A Kiss of Color: The Complete 3 Book Collection (9 page)

Said lipstick was in her purse, a present from her roommate, when they got to the restaurant, and upon discovering it, Helena’s smile was worth its weight in gold. Despite how nervous she’d been about the dinner, Xavier knew she was ready.

And she was radiant. He would have marched her into the establishment in her sweats if she’s refused the dress, but this was definitely the better option. Now, all he had to do was manage to keep his eyes from wandering to where they shouldn’t be for the rest of the night.

His sister, of course, was flawless as well. She greeted them enthusiastically as they were guided to their table to sit, and Hank parroted her, dressed in a dark tux that emphasized his eyes. Of course, Brandy had to comment that Xavier himself never wore suits – and he hadn’t. Not since he’d stopped allowing his parents to dictate what he wore after he’d started college. A crisply ironed dress shirt and slacks suited him just fine.

“I just think you would look amazing in a suit, Xav. You’ve certainly got the body for it. Doesn’t he, Helena?”

The dark-skinned girl flushed, glancing at the man by her side as Xavier swallowed his embarrassment. “Yes. He does.”

Helena’s soft answer made his stomach tighten in arousal. Christ, he’d spent so long battling the urge to bed her that even the slightest reminder of her interest was enough to set his heart racing. Brandy smiled, flashing almost inordinately white teeth. “See? There you go. Two female opinions. You have to buy a suit now.”

“Damned if I do.” He returned his sister’s grin with a dogged one of his own, that had her shaking her head.

“That’s Xavier for you. Always going against the status quo. Which reminds me, how’s that company of yours going?” Xavier sighed. The subject had always been a controversial one in his family, but Brandy had once wanted to support him. She’d offered to invest fifty thousand in his business – right before their parents had forbid it. They’d gone so far as to threaten to take away her trust fund – and her house, which they had co-signed on – if she dared to support something they hadn’t authorized.

“It’s going, I suppose. I’m going to need to find some funds soon or it’s going to be gone.” He scowled into his glass of wine. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand our parents. Do they think they can control us forever? I’m twenty six fucking years old.”

Brandy glanced at her husband, her expression torn. “They love you, Xavier. They love all of their children. They’re just very…particular in the way that they show it.” That was, of course, putting it lightly. Clearing her throat, Brandy brightened her expression as she went on. “What about
your
family life, Helena.” The moment she mentioned the words, the woman at Xavier’s side stiffened, her face not unlike that of a deer caught in headlights. “I was so sorry to hear that your father passed. He was a great man. But surely your mother must be very proud of you for following in his footsteps?”

There was a very pregnant pause at the table – the silence almost deafening. Helena looked as if she were struggling for words, and Xavier knew that she couldn’t tell the truth. As far as he knew, he was the only person she’d ever spoken to plainly about her mother. “She doesn’t see her mother very much.” He jumped in to her rescue, his smile feigned. “They’re not very close. She lives across the country – moved there for work.”

Helena glanced at him sharply before coughing, taking a sip of her water to buy herself some time. “Yes.” She finally managed, finding her own smile. “We don’t talk much. But I’m sure she’s very proud of what I’m doing.”

Any mother in her right mind would be proud of Helena’s drive. That she didn’t have the luxury of a parental figure to watch her succeed in life was unfair – and if anyone knew it, it was Xavier. “Oh, well, I know how that is.” Thankfully, Brandy seemed to accept their story without reproach. “When’s the last time we saw Mom and Dad, Xavier? Weeks? Months?”

It was true – even though his father was a trustee on the University board, his chair was very often empty. Garret Thompson was busy jet setting around the world tending to his business. And when he was at home, he was too busy making his social presence known with his wife to give his children the time of day. Unless, of course, they displeased him. Then, their parents were suddenly all too present in their lives.

