Roman: Book 2 (The Hunter Brothers Series) (24 page)

“Nothing really,
he just said now Silus was gone that people would be after you. I was trying
not to look too interested, so I didn’t ask any more questions,” I said,
thinking maybe I should have.

“That’s fine,
Chas, it’s enough. Thank you,” he said, ending the call before I had the chance
to ask what he was going to do or if he was worried about it.

I made my way into
the city. I was looking for something to wear tomorrow, but I didn’t really
need anything. I had two wonderful new dresses still to show off. I wandered
aimlessly around the shops before going back to the apartment, thinking perhaps
I should save the money I’d earned today. After that fateful weekend at the
estate, Jess moving out had become a distinct possibility and I couldn’t afford
the apartment on my wages. I’d have to take in a lodger. I really missed Dex
already. I’d miss the school run, and the dinners and the cleaning. I’d become
used to being parent number two without even realising it, and I had precious
little to fill my days when they weren’t around. I hit the gym and then the sun
beds. Major downside of living alone; there was no one here to spray tan me.

Chapter Eighteen

I woke up happy.
It was my birthday, and as I trudged my way out of bed to brush my teeth, I
noticed the lights were on and heard the unmistakeable squeal of my nephew as
he watched a cartoon. I did the best I could with my appearance, which wasn’t
much, and walked through to the kitchen for a coffee. Before that it would be
difficult to function properly. “Good morning and happy birthday,” Jess
grinned, pulling me into a hug that I returned, squeezing even more tightly
when I saw the huge box, gift wrapped on the kitchen table.

“I was going to
surprise you with breakfast in bed, but you beat me to it. I’ve done the
coffee, the pancakes will still be five minutes,” she smiled as the sweet aroma
enveloped my senses and I turned to see the crisp bacon sizzling in the pan.
How had I not noticed that?

 
“Oh God, please tell me you brought Maple
syrup,” I squealed as she nodded.

“Lucas has had to
suffer these all week. I’ve been practising,” she laughed as she flipped the
pancakes and Dex came tearing through.

“Aunty
Chhhaaassss,” he shouted as I picked him up, ruffling his hair as he kissed me
happy birthday.

“You wait in the
lounge, I’ll bring everything through,” she smiled as I walked in with Dex,
standing aback as I saw Lucas sitting there, watching the cartoon intently and
wishing I’d bothered to brush my hair.

“Happy Birthday,
Chas,” he grinned, eyeing me up and down. It was fair to say I had looked better.
In my efforts to cut costs in a dry run, ready for the inevitable day my sister
moved out, I decided against heating and opted for thick flannelette P.J’s. It had
worked for us in the past. Luckily the heat from the kitchen, and the energy
Dexter was creating as he span like a Tasmanian devil across the small space,
was taking the chill off. I could see why they preferred Lucas’s place.

“Sorry, I wasn’t
expecting visitors. Are you two joined at the hip now, or what?” I smirked as
he grinned and Jess shouted through from the kitchen.

 
“Before you give him a hard time, you should
know that he paid for your present,” she laughed as I smiled, rubbing my hands
together in glee, knowing it would be something really, really nice.

I sat down,
sipping my coffee as Dexter gave me my cards to open and Lucas rose to answer
the door. I had no idea who it could be this early, and I didn’t want any more
visitors. I looked a mess. I heard him say something before he walked back in
with another parcel as my eyes widened in surprise. Who could that could be
from? It was beautifully wrapped as I looked up at Lucas. “It’s a bit early for
the postman,” I said curiously as his mouth curved into a wry smile.

 
“Private delivery,” he said, flashing his
eyebrows, holding out the box and I wondered if he knew something I didn’t.

“Pass it here
then,” I said, giving it a shake before Dex told me I had to open my cards
first. Apparently that’s what he had to do, so I decided not to argue, reading
them and arranging them on the mantelpiece before Jess came in with my
breakfast. “Thank you,” I smiled, putting the plate on my lap. It was a
veritable feast of my favourite ever breakfast; pancakes, crispy bacon and
maple syrup, and a far cry from cornflakes. “Is no one else eating?” I asked as
she shook her head, sitting down and watching as I tucked in, dribbling syrup
down the front of my oversized pyjama top. I didn’t care.

“No, we’ve eaten.
I did my last practice run before we set off,” she said and I knew she’d worked
hard on this.

