Lou was done with playing by the rules, and had been when she was eighteen.
“You rude girl!”
Before long she was yelling at her mother, and her mother was yelling right back at her.
After minutes passed, Riley finally stepped between them. “Go and have a drink, Lou,” he said.
“You know I’m right.”
“I know, but they’re never going to listen. There’s no point in wasting your breath.”
“Ugh!” She walked away, not watching where she was going. People moved out of her way, which she was thankful for.
Leaving the main part of the party, she moved past the stairwell and paused. There at the top was a young girl. She had to be around ten and was so adorable with her dark brown hair and grey eyes.
“Hello,” Lou said.
The girl pressed a finger to her lips, and then waved for her to come forward. The young girl was so out of place that she found herself walking upstairs. There was a time when she was the same girl sitting on the stairs, waiting, listening. Taking a seat beside the young girl, she tucked her own hair behind her ears. The young girl was wearing some teddy bear pajamas.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m not allowed down there.”
“How come?”
“I’m too young, and my daddy says that young girls are not allowed around his not-friends.”
“Not-friends?” Lou asked.
“Friends that are not really his friends but he has to pretend like they are. He explained it to me when I was a lot younger. I’m Tamsin, by the way.”
“Louisa, but my friends call me Lou.”
“I like your name. It’s pretty.”
“Your name is pretty, too.”
Tamsin wrinkled her nose. “It’s not. My brothers tell me it’s a boy’s name all the time.”
“It’s not a boy’s name. Don’t listen to them. Boys don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“Really?”
“Seriously, you’ve got to be strong, and we have to work together against them.” She bumped her shoulder lightly with the young girl. Lou liked her. There was something about her that just put a smile on her face. She was still so young, and so oblivious to the world. It was refreshing to see.
“Are you trying to destroy my little sister?”
They both jumped as neither of them knew they had company. Turning around, she saw Jacob Denton leaning against the banister.
“Not at all. I’m just keeping her company.”
Jacob stared at her for several seconds before turning toward Tamsin. “You, young lady, should be in bed.”
Tamsin folded her arms, glaring at him. “Everyone down there is having fun.”
“I’m not having fun,” Lou said.
“What?” Tamsin and Jacob both asked at the same time.
“It’s not all fun. Sometimes adults have to have parties for no reason but it’s expected of them. What were you doing before you came sat here?”
“Reading.”
“I’d love to be reading right now. A nice big mug of cocoa, there’s nothing better is there?”
“No, there’s not,” Tamsin said.
“You better get to bed before Mom and Dad catch you.”
Tamsin stuck her tongue out at her brother, giggling as she did. “It was nice to meet you, Lou.”
“You, too.”
She was surprised when the young girl threw her arms around her shoulders, holding onto her. “Thank you.”
In the next second Tamsin was gone, and Lou was alone with Jacob.
Getting to her feet, Lou made her way back downstairs, but he stopped her by placing his hand in front of her.
“We’ve not been introduced,” he said.
She didn’t like the way he put his arm out to stop her, nor did she like how he took a step toward her.
“Louisa Moore,” she said, holding her hand out, taking a step away from him. “I know who you are.”
“Ah, my reputation precedes me.”
She frowned. “My brother showed me your picture a few years back. That’s how I know of you.”
He made to reach out, and Lou flinched away from his touch. She had heard a lot of bad shit about Jacob, and she didn’t even want to be alone with him.
Chapter Three
She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Jacob reached out to touch her but she flinched away from him, and in that moment, he knew that she didn’t have a clue what was going on with him. From the moment he’d caught sight of her in the main room where the party was held, he’d followed her.
When he caught sight of her with his sister, he’d not been able to move. He’d been concerned for his sister as she wasn’t supposed to be visible to the party members, and then he’d waited, listening to her talk. Was there a time when she was sitting on the stairs wishing she was downstairs?