A Borrowed Life (Carly and Liam #1) (14 page)

Two impressive ice sculptures rise at the entrance of a huge flowered garden. Large trees promise decent privacy and strings of lights hang from about twenty white pavilions, illuminating a perfectly green lawn. Dozens of round tables decorated with tablecloths, lanterns and glass centerpiece are scattered all around.

I enter timidly with my brother right next to me as my widened eyes admire the scenery. I don't know any of the guests that are already here. In fact, I probably won't know anyone at all. At least I know what the Lexington family looks like.

I wonder if my father will come to me, or if I’ll have to go up to him because he’ll be too busy to even notice me. And my mother? I know I have a sister, too; Liora, who’s twenty-two. I'm two years older than her, and I’m hoping we'll get along fine.

“Carly?”

I turn to see a young woman with blond hair, big blue eyes and a slender silhouette coming towards me, wearing a long, fitted white dress and silver sandals. She looks stunning!

“You are Carly, right?”

“Liora?”

Immediately, she stretches to hug me.

“I'm so excited to finally meet you! We have so much catching up to do!”

“Really?”

I'm surprised. She’s never tried to contact me in any way.

“I didn't even know you existed until seven days ago. Father told me about you when he saw an article about you in the newspaper.” My expression darkens and I can tell Ethan is suspicious.

“About me? Really?”

“Well, your name wasn't mentioned, but you know, people talk. Father knew it was you. With Liam Walker… Wow!”

She gives me a knowing look, and I'm not sure how I should answer. Can I still deny it? Can I confess? I don't even know her. Can I trust her? But at that moment, Ethan clears his throat and saves me.

“Liora, this is my brother, Ethan Bray.”

Her smile suddenly disappears and she looks at him quizzically.

“Your brother?”

“Foster,” he adds, extending his hand toward her.

“Ah!”

She let’s out a breath of relief, and I assume she feared she also had a brother she didn't know existed. Ethan reverses his hand to give her a kiss on the back of her hand and I roll my eyes. Mr. seducer is already at work. The young woman blushes and smiles with a charming expression.

“Do you like my dress, Carly?” Liora inquires.

“Oh, yes! It's really beautiful!”

“Great! I picked it out,” she proudly admits.

“You have great taste!”

“Thank you! That’s sweet. So listen, we have an open bar over there. There's champagne, appetizers and a wonderful dinner waiting for us. The band will start playing in a moment, and the dance floor will open at seven o'clock. Make yourself at home, and if you need anything, you ask me, okay? I promised dad that I would take care of you tonight.”

“Can I see him?”

“Oh! He’s not here yet, but I’m sure he'll come to see you when he arrives. I'll tell him you're here!”

“Okay. Thank you!”

She leaves to welcome the other guests, being the perfect hostess.

“She's nice,” my brother notes.

I smile like a child. Everything is happening like a real fairy tale! For the first time, I can allow myself to hope. Will I finally have a family? A sister who would become my best friend, and a mother who will teach me all the things I never learned about makeup, fashion and hairstyles? I feel like I'm at one of those turning points in my life when everything starts changing for the better so I can finally know happiness.

I sit at a table with Ethan, and there are at least five empty chairs around us. People arrive and recognize each other, and conversations begin all around us. A server offers us a flute of champagne. Soon, the first course is served and the guests sit. A young couple joins us for dinner. I prefer to not tell them about my job as a waitress, or about my family I'm just getting to know. After all, I still don't know what Mr. Lexington wants from me. He probably wouldn't appreciate me walking around the crowd and telling this story to everyone.

I feel Ethan's puzzled look on my face and it dawns on him that I'm pretending to be as rich as them. I'm getting used to it by now; I did have ten days to practice aboard the cruise ship. A pinch of disappointment in his sigh reaches me right to my heart. I know what he’s thinking; I don't have to be ashamed of who I am, or the life I live. Those who try to convince me to be different aren't worthy of my attention. That's what he’s always said since high school, when other girls would make fun of me because I dressed like a boy. He doesn't understand that it doesn't really apply here.

“Hello, dear friends!” a man in his fifties welcomes as he takes his place on the stage.

A microphone in one hand and a flute of champagne in the other, Richard Lexington addresses himself to the guests for the first time that evening. His black hair is swept behind his head with gel. He has an imposing jaw, a wide smile with teeth as white as snow, and a body that he clearly takes care of. My heart is pounding. I'm lost in such a large crowd as I face my father with whom I’ve never spoke. Ethan squeezes my hand, understanding the nervousness that invades me.

“First of all,” my father says, “let me welcome you onto my property. We are happy to have you with us for the eighth consecutive year.”

He slightly bows down as a way to thank his guests.

“Your generous contributions are invaluable to thousands of orphans in the world. But this year… is very important to us.”

I frown and feel as if my breath has been knocked out of me. I fear he is going to introduce me to all these people without meeting me first, or at least warning me. I see Ethan's expression become menacing. I cling even harder to his arm when my eyes land on Liora. She stands next to the stage with a woman with blond curls and a slender figure, wearing a long, gray dress; a definite spitting image of Liora in twenty years. I feel no affection radiating from my sister right now, but she's probably just as nervous as I am.

“Don't get too excited!” he tries to calm the crowd. “I'm confident that I will be in position to announce some very good news soon, but for now, let's eat! Enjoy your dinner!”

He gives the microphone the singer of the band and finds his wife and daughter. I sigh of both relief and pain. I see all three of them together at a table, forming such a complete and perfect family. And I'm not part of it. What kind of story could I stupidly be trying to re-write? The comforting hand of my brother reaches my upper back as he whispers in my ear.

