“They aren’t that expensive,” Bodhi said. “He uses cheap tailors and moderately priced cloth to make himself look more important than he is.”
“Five thousand dollars then?” Milo checked with him.
“Give or take.” Bodhi nodded. “Doesn’t matter, the clothing can’t disguise the man inside.”
“Precisely my point.” The two shared a long look of understanding. Bodhi and Milo seemed to get each other.
Resentment reared its head as they nodded to each other then faced Leopold Benedict with the exact same expression. They barely knew each other, but they were already tight. Or as tight as two guarded people could be.
A part of me protested. Milo was my cousin. The two of us should be on this same page. Yet he was tight with so many people who weren’t me.
And whose fault is that? The nasty little voice crept out to taunt me. You’ve been an asshole to him from day one.
Only I hadn’t known he was my cousin then. Em was a cousin too, but I’d never been a raging dick to her. Fuck, I was such a jackass.
“You can’t judge them by their parents rather than the content of their character if you won’t judge me on mine. Besides, Ezra and I are cousins, so you could say we were cut from the same bolt of cloth. Doesn’t mean we’re as bad as the layers that came before.”
Surprise jolted me. We’re cousins. Milo made it sound so simple. Maybe it was, but at the same time…
“Since when are you cousins?” Lainey’s grandfather pinned me with a look like it was my fault and I shrugged.
“My grandfather apparently had a woman on the side. Her son turned out to be Julius King. Definitely not my fault. You wanna blame something, blame your own contemporary.” Okay, maybe that came out snottier than I meant it to, but goddammit, I was trying to keep my assholish side under control.
It didn’t help that disapproval radiated off of Leopold Benedict.
Wait…
It didn’t matter.
“Actually, you know what, I’m going to let you three talk and go shower.” I needed the break, but I met Leopold’s gaze this time without flinching. “With all due respect, sir, whether you approve or not is moot. Lainey has always had teeth and claws, she will do as she damn well pleases and I’m not going anywhere until the day she tells me to get the hell out.”
Even then, I wouldn’t go far.
“I’ll see you guys in a bit.” I made it exactly two steps before Leopold cleared his throat.
Not turning, I stopped and spared him a glance over my shoulder. As volatile as my emotions were at the moment, Leopold was still Lainey’s grandfather. For her, I could tolerate his ferociousness.
“Yes, sir?”
For a long moment, the old man said nothing. Finally, he looked from Bodhi to Milo then finally to me again. When he focused on me so firmly, I pivoted to face him. Probably rude not to at this point.
“When the time comes for her to decide between you, will you respect her decision even if you’re not the one she chose?”
I opened my mouth, then snapped it closed without commenting. Biting my tongue wasn’t so painful after all if I gave it any thought.
“Absolutely,” Bodhi informed him.
“Will you?” Milo asked.
Holy shit. Better him than me, but at the same time, I kept my attention on Leopold. What would he think of that challenge?
The older man let out a long sigh and his age seemed to just suddenly be there. Hard to not notice what a force of nature the man was. My father had always done his best to never cross him.
Frankly, I’d never met a person who was eager to draw Leopold Benedict’s attention or ire. Except maybe us…
But Lainey was worth it.
So, if the old man hated me. I’d accept it. It was the least I could do.
“I don’t have to like Lainey’s choices to respect them,” Leopold admitted finally. “I want her to be happy. She deserves it. Her mother was not good to her. We did everything we could. But I won’t allow anyone to treat her badly.”
“Then I think all of us are on the same page,” I said, not letting the surprise rippling over the older man’s face faze me. “Because we won’t allow anyone to do that either.”
When Leopold’s gaze locked with mine, I didn’t hide my meaning. Her grandfather wielded tremendous influence with Lainey. I didn’t doubt my kotyonok’s will. She would do as she damn well pleased, she always had even when it put her in danger.
But any kind of fight or falling out with Leopold would hurt her. That I didn’t want.
Ever.
“Very well,” Leopold said with a slow nod. “Shower, I’ll have clothes sent out for you and you can get those laundered. Then we’ll eat. Tonight, we’ll sort out plans. Tomorrow, we have a memorial service to attend.”
That hit harder than I expected. Not just the inclusion but the fact Adam, Lainey and I had all lost parents this week. To be fair, Adam and I got rid of ours, but Lainey’s mother had also died.
None of us argued, I rather doubted we would. Instead, I pivoted and headed out to the pool house. I’d stayed here plenty of times before. There were two fully outfitted bathrooms. I let Milo and Bodhi figure out who was getting the other one first.
I’d barely stripped off my clothes when the door opened behind me and a freshly showered Adam stood there, dressed in clean clothes and sporting a smooth face.
He’d shaved.
