Second(10)

“No,” he says, smirking. “It’s something obvious. You don’t have to be observant, you just have to be paying a small amount of attention to you.”

I replay his last line in my head.

I put my fork down, thinking of the time we had a couples’ games night here at the house. Ben was asked what my favourite food was, and he answered with pasta, which I also love, but it wasn’t right.

He didn’t know what my favourite food was. He didn’t pay attention. So Dean can deny being observant all he wants, but he is.

“Yours is fish and chips,” I tell him, pushing away the thoughts of Ben. “You order it every time we go somewhere. The same thing, over and over.”

“It’s a safe option,” he defends, eyes gentling. “At least I always know I’ll get something that I like. You can’t really fuck up fish and chips that bad. If it doesn’t taste that great you just smother it in sauce and it becomes great.”

I shake my head at his reasoning. “Or you could, I don’t know, try something new. Live a little, maybe.”

“Oh, I live,” he says, his voice going slightly huskier than usual.

When he says nothing else, I prod. “That’s all you’re going to say? You can’t say that line like that and then not elaborate.”

He just laughs, but gives me nothing.

Is he referring to his sex life? It must be insane, and he could have the choice of any woman he wants. According to the tabloids, he’s been doing a lot of living. Meanwhile, I’ve only been with one man my entire life, and I don’t think I’ll be changing that anytime soon. Such different lives we’ve led.

“You’re staying here, right?” I ask him, making sure.

He nods. “If that’s okay.”

“More than okay.”

“Good,” he says, lip twitching.

We finish the meal, chatting and joking with each other, and then I clean up because he cooked, even though he offers to help.

We watch a movie, and I fall asleep halfway through it, so he carries me to my bed.

“Goodnight,” I mumble sleepily as he leaves my bedroom.

“Night, Sabina,” I hear him say, before I fall into a deep sleep.





Chapter Five

“Sabina, how have you been?” Kate asks me at breakfast the next morning. “We haven’t really heard from you, so I guess now that Ben’s gone we’re nothing to you? After all we’ve done for you.”

I’m about to open my mouth and tell her just how fucking rude she is, when I glance around and see Ben’s younger half-brothers watching me. I exhale, calming myself.

They haven’t done anything for me, and I’d love to tell her that. Of course she had to make such a comment in front of everyone. The woman has no class. Her new husband, Daryl, who is a wealthy man, offers me a kind smile. How she got him to love her, I’ll never know, because he actually seems like a decent man. I feel sorry for him for having to put up with her on a daily basis.

“Aunt Kate,” Dean says, trying to save my ass. “Can we just have a nice breakfast together, please?”

She looks at her nephew, and it’s like I can see the dollar signs in her eyes. Kate values money more than anything, and everyone knows Dean has a lot of it.

“Of course, honey,” she says, flashing a fake smile. “We’re so glad to have you here. Although I don’t know why you can’t stay with us.” She looks at me and lifts her chin up. “Although I guess Sabina wants you to stay at her house.”

What exactly is she insinuating here?

When I first met Kate, I thought she was a little intimidating. She demanded respect from everyone around her, loved to speak about her wealth and gold, and I could tell her son really loved her. I kept my distance, as I usually do from people, but made sure I was always kind, polite, and respectful. My family didn’t really want me to marry Ben. They’d heard things about his family. Bad blood, they said.

I didn’t listen, of course, which pushed my parents even further away, if that’s possible.

I was head over heels in love, and I was going to let future me worry about any consequences. I’d never been in love before.

In other words, I was done for.

However, I think the bad blood they spoke of must have been his mother. She has a very evil, conniving, manipulative side, one I’ve experienced firsthand. There are also lots of rumours about her that go around, mainly about her being a gold digger, and not treating people very nicely. “I wanted to stay there and make sure she’s doing okay,” Dean says in a patient tone. “You all have each other, but she’s alone there. Ben would have wanted me to.”