“Aw, thanks, Sis,
it really means a lot,” I smiled, polishing it off in record time and wondering
if there was any more. “

You liked it
then?” she laughed as I nodded. “Let it go down and there’s cake in the
kitchen,” she said as I grinned broadly.

“You know the way
to a girl’s heart,” I smiled as she topped up my coffee before retrieving my
giant gift.

“This looks
exciting,” I smiled, ripping off the packaging and grinning broadly at the
beautiful new Louboutins I’d had my eye on in the boutique. I hadn’t dared pick
two pairs, but these were definitely my second favourite as I squealed giddily,
pulling them both into a hug. “Thank you, they are beautiful,” I squealed,
putting them on my feet as Dex held up another box.

 
“This is from me,” he smiled as I opened it
carefully; removing the bubble wrap to reveal a beautiful frame with a picture
of me that Dex had painted himself.

“I love it,
squirt,” I laughed, putting it on the mantelpiece with my cards as he passed me
another. “I got you this too,” he said and I was overwhelmed with how spoilt
I’d been this morning. There were definite perks to Lucas Hunter being my
almost brother-in-law.

It was a bottle of
perfume and a box of indulgent looking chocolates and I pulled him into a giant
hug before he grabbed the pink box from the table and passed it over. “Who sent
it?” Dex asked as I shook my head, opening the wrapping and picking up the card
that lay inside.

‘Happy Birthday,
baby. You said you always wanted one. I hope I chose right. Charlie x’

My heart fluttered
in my chest as I tentatively opened the box, my jaw dropping as I saw its
contents. Nestled inside in pure white tissue was the most beautiful Chanel
handbag I had ever seen. I swallowed hard, pulling it out and staring at Jess
in shock. “Charlie,” I said simply as her eyes widened and Lucas smiled
knowingly. I was stunned, and it took a moment to sink in. He’d remembered that
daft conversation in the lodge and bought the most perfect present I could wish
for. It was beyond thoughtful and touched my heart.

“Tyler sent this,”
Lucas said, pulling an envelope from his pocket as I raised my eyebrows. “Yeah,
he surprised me too,” he said as I laughed. I certainly hadn’t expected a
present from Tyler. It was a blank CD and I looked at them both curiously,
pulling out the small note that he’d written inside.

It read,
‘This
is from Roman’
. I moved to the CD player, popping it in and as curious
as the proverbial cat. “It’s not from Tyler,” I said, turning to my sister and
Lucas as they glanced at each other and then back at me.

As the music
struck up I knew instantly what it was and smiled broadly. “It’s a recording of
Heat, the day they jammed with Roman,” I said, listening to the song as tears
pricked at my eyes. I was confused and suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. I’d
asked him to sing for me and he told me that he would, one day. On this track,
he was singing ‘Wonderment’ alongside Tyler, and they must have done it when
I’d gone to the kitchen, before he’d screwed me in Marigolds.

It was a tiny
reminder of our long weekend, and one that I would treasure forever. It
reinforced what he’d said the night he visited; that the weekend was as special
to him as it had been for me, and a shiver of warmth ran through me.

“What does it
mean?” Jess asked as I shook my head.

“It’s just a memento,”
I said as Lucas held my gaze.

“Maybe my brother
has a heart after all,” he chuckled as I smiled and I knew this had surprised
him. I’d kept the secret break-in just that. Secret. I didn’t want to have to
go through it all again and rake back over things with Charlie. It was over,
we’d ended on a good note eventually and it was best to let those particular
sleeping dogs lie.

“He’s got a big
heart beating under that badass body; he just likes to hide it. He loves you
all more than you know, and certainly more than he’ll ever let on,” I smiled as
Lucas nodded.

“Yeah, I know.
 
We might argue and fight, but we’re pretty
tight,” he laughed. He had that right.”Are you two friends again now?”

Jess was staring
at me with suspicious eyes as I decided to ignore her, commenting instead on
how great the track sounded and ‘Sshh-ing’ her as she started to speak.

 
“Speaking of
friends
, is Charlie coming tonight?” Jess asked, as soon as it
ended, rolling her tongue around the word which I deliberately ignored. I knew
what she was implying as I nodded and smiled. “Scarlett?” she asked.

“No way. No one
likes her.” I couldn’t deny I was curious about Charlie’s new squeeze, but I
didn’t want her at my birthday party.

