“Don’t feel sorry for me.” The words came out harsh, but she knew the anger wasn’t directed at her. “I’m fine. I didn’t need him anyway. For years I never knew this side of my family. After he passed away, they reached out to me. As for staying away from my mother—well, he didn’t keep the promise he made, and neither did she. Neither one of them cared about the people they could hurt. They died together in a plane crash the year I turned eighteen. Even though he continued to screw my mother for who knows how long, not once”—his entire body tensed and the bitterness became even more apparent—“not once did my father come to see me. And Roarke Hawthorne Jr. looks exactly like him.”
He spewed the last sentence past thinned lips. Hatred filled his eyes. Roarke, with their father’s name and looks, had benefited from having his father in his life growing up.
“Roarke Hawthorne, Mr. Perfect,” he continued, “always playing the role of peacemaker, sacrificing, raising his brother and sister while in college.” His mirthless laugh filled the room. “Gimme a break. It’s all an act.”
Derrick couldn’t seem to stop now he’d started, and Celeste hesitated to interrupt him. The anger and loathing directed toward Roarke were clearly unjustified, but he couldn’t see it. Inside, he remained the little kid whose father chose another over him, and who’d lost out on the father-son relationship.
“He plays this role like he’s holier than thou, but he’s as slimy as our father. The family spent New Year’s Eve here at the house. I brought a woman with me, and we stayed at one of the nearby hotels. Guess who wound up drunk in Roarke’s room one night after we spent the day here?”
She thought it was a rhetorical question, but he waited for her to answer. “Your date?”
“Bingo!” Derrick said bitterly. “You win the prize. He lured her up to his room to take advantage of her in her drunken state.”
“How do you know—”
“I know. I’d been looking all over for her, and then I heard her laughter through the door of his bedroom. I found them together in his bed, Celeste. She told me everything, although he tried to deny it. Stay away from him. I’m surprised he didn’t try to get you into bed when he met you at Avery’s last week. Obviously, he can’t resist a pretty face, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try to seduce you, too.”
Celeste tried to dismiss Derrick’s words, but she couldn’t.
Not only did he try, he succeeded. Her stomach twisted painfully. She hated the thought that Derrick’s words contained any truth and she’d been a simple notch on Roarke’s bedpost. Even though she’d had similar thoughts, hearing Derrick voice them was crushing.
“Have the two of you ever gotten along or been close?”
“Never. And we never will.”
The situation between Derrick and Roarke was worse than Celeste imagined. She couldn’t tell Derrick about her and Roarke now. Not only would it hurt him, it would only serve to further feed the flame of hatred he held for his brother.
What would even be the point of telling Derrick? Roarke had made it clear what he thought of her. He wanted her for sex, and that was all. The thought cut deep, scraped the walls of her heart and wounded her feelings.
Nonetheless, her thoughts and feelings didn’t matter. Her friend was hurting. Years of rejection had spread and eaten away at him like an ulcer, coloring his perception of the truth. She sympathized with Derrick’s predicament, but his pride left no room for her pity.
“Now you understand why my relationship with my dear brother isn’t all that great.”
“Yes.” She watched as his breathing slowed to normal. “What about Phineas? Hasn’t he been a good father to you?”
“Phineas is an old white man who was unfortunate enough to fall in love, but smart enough to realize you can buy anything with money, including a young wife. When The Sperm Donor relinquished all paternal rights, my mother made Phineas adopt me, and he got stuck playing stepfather to her half-black son.” With a wry twist to his lips, he added, “Unfortunately for him, we came as a package deal.”
Abruptly, as if he suddenly realized he’d said too much, Derrick turned to the door and swung it open. “Let’s get out of here.”
Before they walked out, Celeste reached out and pulled him into a hug. He went rigid, but she held on until his stiffened body loosened in her arms. He held her for a brief moment and then released, letting his arms hang loosely at his sides.