Xavier thought the last time he’d seen them was at a university board meeting, where he’d been called in to do an ad for the school. His father had casually mentioned to him that a career in film might be more rewarding than the one he was pursing, and Xavier had ignored him for the entire shoot. It was easy to ignore the man when the same crap spouted from his mouth over and over. “Well,” He raised his wine glass with a smile at his sister and to Helena. “Here’s to independence.”

“Here here!” Brandy agreed, lifting her glass high as her husband followed suit. Xavier offered him a grin at the gesture. While Hank was a man with his own resources, he would know little about being independent at this point. Brandy was the air he breathed. He didn’t know if he could ever be with someone so visibly obsessed with you, but when they’d married, Brandy had just been happy that their parents hadn’t had anything adverse to say. They shouldn’t, Xavier supposed. Hank was a plastic surgeon – very socially mobile, and very well moneyed.

Brandy always like to engage her brother in conversations about how she would use her husband’s services when she got older, which tended to make Xavier slightly ill. Did one often plan plastic surgery years before you needed it? Brandy had aged well. She was close to forty and didn’t look a day over thirty.

Thankfully, his sister didn’t start talking about her plastic surgery plans. As they were served their main course, she began, instead, speaking of the case she was working on. A law firm had filed a lawsuit against a client who had skipped the state before paying his legal fees and been dragged back. Both the client and the firm were very high profile, so it would be a case to make or break her career.

Hank, loving husband that he was, assured his wife that she was doing beautifully, and she waved him off as she continued to babble about her fears.

More than once, Xavier caught Helena’s eye and rolled his own, making her smile. If he hadn’t been related to Brandy, he himself might have forgone the dinner for something a bit more fun. Bowling, maybe, or a movie. God knew his sister could be ridiculously talkative when she set her mind to it – and just now, she was doing exactly that.

The conversation ended up running the gauntlet of subjects, on everything from the family trip their parents were planning that summer to Helena’s work towards her degree. She had already been looking into several medical schools and, with her grades, Xavier didn’t doubt she would be accepted into every single one.

The only problem would be the distance. Each school, atop being number one in its field, was out of state.

Which meant that his time with Helena was limited. She would graduate in only two or three months – and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that. “This is so
exciting
, Helena.” Brandy really showed her merit in empathizing with people. No matter how shallow she could be sometimes, at the end of the day, Xavier’s elder sister had a heart of gold and good intentions. “I’m sure we’ll all be looking to your future. You’re going to do amazing things in the world of medicine, I’m sure. Just like your father. “Leaning over, Brandy elbowed her brother. “You’ll support your girlfriend, won’t you, Xav?”

He felt heat immediately creeping up his face as Helena looked at him, her expression embarrassed. “Oh, Brandy…we aren’t…I mean…it’s not like that between Xavier and I.” She tried an easy smile. “We’re not dating.”

Even though he knew how she felt about the scenario, hearing the words aloud still hurt. Xavier frowned, opening his mouth as he prepared to resolve the scenario right then and there – only to be interrupted by a deep, cultured tone.

“I should think not.”

The young man turned in his chair, his eyes widening in shock to see none other than his parents standing at the edge of the table.

His father looked imposing, as always, in a charcoal suit that set off the streaks of gray in his mahogany hair. He and Xavier had the same sharp facial features, but that was where all resemblance between them ended. While the younger man sometimes wore glasses, and more often than not carried a thin layer of stubble on his face, Garret Thompson was impeccably clean shaven, his cerulean eyes cold and calculating. His wife, Mariah, was still startlingly blonde at fifty nine, her dark hair pulled into a knot at the nape of her hair and clad in a deep plum dinner down.

How the hell had they snuck up on them without Xavier noticing? Usually, he could smell his father’s pretentious, strong cologne from a mile away. As the thought entered his head, the scent wafted over him powerfully.

“Mom, Dad.” Brandy recovered first, rising from her seat to kiss her mother stiffly on the cheek, and then her father. “I thought you were still in the Maldives.”

“We just returned yesterday.” Mariah Thompson’s voice was cool as she looked over the assembly. We heard that you were having dinner and decided to join you. We’ve been meaning to speak to Xavier.