“Don't be discouraged. Whatever happens, you will always have me. You have a family, don't forget it.”

“What hypocrisy!” I point out in a low voice so that the other couple doesn't hear me. “They've been supporting orphans all over the world for eight years now, and they left me on the street.”

Tears threaten to spill out of my eyes, but I won't let it show. My brother doesn't answer, and he doesn't need to. I know he doesn't think any less of me, and I know he doesn't approve of the idea of me being here, but he came for me because he knows I needed the closure. It's like an old wound that never healed. Now, more than ever, I need to know why; I need to understand.

Dinner ends and I don’t think I can eat anything more until a server brings this delicious chocolate and pear mousse. The guests begin to occupy the dance floor as a waltz begins, with never a note higher than the other, or a rhythm more intense than a lullaby. After a while, my brother offers me his hand to invite me to dance. I smile and agree. I was really getting bored, and I think he was, too.

He' not a very good dancer, and I think he improvises more than anything else. I try not to laugh and he does his best not to walk on my feet. It effectively takes my mind off everything and my stress goes down quietly.

“This is how you seduce so many women?”

“This isn't exactly my type of dance.”

He leans me backward exaggerating the move, but looks way too serious and I burst out laughing. This really isn't for him! He gets up and spins vigorously, accidentally shoving a couple who stare at him sharply.

“That's enough, Ethan,” I say, trying to pull myself together. “I would like to leave a good impression.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll calm down.”

He lets out one last chuckle that produces a smile on my face, and we regain our seriousness. Suddenly, I feel a burning gaze on my back. The sensation immediately spreads throughout my body and my senses awaken. My hand tightens on my brother's shoulder.

“Are you okay?” he worries.

“Uh, yes,” I say, nodding and forcing a smile.

There is something painful to this feeling I can't explain. All at once, my brother's gaze freezes on someone behind me and his expression darkens.

I turn around to see who he's glaring at, but no one is there.

“Will you excuse me for a minute?” he asks before leaving suddenly.

Ethan disappears in the crowd without telling me what disturbed him, and I find myself alone on the dance floor.

“Is he single?”

“What?” I ask, turning to Liora.

“Your brother.”

“Oh! Yes, well, no. But yes.”

“That’s a very complicated answer.”

“It’s a very complicated relationship.”

“I see.”

“Just to let you know, he's not the kind of guy to stay in a relationship for a very long time.”

I want to be honest with her. I would hate that she becomes one of his disastrous conquests. Our relationship would inevitably be affected.

“I will remember that. Say, you still want to meet with father?”

“Of course!”

“Come with me!”

She grabs my hand and takes me inside her house. We pass through two beautiful French doors and enter into a lobby.

“Liora!”

She turns around when a woman calls her name behind us.

“I'm coming, mother!”

She turns to me and points to the door down the hall on the right, before joining the woman who must be my mother, but doesn't recognize me or even greet me. I must look more like my father, since I don't really look like her.

I go to a window to watch them mingle with other guests and completely forget about me. I sigh. I almost wonder if I really want to know them. What do they want from me? Do I really want to see what I've missed all these years? For them, it's all so natural and normal; they were born into this world, and I'm still not convinced I should even be among them. All of this is probably only going to hurt me more, and I've suffered more than enough from this life’s story. I shouldn't have come tonight.

“Leave her alone, all right?”

Suddenly, I recognize my brother's voice coming from somewhere. I walk to another window on the side of the room and see him talking to a man. This man says something, but I don't quite understand. She's a big girl, something like that. I wonder who he's talking to and warning like this?

“She's just started smiling again.”

Wait a minute, he's talking about me?

I get out and join him, coming face to face with a man I never thought I'd see here. His eyes settle on mine, and he’s just as surprised to see me. An uncontrolled, instinctive reaction appears on his face. Liam is simply the most beautiful man on earth; his brown hair styled to perfection, his piercing blue eyes, those beautiful silky lips and the energy he exudes… Seeing him right now is much harder than I would have expected. I want him so much that it hurts terribly to see him without being able to kiss him or even touch him.

Noticing his reaction, Ethan stops and turns around. I stare at him furiously. What was he doing exactly? He was talking to Liam this way? This time he’s taken his big brother role a little too seriously! It's not up to him to decide who is worthy to see me or not. I saw the stern expression on Liam's face when I arrived and I can only assume that he had no intentions of obeying my brother.

“Carly?”

I turn to see Richard Lexington exit the hall where I was a few seconds earlier.

“Are you coming? I would like to have a word with you.”

His tone is cold and demanding, but he still maintains a familiar presence. Like a father speaks to his daughter. It’s as if he had always known me and had always loved me. But where did this suddenly come from? I was nothing to him just a week ago. I have to force myself to remember that because today, he's behaving in an unusually nice and interested way.

“Mr. Walker,” my father respectfully greets him. “Mind if I borrow my daughter for a minute?”

I take one last glance at Ethan as Liam agrees with a brief nod and gives me a puzzled look. I follow my father inside without another word being said. I understand Liam's confusion; he had no idea of my kinship ties with the Lexington family, and my last name is Bray Scott. How could he have guessed?

We enter Richard's office. The room is lined with wooden bookcases with lots of books, and a mahogany desk with pens more expensive than what I earn in tips on a Saturday night.

“You must be wondering what you are doing here,” begins Mr. Lexington, smiling warmly at me.