Mark (Next Generation Carter Brother #9)

CHAPTER TEN

Freya

My guilty pleasure has always been reading romantic fantasy novels. They take me out of reality and away from the shit storm this real world can be at times. When I picked up this book, I thought it was going to be about Fae and prophecies. Instead, it’s a whole lot of steamy sex scenes, which is making me feel uncomfortable since I’m surrounded by dozens of people.

Water splashes over my legs and it’s a welcome delight since I was beginning to feel a little too hot, and not from the sun.

I lower the book onto my lap, noticing the little girl my neighbour was throwing about in the pool earlier, and who he had with him last night. She’s so pretty, and can’t be much older than two or three. Her dark hair is pulled up high in a ponytail, and water drips off her thick lashes.

She scrunches her button nose up as she giggles. “Sowie.”

“Where is your uncle?”

She moves closer until she’s right next to me. “I’m hiding,” she whispers.

I scan the pool, spotting him searching under the sun lounger with a panicked look. “I think you should tell him where you are.”

I move when she comes to sit down next to me. “Read me book!” she softly demands.

I snap it closed in case she’s a genius and can read the words. “I tell you what, why don’t you read…” I go to hand her my phone, but then realise the Anime I have on there will be enough to scare her. Then I remember the children’s book I wrote and got illustrated is also on there. “Want to read this book about a little girl and her best friend?”

She takes my phone and tucks herself under my shoulder. I smile, but then remember I might get accused of kidnapping, so I glance over to where her uncle is.

And once again, I’m struck by the sight of him. I choked on air earlier when he got out of the swimming pool. All those ripped muscles with water dripping down his chest was every woman’s fantasy. If I didn’t hate him so much, I would have snapped a picture to send it to Summer.

I wave him over when he meets my gaze, then point down to the little girl snuggled into me.

“She approached me,” I state when he’s close enough to hear.

“And you thought it was fun to watch me lose my shit thinking I had lost her?” he scolds.

I narrow my gaze. “She’s been here less than a minute.”

“It takes her longer than that to fall asleep,” he snidely remarks.

“Fall asleep?” I repeat, and glance down to find she is indeed asleep. “I swear to you on my life, she came over here moments ago. I flagged you down the minute she was occupied.”

“How can I trust that’s the truth?”

Oh, I am sick of people calling me a liar today. “Fuck off!” I hiss, after covering her ear with my hand. “When she wakes up, you can ask her yourself. I’m sick of people calling me a liar.”

He scrubs a hand over his face, taking a seat on the empty lounger next to me. “Sorry. My heart is still racing. I’d never live with myself if something happened to her under my watch. My brother would murder me too if something happened to her. I really thought I might have lost her, or worse, she had gone too close to the edge of the ship.”

“Apology accepted,” I begrudgingly reply. “What’s her name?”

“Sunday.”

“Sunday?” I repeat, wondering what kind of person names their kid after a day of the week. I thought last night she said Sunday thinking it was the day of the week.

His lips twitch. “She was born on a Sunday. Aiden found out about her the day she was born. Her mother died giving birth, and Sunday was the first name that came to him. It suits her though.”

My heart aches for the little girl for losing her mum. I run my fingers through her hair. “She’s really sweet.”

“But a menace to her aunts and uncles,” he agrees.

“Do you want to take her?”

As much as I’d hate to disturb her, there is a puddle of sweat clinging to the flesh she’s lying on. Thankfully, the umbrella is covering most of her.

“Is she okay where she is? We don’t have an umbrella and I’m not entirely sure which cabin my brother is in. She didn’t sleep well last night either. They think it’s from being in a new place.”

“Then let’s not disturb her,” I whisper, still running my fingers through her hair.

“You like kids?” he asks, and my lips twitch at his attempt to make conversation.

“Of course. I’m a teacher after all. I teach English to nine and ten-year olds.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And I assume by the state of your clothes when you arrive home, you work in construction?”

“I do. My cousin Maddox owns the company I work for.”

“Must be hectic working with family.”

His grin transforms his face, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from sighing.

You hate him, remember .

Yet my libido remains on another chapter.

“Not really. We’re all close.”

“Must be nice,” I muse softly, wishing it was like that for me and Esther.

“That was rough with your sister this morning.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy watching me be yelled at.”

The flesh between his eyebrows creases. “No. Regardless of what you have done to me—”

“What I’ve done to you? Really?”

His lips press together. “Whatever. My point is, no matter what has been said and done between us, I’m not callous. Your sister is a delusional bitch and you didn’t deserve what was said to you.”

My eyes widen. “You don’t even know her.”

“Don’t need to. But you do and you know I’m right. I saw something you missed this morning, by the way.”

“And what is it you think I missed?” I bite out.

“She saw the fiancé approaching seconds before turning the tables on you. I watched as a switch flipped inside of her. And those tears when she ran away? They dried up the minute she was alone.”

I tense at his words. If what he is saying is true, she wanted everyone to turn on me. I just don’t understand why. “How do you know they dried up?”

