Marrying Mr. Darcy (Love Manor #2) - Kate O'Keeffe Page 0,50
man he is today.
“It must have been so hard for him when your dad died. Hard for all of you.”
“It wasn’t a lot of fun. But then, you know all about that, don’t you?”
I feel a stab of pain worm across my chest. “My dad was the best.”
“You miss him.”
“I do. I find myself wondering what he’d think of me here, set to marry your bother, and the very different life I’m going to have.” I smile at her, my heart aching. “I wish he could have met you all.”
“Do you think our dads would have got on?”
“I’m not sure. From what Seb has told me, your dad was quite formal and not that warm. My dad was the total opposite. The only formal thing about him was the suit and tie he’d wear on Sundays for church. The same one, every week.”
Sebastian walks in with two boxes stacked on top of one another and places them heavily down on the ground. “Why do we have so many books?” he complains, panting lightly.
Zara puts her hands up in the air. “Not guilty.”
“Oh, I know that,” he replies as he walks over toward us. “What are you two looking at?”
“Photos,” Zara replies simply. She turns the page over. “Oh, my gosh. Look at this. These are from that Christmas when Uncle Hector came with that dreadful woman who had that horrendous high-pitched laugh and smoked cigars after dinner. Remember?”
Sebastian arches an eyebrow. “Do I want to?”
“She sounds fun,” I say.
“She must have thought you were either a girl or into girly things because she gave us both Bratz dolls. Remember?”
“She did?”
“Yup. She gave me Cloe, and you got Jade. I was thrilled because I was only six or seven, but you were much older.”
“And a boy,” he adds with a laugh.
“I remember Bratz dolls,” I say. “Did you play with your doll much, Seb?” I tease. “Actually, if you were a tween at the time, I don’t know if I want you to answer that. Those dolls were pretty sexy. You know, for dolls.”
He sits down next to us on the floor. “Sexy dolls, huh, Brady? Is there something you need to tell me?”
I shake my head as I giggle. “You were a totally cute teenager.” I point at one of the photos of him in the album.
“I was deeply self-conscious and won friends by acting the clown.”
“Oh, that makes me feel so sad,” I exclaim.
“Show me a thirteen-year-old who’s totally self-assured and knows their place in the world, and I’ll show you a liar,” he replies with a smirk. “We all go through phases. I gained in confidence through my teenage years.”
“But you never rebelled,” Zara comments. “You never let loose and got drunk and threw parties and smashed priceless vases.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Zara’s describing her teens, Brady.”
“You were pretty wild, were you?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “No more than your average. Daddy was pretty strict, and there were so many rules at boarding school. A girl has got to let loose every now and then, you know.”
“So, you never did anything outrageous? Never broke the rules, got in trouble, did something you’d never do again?” I ask Seb.
Zara answers for him. “Seb was always a good boy. Always looking for Daddy’s approval. Whether he got it or not, I don’t know.”
“Did you?” I ask.
“He was a hard man to please,” he replies, and my heart goes out to the young boy wanting desperately to win his father’s approval and falling short. No matter how hard he tried.
“I’m sorry.” I place my hand on his knee, and he shoots me a grateful look.
“Look at Father in this photo,” Seb says as he points at an image in the album. “He looks so young and happy there.”
“He probably was. He adored Mum.”
“He did. A love that stands the test of time is valuable indeed.” Sebastian’s eyes find mine, and we share a smile.
Sure, our love has only stood the test of four and a half months, but we both know what we have is real. We both know what we have is precious.
We flick through some more photos, both Zara and Sebastian sharing stories of their upbringing, until we agree it’s high time we got back to work, or the house wouldn’t be ready for its grand opening. Zara hops up and returns to the stack of boxes downstairs.
With Zara out of the room, I pull Sebastian in for a hug. “I cannot imagine how hard it would have been