Heaven And Hell novel Chapter 102

And you, child, will be the answer my nephew needs.

What in the world did that lady mean by that?

"Was it really necessary to ride the car, when we could've just walked?"

"I will not," Aunt Mary said with a sniff, "let my favourite niece --"

"I'm your only niece."

"-- arrive at a celebrity's manor like a lost hiker!"

I groaned and slouched in my seat at the back, crossing my arms. My aunt had gotten a maggot into her head, saying I was going to a lavish party when, in fact, I was only attending dinner with two people!

She'd wanted me to wear one of my pretty "frocks" but I said I didn't want to. I wouldn't want that ape to think I'd made an effort to look good for him. My aunt had thrown her hands in the air in defeat so I'd been left to my own devices, which had been fine by me.

I was wearing a nice white-collared shirt over a mint green sweater, straight-cut boyfriend jeans that were folded twice at the ankles, and my Keds. My hair was in a long, wavy ponytail, and my face had lightly-applied makeup.

When Uncle Eddie turned over a roundabout, my phone buzzed in my front pocket. I fished it out and checked the notifications, finding a Snapchat from Oliver and Brett, with a followup picture on Viber from my parents. I laughed at the sight of my brother in front of a glowing giraffe poster, along with another one beside it. The animals looked like siblings. Someone obviously took the photo for him as he stood under the sign, with the glowing neon lights, somewhere in New York. His face was contorted into a wail, clutching his hair. The caption said, "missing my twin giraffe" and I couldn't help but laugh and miss him, too.

The other one was of Brett lying in bed, one side of his head on a pillow, looking fast asleep but with a smile on his face. "dreaming of u..." I bit my lower lip and grinned. The last one was of my parents in Bali. Mom took a lot of photos that I had to scan quickly, because I was about to get out of the car in a bit, but the gist of it all was that she and Dad were staying in a gorgeous resort, with an infinity pool and a beautiful sunset view. There were also surfers hitting the waves.

I had to go surfing soon, seriously. My relatives promised to take me to a beach somewhere in Canterbury, so I was pretty excited about that.

My side of the door was opened by a tall, handsome, dark-skinned boy around my age or a year older.

I was not excited about this dinner.

The boy gave an infectious smile and his chocolate brown eyes twinkled.

Okay, so I guess it wouldn't be so bad.

"Don't forget to call us when you're through!" Aunt Mary reminded as she opened her window.

"Eat a lot for us," Uncle Eddie added.

"Parents?" the boy holding my door asked in amusement.

I grinned. "Relatives." I gave a thumbs up to my aunt and uncle.

"Ah," he said with a chuckle. He closed the door when I moved further away from it, then we started walking. Uncle Eddie honked the horn once, and they were off. They'd be home in about fifteen minutes by car.

He smiled. "In his own way."

That seemed more like Colton Cutting.

"Enjoy dinner, Miss Mathison." With a wink, he opened the door, and I stepped inside.

Four pairs of eyes swivelled over to meet mine.

What the...

"Ah, there she is!"

I blinked at a man, who seemed to be in his fifties, with a kind smile and a handsome face that resembled Colton's (who was standing by the window with his arms akimbo.)

I gave an awkward wave and pushed a stray hair behind my ear. "Hi."

Why did I even agree to come here?

Turned out it wasn't just Colton and Lady Cutting I'd be dining with: there was the Duke of Cynster, named Arthur (but I preferred to simply call him the duke), and Colton's grandmama, Lady Portia, who looked like Audrey Hepburn, even in her stellar age.