Page 5 of Hollywood King
Heath
“You have gotto be fucking kidding me, Catherine.” Neither of us noticed anything until the slam of the door accompanied her annoying older brother’s words.
I should have heard the car. At the very least, the slam of the door, but nothing broke through the haze as Cathy revealed herself to me in the light of day.
I stretched my arms out to pull her behind me, her slight frame easily hidden by my bigger one while she scrambled for clothing. I faced off with my biggest enemy and the man who would likely be the reason Cathy and I were separated for good one day. “Oh Ley, I didn’t know you got an invite too. Family reunion is it?”
Hindley Earnshaw took a step toward me. And when I matched his short stride with my long one, he jerked to a halt. I’d wanted nothing more than to punch his sniveling face for years. All I needed was a good enough reason for Father. Him being a dick to Catherine, the jewel in Mr. Earnshaw’s crown, would be more than enough excuse.
Cathy had recovered and ducked around my arm. She levelled her brother a glare and crossed her arms under the breasts I’d be seeing in my dreams for years. “Get out.”
“Are you really telling me you’re going to throw everything away for this hoodlum.”
She vibrated with tension, and I took a step back. If she did the punching, it might make the situation easier to navigate. Plus, I wanted to see her throw the right hook I taught her, in person.
“I’m not going to tell you to get out again. And if you tell Father about this, I’ll let it slip how you paid off one of your whores after you assaulted her last year.”
He squared his shoulders, his face going red. “I did not...” He sputtered off at the end, and she pressed further.
Good girl. Keep him on the run.
“Oh, no, you didn’t put the girl in the hospital? Because I’m pretty sure I processed the paperwork for that little trust fund payment you made. I know Daddy doesn’t look at that sort of stuff. He’s never cared about the money, but I saw it. And it sure would look nice splattered across our mantle come Christmas.”
She didn’t move, didn’t back down. Something like pride pulled tight the strings in my chest.
Ley threw a crumpled newspaper in between them and gave her a wicked smile. I knew that smile better than Cathy did. Hindley’s version of twisted checkmate before he squeezed something enough to make it hurt. “Oh well, excuse me. I just thought you might want my congratulations in person. As you’ll soon be Mrs. Edgar Linton, if page six is anything to believe.”
I should have known better, by now definitely, but I couldn’t stop myself from swooping to drag the paper off the floor. There in the engagements section were Cathy and Edgar’s names announcing a spring wedding for next year.,
Not looking at either of them, I asked Catherine. “Is this true?”
She stepped forward and dusted the page out of my hands to flutter to the floor. “Absolutely not. Do you think I’d be here if I were engaged? What kind of woman do you think I am?”
“You saw him last week. You told me he took you to dinner.”
She squeezed my arm tighter. “He did. But it certainly wasn’t an engagement.”
“Then how do you explain this,” I gestured at the crumpled newsprint. “They verify facts and check things, Cathy. They can’t report it if it’s not true, or at least rumored.”
I finally looked up to meet her eyes. Cathy had never been able to lie to me, and I didn’t see a single doubt there.
“I don’t know what this is about. It’s not true.”
We both looked to Ley, standing smug with his arms crossed under his chest. “Don’t look at me. I just delivered the news.” He walked out the door and called behind him. “You two kids have fun.”
The bastard knew he’d put a pall over our entire last weekend together. My question was, how did he find out about us? I sure as shit didn’t tell him, and Cathy hated him as much as I did.
“How did he even know we would be here?” I asked, turning my back on Cathy now. The food I’d eaten threatened to find its way back up from my gut. I didn’t trust Hindley, but something still felt off. If the announcement wasn’t true, fine, but his coming here meant a far bigger problem.
Our secret is out.
I looked at her now. She shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t say anything. You know I wouldn’t have.”
“You’re Catherine Earnshaw. Someone must have seen you, and it got back to him, or Father, or someone.” I didn’t trust myself around her with my anger so close to the surface. “I’m going to take a walk.”
She surged forward and latched onto my arm again. “Please, don’t. Let’s forget he was even here and go back to eating dinner.”
I gave her a wry smile and traced my thumb down the familiar curve of her cheek. “Or not eating dinner.”