“You haven’t even
met her, Chas,” she replied quickly, casting me a look that told me she’d be
giving her the benefit of the doubt.

“Well Lucas
doesn’t like her and I trust him implicitly,” I smiled, casting him a wry
glance.

“Since when? I
thought I was a dickwad,” he grinned as I laughed.

“Only sometimes,
the rest of the time you’re implicitly trustworthy, like about this. Besides, I
haven’t called you a dickwad for ages. I see how you are with Jess, you
convinced me, Hunter.”

“Good, maybe you
can convince her,” he said, pulling Jess onto his lap as she giggled
infectiously.

 
“I don’t need convincing. I love you,” she
laughed as his face lit up and I could see the warmth in their gaze. I was
pleased for them, and a little bit jealous. Lucas Hunter adored my sister and
my gut clenched as I wondered if I’d passed up my chance for that kind of
happiness by sleeping with Roman. I had to forget it. Charlie wasn’t my Mr
Right, he was screwing someone else.

They were both
laughing as I went into the kitchen to retrieve my cake, wearing my new red Louboutins
with my black Chanel bag swinging from my shoulder. “Now who wants cake for
breakfast?” I smiled, holding it out as Dexter screamed “Yes.”

 
We spent the next hour eating cake and
laughing, playing with Dex and talking about Tyler’s fast ascension to
celebrity status. The band was widely recognised already, getting significant
radio and TV airplay, and appearing in tabloids and magazine shoots all over
the place.

The band was
incredible, but it was Tyler the media wanted, and Lucas was already concerned
about him. Reading between the lines, I knew this made him more inclined to buy
the label, not less. He consistently referred to it as a “circus full of sharks
and freaks.”

Lucas was private
and went to great lengths to keep it that way. I was grateful to Charlie for
not revealing my slip up about his sex life. Tyler wanted the fame and the
celebrity, but he would have to be careful and so would we. No gossiping in
ladies rooms about the Hunter brothers any more, or tittle tattling in coffee
shops and we’d have to be really careful around Dexter. That little boy could
drop a verbal shock bomb like no one else I knew, and the funny thing was he
didn’t even know he was doing it.

“Are you worried
about him getting pulled deeper into that scene, dabbling in drugs and stuff?”
I asked as Lucas frowned and nodded.

“Tyler’s great,
but he isn’t always sensible. He likes to push limits and get his kicks in
unconventional ways.” I bit back the urge to say ‘It must run in the family
then’. Lucas was one to talk.

“Tyler likes to
show off, it’s his nature. He’s determined to live up to his image as the badass
rock star that the media are portraying him as. At the moment it’s an act. You
know as much as I do that he isn’t that way, but I worry that it’s only a matter
of time before life imitates art. He’s still reeling from Romans revelations
and Mum and Dad’s deaths. He needs someone to keep a close eye on him, or he
could seriously go off the rails. It’s one of the main reasons I want to buy
the label. That way, I can put the right staff in place to guide him and keep
away the sycophants, pushers and clingers on who’ll encourage him to live up to
his image. It’s in their interest that he does and it’s the last thing he
needs.”

“I get why he
doesn’t want you to though,” I said as Lucas nodded.

“So do I, but
interfering in his career is the last thing I want. He should have his
independence, he’s earned it, but I want to take care of my brother and protect
him. It’s what Dad would have wanted too.”

I could see how
torn Lucas was. He’d assumed the position of head of the family and carried the
weight and worry for his brothers on his shoulders. “He listens to Roman,
Lucas. He’ll step in and help,” I said as Lucas shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s if
we ever know where he is.”

“I can call him if
you need him,” I said as Lucas’s eyes widened and his brows shot up in
surprise.

“You have his
number?” he asked incredulously as I nodded and he blew out in a long
exaggerated sigh. “Then you must mean a lot to him. That’s more than any of us
have ever had, but good to know, Chas.” I was hoping he wasn’t going to ask me
for it, but the look on his face suggested he knew better. If Roman wanted his
brothers to have it, he’d have given it to them. At least now they knew how to
reach him and I realised he wasn’t about to risk losing that.

“Why didn’t you
call him when he left if you had his number?” Jess asked. God, that girl didn’t
miss a thing.

“I didn’t have it
then. Anyway, it’s old news,” I said, trying to stop her in her tracks, but she
wouldn’t leave it there. If the boot was on the other foot, neither would I.