It took at least another moment for Xavier to come back to reality. His parents had come to have dinner with them? And they had to speak to him? That couldn’t bode well. They were planning some kind of interference. As they seated themselves between Hank and his wife, he realized that his father had said something specifically objecting to his and Helena’s dating.

Which, quite frankly, was none of his business. He’d never tried to interfere in Xavier’s love life before, so why would he start now?

“Don’t let us interrupt.” Mariah’s smile was stiff as she gestured to waitress with a snap of her fingers. “You were having a very lively conversation.”

Next to Xavier, Helena squirmed in her seat. It was obvious that the presence of his parents made her distinctly uncomfortable. They tended to have that effect on a lot of people. Brandy cleared her throat lowly, continuing on the exact note that they’d left off. “Xavier…you were about to say something?”

Shit.

Now there was no way he could get out of it. “I was going to invite Helena to come with me for a weekend up in the mountains at the end of April.”

Next to him, Helena stared at him as if all of his teeth had fallen out. Alright, so it wasn’t the most opportune time to ask her, he knew. If it had just been them and his sister and Hank, Brandy would have gushed and wheedled the young woman into accepting – which was what he had counted on. But now, Brandy had put him on the spot.

Before Helena could either accept or deny his invitation, however, his mother butted in. Forcefully.

“Actually, the cabin won’t be available that weekend, my darling. My apologies. Your father and I will be using it.” She smiled apologetically – a gesture that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Xavier’s eyes narrowed as he reached over to very obtrusively take Helena’s hand in his own, much to her surprise. “No problem. We’ll just rent our own cabin.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be an option either.” His father cut in next, and he didn’t bother to smile, which made it obvious what was going on. “The entire resort has been booked out.” He, of course, owned the establishment – which allowed him to make such an outlandish claim. But he was so obviously lying that it was disgusting.

“In April, Dad? Really?” Xavier’s tone held an edge of disbelief, and Helena wiggled her fingers beneath his, trying to free them as she whispered lowly.

“Xavier, it’s fine, really. I have too much studying to do anyway. I can’t go-”

“This isn’t about the damn weekend.” He cut her off sharply, looking from one of his parents to the other. Opposite him, Brandy’s eyes widened as she saw where the conversation was headed and she quickly moved to avert a disaster.

“Xavier, maybe we should talk about something else? Maybe finals? I know you have exams coming up-

“No, I’d like to talk about why my choice of women is suddenly such an issue to our parents.” Xavier growled, making Helena shrink back into her chair beside him. It wasn’t his aim to embarrass her – only to make sure his parents knew they couldn’t dictate his life to him – professional or romantic.

Garret Thompson released a long suffering sigh, setting his menu down on the table. “Xavier, you’re twenty six years old. Do grow up. This choosing women and professions just to spite us is ridiculously irresponsible.”

“To spite you?” Xavier hissed incredulously. “You have got to be kidding me! Just because I happen to want to move outside the bubble of prestige you guys are in doesn’t mean I’m trying to spite you. I happen to
love
the major I chose. And Helena is brilliant, gorgeous and aspiring. What about that offends you so goddamn much?”

“Xavier.” His mother spoke with the same tone she might use to address his sixteen year old sister. “This young woman came from Maynard. Her mother is a drug addict and an alcoholic that sells her body on the streets and her father chose to spend a good half of his career catering to neighborhoods that only scorned him.”

Helena’s sharp gasp cut him to the core as Xavier stared at his parents in horror. It was no surprise that they might know who she was – especially since they probably did all sorts of nasty research into her father when he treated Brandy- but to say something like that so callously…he hadn’t known they could be so cruel. “
Helena
will never escape her roots,” Mariah quipped, touching her perfect hairdo to neaten it. “And you shouldn’t have to suffer from being associated with them. We’re just trying to save you the heartache of watching her fail in her endeavors.”