Page 7
Story: The Heart of Smoke
The chill running through me warms several degrees and I smile back, offering my hand to my new employer. “Call me Tate. I, er, wasn’t sure where you lived.” I rub at the back of my neck, hating how my cheeks burn hot. “I ran into a snag at the address you gave me.”
The man behind me snorts. “Jude’s address?”
Nathan frowns, turning to look back at the monstrous house that should have been condemned decades ago. “He didn’t let you in.” Not a question. A statement. He expected this. Lovely.
“And he fired me,” I grumble.
The other man laughs, deep and clearly amused by this thought. Nathan pins him with a sharp glare that could cut through someone like me, so I’m glad it’s not aimed my way.
“Callum,” Nathan says, “talk to your brother. He actually listens to you.”
Callum—hottie in a suit—steps out of the house to stand beside me. His scent is expensive and spicy. My mouth waters and I quickly banish any salacious thoughts because I’m supposed to be a professional here—not foaming at the mouth when surrounded by hot guys.
“Jude does what he wants,” Callum replies, shrugging. “Who’s the kid?”
Kid?
I bristle at the condescension dripping from his words. I’m twenty-seven, not seventeen, despite my youthful features.
“Family therapist,” Nathan cuts in, saving me from having to explain myself to this prick. “And he needs a place to stay now apparently.”
Shifting on my feet, I mutter, “I can stay at my apartment and commute—”
“Nonsense,” Nathan huffs. “We need you here full time. You’ll stay with my other son.”
“Hugo?” Callum asks, voice tight.
“You,” Nathan says with a smirk.
“You hired him,” Callum growls. “You take him in.”
Wow. This job is going to be super-fun. Not.
“Look at him.” Nathan flicks his fingers my way. “Gemma won’t leave him alone. I won’t have my teenage daughter pregnant by Christmas.”
What?
“I, uh, I’m not going to—”
Callum cuts me off, stepping closer to his father, shoulders tense. “I’m supposed to let some stranger live in my house? Willaispregnant, for fuck’s sake.”
Who do these people think I am?
Some psychotic rapist?
“Callum, this isn’t up for discussion. Either you convince Jude to take Tate in or he stays with you.”
It’s like I’m not even here.
These two have some serious beef if the thick tension in the air is anything to go by. Makes me wonder if I’ll get to dig into that soon in a session.
“I’m gay,” I reveal with a sigh. “Your daughters and wives are safe.”
Callum’s head jerks my way and he smirks. It’s not a cruel, teasing kind of smirk—at least, not toward me. I realize my words will soon become ammunition based on the evil glint in his gaze.
“He could room with Dempsey,” Callum taunts, his eyes cutting back over to his father. “Since Gemma would be safe and all.”
Nathan, thankfully, doesn’t take the bait. “It’s settled. He stays with you.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7 (Reading here)
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104