Dylan didn’t acknowledge him, his attention locked on Clara’s face.
Charles felt like as long as he got his big brother’s approval, everything else would fall into place. So, he slipped out of the room, headed down the hallway, and called Griffin.
“Hey, big bro, I want to stay in Palm Bay for a while. I’m not planning to come over to your place anytime soon.”
Griffin was still at the banquet. Even though he’d already decided to team up with the Fergusons and the Warrens, other families kept trying to win him over, so he still had to play the social game. And Norman hadn’t even shown up yet—completely unreliable.
Now Charles was calling with this, and Griffin had to take a deep breath. One after another, they all managed to keep him on edge.
“Big bro, Dylan’s already said yes. Honestly, the guy’s so into my sister it’s almost funny. As long as she lets me stick around as her brother, I could probably turn Palm Bay upside down and Dylan wouldn’t care.”
Griffin paused. His little brother might be a bit clueless, but he always knew when someone meant well or not. Maybe it was just his innocence—he could always sense what was real.
If he was saying this, then Dylan must have dropped all his guard around him.
Maybe it was time to seriously rethink that whole engagement with the North American Fergusons.
“Mitch.”
“Huh? Something else, big bro? I’m kind of sleepy.”
“Be good to your sister. I might need her help one day.”
That line made Charles uncomfortable for a second, but the feeling disappeared almost instantly.
“Alright.”
He hung up, planning to head back to the master bedroom, but barely made it to the door before a man in black blocked his path.
Charles stepped back, eyeing the guy up and down.
This guy was bizarre—not a patch of skin showing, not even his fingers.
Charles reached out, aiming to tug off the man’s mask, but the guy dodged and brushed his hand away, quick and smooth.
Charles’s eyes lit up. “You know, you’re all pretty interesting. You’re not scared of me, and you still play along. All nice people—though, honestly, nobody beats my sister.”
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