people you care about is worth more than gold,” added Bill.

I toyed with the glass of wine my mother poured for me for dinner.  I hadn’t had any alcohol since my escapade at school, but I made
a special
excuse to drink with her as a toast. 

“I’m happy for you, mom, I
really
am.  But, this is going to take a little while to get
used to
.  I think I’m going to turn in for the evening.  Goodnight everyone,” I said.

Mother cleared her throat.

“Sweetie,
Bill
and the kids are going to spend the night tonight.  Don’t be surprised if you wake up to strangers in the night,”

I sighed deeply.

“Would you prefer I sleep in my car,” I asked.

She shook her head.

“No, you sleep in your bed.  I just want you to know that the toilet seat might be left up, so you should keep an eye out.”

“Goodnight, mother,” I said while rolling my eyes. 

She giggled and sipped on her wine, as I made my way back upstairs. 

5.

I woke to a cry in the next room over; it was Trenton in the guest bedroom.  I heard Rick’s voice softly speaking in the darkness to his brother, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.  I stepped from my bed and leaned against the door of my room, hoping to make out what he was saying.  It was no
good;
there was too much between us.

I creaked open the door of my room and tip-toed down the hall.  Every step made raised the volume of the voices. 

“So
you’re having
a bad dream, buddy,” I heard Rick’s voice say.

“I swear I heard a monster under the bed, can you check again,” Trenton asked.

I heard shuffling around the bedroom.

“I saw one, but I scared it off with my ugly face.  Most monsters are
scared
of me.”

Trenton laughed in the bedroom. 

“Alright, get some sleep, pal,” Rick added.

I heard footsteps coming towards the door of the bedroom, and turned to rush back to my room, but I
was unfortunately caught
.  The door to the guest room screeched open in the dimly lit hallway, exposing me in my pajamas.

“Casey?”

I stood still, hoping he hadn’t seen me, but my better
judgment
helped me realize that was impossible.

“Rick,” I stated casually, “I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard you guys talking.  I didn’t hear anything, I swear.”

He exited the guest bedroom and pulled the door closed.

“Hey, when
you’re done
in the bathroom, do you think we can talk?”

“I don’t
really
need to go to the bathroom,” I said sheepishly.

He nodded and wandered down the nearby staircase, I followed.  I had a lot of questions for him that I
needed answered
as well. 

He propped himself on the couch, and I in my favorite chair.

“I don’t know what to say,” he started.

“I’m going to make some tea,” I said as I stood up and made for the kitchen.

“What happened to your dad,” he asked bluntly.

I hadn’t thought about it since it happened, and it felt odd talking about it with him.  But, I think he knew loss about as well as I did.  He might be one of the few people to understand.

“My dad always had a weak heart.  It was a matter of time before the stress caught up with him.  He passed away from a stroke a few years back.  Mom’s always kept jobs for herself on the side, so it wasn’t hard for her to step up and take over the finances. 

“I think about him from time to time.  I miss his stupid smile and the way he’d watch hockey games.”

Rick laughed.

“So you were always a stick in the mud?” he asked.

“I was always what I am right now,” I said.

I offered him a cup of
tea,
and he accepted
it
but showed little interest in drinking it.

“Why did you pay that girl to force me into that stupid challenge?” I asked.

“Straight to business,” he replied, “very forward
of
you.  I would have thought you’d ask about my mother first.”

“I was about to, but certain things came to mind first.  What did you do with the video?”

He laughed.

“I suppose you
would
want to know what happened to that,” he said, “I kept it in a safe place so nobody would be able to watch it.”

“You’re not going to hold it over my head, are you?”

“I’ve no intention of doing that,” he replied.

“Then what are you going to do with it,” I asked.

“I have no idea.  I haven’t even watched it at all.  I felt guilty after taking it.”

“You felt guilty?  Why?”

“Because, after you did it I couldn’t help but admire your adventurous spirit,” he said.

I didn’t think I had an adventurous spirit.

“Why don’t you just delete it,” I asked.

“Because it’s a masterpiece, I think.  Watching you fall flat on your butt on the ice was quite
a nice
view,” he said with a smile.

“Well then, what did you think of the kiss,” I asked.

He pondered the answer for a moment before replying.  I wondered what was turning in that ridiculous brain of his.

“I think that’s why I felt so guilty after taping you,” he said, “thinking of the kiss makes me
think the video was
a mistake.”

I thought about the kiss again, that moment was etched in my brain as though a splinter that had taken root.  I
actually
fell asleep thinking about it earlier, and thinking about it now was making me more than a little aroused.

“It’s wrong to think about that now.  We’ll be siblings soon,” I said.

“Yeah, we’ll be siblings
really
soon.  Too bad, too.  I was going to ask you out after the break was over,” he quipped.

I had to take a moment and sip at my tea before saying much more.  This guy was gorgeous, and he wanted to ask me out.  Why did our parents have to be getting married?

“You know, they’re not married yet,” I said, coyly while taking another sip.

He looked over at me, and his expression made it seem like his brain was overloaded trying to figure out what I had just said.

“That’s a good point,” he said.

“Does that mean you’re going to ask me out on a date,” I asked.

He smiled a devilish smile.

“Considering they’re planning on getting married while we’re here on break, I’d have to do it soon,” he said.

I felt naughty thinking about it, but this might be my only chance with one of the hottest guys I’d ever met.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to go skating for a bit.  The pond out back freezes over and makes for
a fine
spot to practice,” I said.

He nodded.

“Would you like to go skating with me, Casey?”

“I’d be happy to,”

We set a time for twenty minutes.  I sprinted up the stairs as silently as I could and threw on my warmer clothes with my skates propped over my shoulder.

The two of us snuck around the house and to the back door.  I crunched in the snow outside, and Rick joined me.  I balled up some snow and did my best to pack a snowball to smack him in the face, but he had the same idea and got to it first.  Striking me square in the head, I returned the favor and hit him
in
the chin.  After that, we formed a truce.

The small pond was barely half the size of a regulation ice rink, but just the right size for children to practice.