A Groom Worth Waiting For

Right on cue they heard footsteps on the stairs, and Zeke turned to see Thea in the doorway, beautiful in a peacock-blue gown that left her shoulders bare, with her dark hair pinned back from her face and her bright eyes sharp.

Thomas clapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Welcome home, Zeke.’ But the look he shot at Thea left Zeke in no doubt of the words he left unsaid. Just don’t stay too long.

* * *

The air in the lounge felt too heavy, too tightly pressed around the stilted conversation between the three of them—until Helena breezed in wearing the beautiful pewter shoes that had been a perfect match for her dress all along. She fixed drinks, chatting and smiling all the way, and as she pressed another martini into their father’s hand some of the tension seemed to drop and Thea found she could breathe properly again.

At least until she let her eyes settle on Zeke. Maybe that was the problem. If she could just keep her eyes closed and not see the boy she remembered loving, or the man he’d turned into, she’d be just fine. But the way he stood there, utterly relaxed and unconcerned, his suit outlining a body that had grown up along with the boy, she wanted to know him. Wanted to explore the differences. To find out exactly who he was now, just for this moment in time, before he left again.

Stop it. Engaged to his brother, remember?

Flynn arrived moments later, his mother clutching his arm, and suddenly things felt almost easy. Flynn and Helena both had that way about them; they could step into a room and make it better. They knew how to settle people, how to make them relax and smile even when there were a million things to be fretting about.

Flynn had always been that way, Thea remembered. Always the calm centre of the family, offset by Zeke’s spinning wild brilliance—and frustration. For Helena it had come later.

Through their whole childhood Thea had been the responsible eldest child, the sensible one, at least when people were looking. And all the while Helena had thrown tantrums and caused chaos. Until Thea had messed up and resigned her role. Somehow Helena had seemed to grow to fill it, even as Isabella had taken over the job of mother, wife and hostess that Thea had been deemed unsuitable for. If it hadn’t been for her role at the company, Thea wondered sometimes if they’d have bothered keeping her around at all. They certainly hadn’t seemed to need her. At least not until Flynn needed a bride with an appropriate bloodline.

‘Are we ready to go through for dinner?’ Isabella asked the room at large. ‘My husband will be joining us shortly. He just has a little business to finish up.’

What business was more important than this? Hadn’t Ezekiel insisted on this huge welcome home feast for his prodigal son? The least he could do was show up and be part of it. Thea wanted nothing more than for Zeke to disappear back to wherever he’d been for eight years, and she was still there.

Thea glanced up at Zeke and found him already watching her, eyebrows raised and expression amused. He slid in alongside her as they walked through to dinner.

‘Offended on my behalf by my father’s tardiness?’ he asked. ‘It’s sweet, but quite unnecessary. The whole evening might be a lot more pleasant if he doesn’t join us.’

‘I wasn’t...it just seemed a little rude, that’s all.’

‘Rude. Of course.’

He offered his arm for her to hold, but Thea ignored it. The last thing she needed was to actually touch Zeke in that suit.

‘That’s why your face was doing that righteously indignant thing.’

Thea stared at him. ‘“Righteously indignant thing”?’

‘Yeah. Where you frown and your nose wrinkles up and your mouth goes all stern and disapproving.’

‘I...I didn’t know I did that.’

Zeke laughed, and up ahead Helena turned back to look at them. ‘You’ve always done it,’ he said. ‘Usually when someone’s being mean about me. Or Flynn, or Helena. It’s cute. But like I said, in this case unnecessary.’

Thea scowled, then tried to make her face look as neutral as possible. Never mind her traitorous thoughts—apparently now she had to worry about unconscious overprotective facial expressions, too.

There were only six of them for dinner—seven if Ezekiel managed to join them—and they clustered around one end of the monstrously large dining table. Her father took the head, with Isabella at his side and Flynn next to her. Which left Thea sandwiched between Zeke and her father, with Helena on Zeke’s other side, opposite Flynn. Thea couldn’t help but think place cards might have been a good idea. Maybe she could have set hers in the kitchen, away from everybody...

They’d already made it through the starter before Ezekiel finally arrived. Thea bit her lip as he entered. Would he follow the unspoken boy-girl rule and sit next to Helena? But, no, he moved straight to Flynn’s side and, with barely an acknowledgement of Zeke’s presence in the room, started talking business with his eldest son.

Thea snuck a glance at Zeke, who continued to play with his soup as if he hadn’t noticed his father’s entrance.

‘Did he already welcome you back?’ Thea asked. But she knew Ezekiel Senior had been locked in his temporary office all day, so the chances were slim.

Zeke gave her a lopsided smile. ‘You know my father. Work first.’

Why was she surprised? Ezekiel Ashton had always been the same.

‘Well, if he’s not going to ask you, I will.’ Shifting in her seat to face him a little, Thea put on her best interested face. ‘So, Zeke... What have you been up to the last eight years?’

‘You don’t know?’ Zeke asked, eyebrows raised. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be in charge of PR and marketing for the company? I’d have thought it was your business to keep on top of what your competitors are up to.’

Too late Thea realised the trap she’d walked straight into. ‘Oh, I know about your business life,’ she said airily. ‘Who doesn’t? You set up a company purposely to rival the family business—presumably out of spite. It’s the kind of thing the media loves to talk about. But, really, compared to Morrison-Ashton This Minute is hardly considered a serious competitor. More a tiny fish.’

‘Beside your shark?’ Zeke reached for his wine glass. ‘I can see that. But This Minute wasn’t ever intended to be a massive media conglomerate. Big companies can’t move fast enough for me.’

That made sense. Zeke had never been one for sitting in meetings and waiting for approval on things he wanted to get done. But according to industry gossip even his instant response news website and app This Minute wasn’t enough to hold his attention any more.

‘I heard you were getting ready to sell.’

‘Did you, now?’ Zeke turned his attention across the table, to where his father and Flynn were still deep in conversation. ‘That explains a lot.’

‘Like?’

‘Like why my father added his own personal request that I attend to my wedding invitation. He wants to talk about This Minute.’

So that was why he was back. Nothing to do with her, or Flynn, or the wedding. Not that she’d really thought it was, but still the knowledge sat heavily in her chest. ‘You think he wants to buy it?’

‘He’s your CEO. What do you think?’

It would make sense, Thea had to admit. Their own twenty-four-hour news channels couldn’t keep up with the fast response times of internet sites. Buying up This Minute would be cheaper in the long run than developing their own version. And it would bring Zeke back into the family fold...

‘Yes, I think he does.’

‘Guess we’ll find out,’ Zeke said. ‘If he ever deigns to speak to me.’

‘What would you do?’ Thea asked as the maid cleared their plates and topped up their wine glasses. ‘Would you stay with This Minute?’ It was hard to imagine Zeke coming back to work for Morrison-Ashton, even on his own terms. And if he did he’d be there, in her building, every day...

‘No.’ Zeke’s response was firm. ‘I’m ready to do something new.’ He grinned. ‘In fact, I want to do it all over again.’

‘Start a new business? Why? Why not just enjoy your success for a while?’

‘Like your father?’ Zeke nodded at the head of the table, where Thomas was laughing at something Isabella had said.

Thea shook her head. ‘My dad was never a businessman—you know that. He provided the money, sat on the board...’

‘And left the actual work to my father.’ He held up a hand before Thea could object. ‘I know, I know. Neither one of them could have done it without the other. Hasn’t that always been the legend? They each brought something vital to the table.’

‘It worked,’ Thea pointed out.

‘And now you and Flynn are ready to take it into the next generation. Bring the families together. Spawn the one true heir.’