Fallen Stars and Broken Dreams - C.C. Masters Page 0,15
but none of that really mattered. My classmates would probably be thrilled to hear that a famous billionaire and a supermodel had watched us dance. But me? I resented their presence here. What gave them the right to invade my life without warning? To ruin what should have been one of the highlights of my year? I wanted them gone.
Kingston looked up from his phone. “No hug for your new brother?” He held out his hands expectantly with a teasing grin on his face, but I could see a hard edge in his eyes that made me nervous. The friendly face was just a mask hiding whatever ugliness hid beneath. Ugliness that I had no desire to get near. “C’mon sis, don’t leave me hanging.”
I reluctantly stepped forward and leaned towards him, intending to give him an air hug that would last less than a second. He had other intentions, and pulled me tight against him, crushing my tutu between us.
“At least my dad hasn’t asked you to call him daddy…yet,” he whispered into my ear. I pushed away from him angrily, but he just kept an amused look on his face as he let me go.
“Maybe we could have dinner next time you’re in town,” I said stiffly to my mother. Hell would freeze over before that happened, but I hoped a vague promise would get me out of this miserable situation. I knew enough about Richard to know that his company was based on the west coast and far from New York.
“We plan on being here for few days,” Richard said to my dismay. “I’ve cleared my schedule for tomorrow evening, so I’ll have a car sent for you around seven. We have a lot to discuss.”
“He cleared his schedule for you,” Kingston said mockingly. “You should be honored, since you’re the only one he’s done that for in years.”
“Kingston…” Richard said in a warning voice.
Kingston stopped talking, but he didn’t wipe the smirk off his face. Maverik hadn’t said a word, just watched me with steely gray eyes that seemed to pierce right through the shell I wore on the outside, and into the vulnerable girl that lay underneath. A girl that needed to stay buried and forgotten. I shot him a hateful look to get him to back off, but the corner of his mouth tipped up in the beginning of a smirk. Asshole.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Nina stated amiably, as if our entire fifteen-minute interaction hadn’t been torturous.
She turned to go, but there was no way I was going out to dinner with those people on my own. “Does the dinner invite come with a plus one?” I called out after them.
Maverik’s eyes dropped down to where Ryan and I held hands, but Richard had a frown on his face. “This is a family dinner,” he said firmly.
“Ryan is family,” I told him with a stubborn look that meant I wasn’t going to let this go.
“Let her bring her boyfriend,” Nina murmured as she ran a hand over his arm. “It might help her relax a little.”
Richard gave me a sharp nod, which must have been the stamp of approval. Before the oddest family in the room could make it to the door, the director of the school cut Richard off. “Mr. Wilder, I had no idea you were in the audience. If I knew, I would have made sure you had the best seats.”
“The auditorium looked full,” Richard said dryly. “I wouldn’t have wanted to take anyone else’s seat.”
Alexander looked nervous but decided to push forward. “I hoped you enjoyed the performance? You know, we have a lot of very talented young dancers and an excellent scholarship program.”
“But it could be even better with an endowment from me?” Richard asked bluntly.
Alexander looked embarrassed. “Well, I…”
“No,” Richard told him flatly. “I’m not donating money to your school today.” Richard led Nina and his sons past the distraught director and out the door. The crowd parted for them as they left, and people stared as if they were celebrities. Which, I guess, they actually were.
Faces turned towards me, and the whispers started, but I ignored it all.
I let out a breath as soon as Nina and crew had left the building. I regretted giving in and agreeing to dinner. I should have thought of some way out of it.
“Please tell me that you aren’t going to make me go to the family reunion from hell,” Ryan pleaded with me. “They obviously didn’t want me to come.”