“Because after she told your mother and fiancé she needed space, I saw her walk off with a smug smile on her face.”

“Why are you telling me all of this? Why do you even care?”

He arches an eyebrow. “When did I say I care?” he questions. “I’m telling you because… I don’t actually know. I guess I feel bad for what you’re going through.”

“Well stop. It’s creeping me out,” I scoff.

His lips twitch. “Noted.”

A shadow looms over my legs and Mark, and I twist to see my mum standing at the end of the sun lounger with Dad at her side. Her straw hat and sunglasses cover most of her face, but I can see she’s not happy.

Dad smiles down at the little girl sleeping soundly in my arms. “Children always did love you.”

“Could we have a moment with our daughter?” Mum asks Mark.

“Sunday is sleeping,” I explain. “He’s her uncle.”

“It’s okay,” he assures me. “I’ll go wait over there until you’re done.”

“Are you sure?” I ask. “I don’t want to be accused of kidnapping her.”

“At this point, I think she’s kidnapped you,” he teases. He places the towel that was around his neck over her legs. “I’ll be back as soon as she wakes up.”

“Okay.”

Mum and Dad sit on the lounger he vacates. “He couldn’t take her with him? It’s not right to leave a child with a complete stranger.”

“Not a complete stranger. He lives in the flat opposite me,” I remark.

“So you’re friends?” Dad asks. “You seemed pretty angry at him before boarding the boat.”

I snort. “Friends,” I repeat, the word bitter on my lips. “Not a chance.”

“Well, we won’t keep you. We just wanted to come and speak to you about this morning.”

“Mum, I really don’t want to get into another argument with you, so can you drop it?”

“No. Your father made me realise we haven’t been fair to you in regards to Esther and Danny. Whilst I might not completely agree with everything he has said, I do understand where you are coming from.”

“Mum, I don’t want to keep having the same argument with you. I’m over Danny and Esther being together. When I look at him now, I don’t see my ex. I see Esther’s fiancé. I won’t lie to you though, when I look at Esther, I see the person who purposely hurt me in the worst possible way. I don’t like that they both betrayed me. But never once have I wanted revenge. I got over it. I moved on. And I’m happy. I just don’t understand why no one will accept that.”

“Sweetie, it had nothing to do with you that they chose to be with each other. And of course we want you to be happy. It’s all we’ve ever wanted.”

I close my eyes to rein in my anger. When I meet her gaze, I don’t hold back. “Mum, they were sleeping together whilst Danny and I were still together. I’ve kept my mouth shut about a lot of things because I didn’t want to be seen as the scorned ex-girlfriend. It was already embarrassing for me to live with the fact they were together. She’s my sister, Mum, the one person I thought would never betray me in that way. But she did. And I was expected to be the bigger person and leave it be. So I did. I let them be. Now I want you all to do the same for me.”

“Okay. Okay. We can do that,” she promises. “Your sister just wants you to be happy.”

“I am,” I assure her.

“Then you will come to the wedding?”

“No. I already told you I’m not going. I’m sick of the drama, Mum, so I’m removing myself from the equation.”

“Honey, please reconsider. Your sister is beside herself and it’s taken most of the day to calm her down. Danny is worried she’ll go through with her promise and cancel the wedding.”

“That sounds like a Danny problem. Not mine.”

“You’d only be proving everyone right if you let that happen,” she scolds.

“I didn’t make anything happen. I didn’t start the argument, Mum, and deep down, I think you know that. The argument would never have happened if people stopped dredging up old wounds that no longer factor into my life.”

“Please, Freya. Reconsider,” Dad pleads. “Your sister wants you there. She’s been getting nervous wedding jitters and didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“Your father is right. Until they are married, Esther isn’t going to feel secure in their relationship. She’s worried feelings still harbour between the two of you.”

“This isn’t fair,” I whine. “You don’t get to put all of this on me.”

“We know. But it’s only for one day, Freya. One day. She needs you, and I think right now, you are too scared to admit you need her too,” Mum stresses.

I breathe out. “I will think about it. But if I hear one more reference made about me and Danny, I will go back home. And I mean it.”

“Thank you,” she breathes, her shoulders dropping.

Dad reaches out, patting my leg. “We love you, darling.”

“We are all upstairs near the bar if you want to come and join us.”

“Maybe later,” I grumble.

“We will let you get back to what you were doing then.”

As they leave, I turn back to the little girl and wish I could be that carefree again. She doesn’t have to worry about crap like this.

“Why do you have my niece?”

I glance up, smiling as Hayden drops herself down in the sun lounger next to me.

“Niece?” I question, wondering if I heard her right.

“Technically my second cousin but we’re all her aunties and uncles.”

“She snuck over earlier and fell asleep. Don’t worry, Mark knows where she is.”

“He wouldn’t be alive if he didn’t,” she muses. “Your nan is adopting me, by the way.”

“ My nan?”

She grins as she slides her shorts down her legs, revealing the thong bikini bottoms she bought with Mark’s money. “Yes. If she hadn’t said it first, all of us would have adopted her. She’s flipping awesome. Did you know she got kicked out of Vegas because of her lucky streak?”

“She counts cards,” I admit sheepishly. “There’s no lucky streak about it so don’t go playing against her.”

Her eyes widen. “No way.”

I nod. “Yes. Don’t be surprised if she’s removed from the casino in a couple of days.”

“I love her. I don’t say that lightly either. Me and old people are like oil and water most of the time. My nan set the bar high, but babe, your nan is the shit.”

I laugh at the enthusiasm. Nanna has that effect on most people. “Is she still in there?”

“Yeah. She’s with my dad and a couple of my uncles doing shots right now. I hope you aren’t attached because we’ve all taken a liking to her.”

“She has that effect on mostly everyone. They either love her or wish her ticker would stop ticking.”

She stretches out on the lounger with a contented sigh. “I assume you agreed to go to the wedding.”

What? How did she know?

She wasn’t anywhere near us when I was talking with my parents. Or I wasn’t aware she was.

“How did you…”

“I’m a Carter,” she replies, like that answers everything. “Plus, it makes sense that they’d pull away from their family at some point today to find you. I thought it would have been sooner but your sister has them firmly wrapped around her little finger.”

“That’s one way to put it,” I admit.

“So what did you decide?”

“I haven’t. If I go, I’ll be setting myself up to deal with the remarks and pitying looks. Esther will get what she wants then. If I don’t go, everyone will be bent out of shape over it and will accuse me of sabotaging their wedding. Either way, I’m the villain in this story. I desperately want to call my best friend because she’d know what to do.”

“I’ve met villains, so trust me when I tell you, you aren’t one. You’re more like Simba before he found his roar.”

I glance at her. “I’m pretty sure you mean that as a compliment but all I can picture is a tiny cub who thought he could bite off more than he could chew.”

“It’s meant to be neither an insult or a compliment. You are still finding your roar. And like Simba, you are being pushed in a direction you aren’t ready to go.”

“Okay,” I respond, still not following her logic or reason.

“It’s probably a shit analogy, but Simba faced a lot when he was forced to run away. He came out stronger. Wiser. So will you.”

“He found his roar,” I muse, understanding her.

Simba never wanted to leave his mum or his pride. Shame, guilt and fear made him run. And the words of his psycho uncle. It makes me look at my situation a little bit differently. Because this morning, I was ready to run. I was ready to cut my family out of my life because I gave up hoping they’d believe me. Just like Simba didn’t trust his mum and pride would believe him. And all because my sister is spouting off a different version of events to people.

“And finally realised his uncle was full of shit,” she finishes. “I’m not sure what your sister’s end game is. She seems like the sort of person to push you away to make people hate you, or maybe she wants you to be at the wedding so she can gloat one last time.”

“Honestly?” I breathe out. “I have no clue either. I just wish I didn’t feel alone when I’m around them.”

“You have your nan,” she reminds me.

“Who has the attention span of Dory the fish. Plus, I don’t want her getting in the middle all the time. It will put a wedge between them and I don’t want that. It’s why I wanted my friend Summer to come. At least then I wouldn’t feel so alone.”

“Take Mark. He owes you.”

“Take me where?” Mark questions, startling me.

“Holy sugar, where did you come from?” I breathe, my heart racing.

“She’s awake,” he points out. “And her dad wants her back.”

I gaze down at the beautiful little girl. “Take Mark,” she orders.

“Again, where am I supposed to be going, because if no one has noticed, we are in the middle of the ocean.”

“You are going to be her date for her sister’s wedding,” Hayden orders.

“No, he isn’t,” I state as he replies, “No, I’m not.”

“You kind of owe her.”

“I’m pretty sure I paid her back. With interest,” he growls.

“Please?” Sunday pleads, and I know she doesn’t fully understand what she’s begging for.

“If you don’t, I’m going to tell Aiden you lost the light of his life on a boat, in the middle of nowhere,” Hayden threatens.

“I didn’t lose—”

Hayden holds her hands up. “Do not insult me by lying. It’s your choice. I mean, he looks pretty mellow right now, but…”

“Oh my god, you don’t need to,” I assure him.

Hayden gives me the same look she gave her cousin. Cunning. Calculating. Mischievous. “Then I’ll go tell Aiden you kidnapped her, shall I?”

My eyes widen. “I didn’t kidnap her,” I hiss quietly. “You can’t go throwing that about. Someone might believe you.”

“I’d give up,” Mark warns, sounding resigned. “Let me know when and where, and I’ll escort you to the damn wedding.”

Hayden claps her hands together as she gets to her feet. “And my work here is done,” she announces before scooping Sunday up. “Come on, kid, let’s go annoy your dad.”

“I did good?” Sunday asks as they walk away, and I eye the woman with a new perspective.

“Has she always been so…”

“Devious? Sly? Manipulative?”

“Yes to all three,” I reply.

He scrubs a hand over his jaw. “Yes. Yes, she has.”

Well fuck!