Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: This ff uses the daily prompts created for the #Hyareth Week 2022.

Many thanks to Djcwrites for hosting.

Beta love to Coeurs_de_Coeurs & alpha love to Cinnamonbun24.💜

Spotify link: playlist [/] 5G7aagPtoETyfhTo9WfAE2 [?] si [=] 9414fe99ffe84d6b

As usual, happy reading!❤️

Chapter IV : If You Wanna Know If She Loves You So (Shoop, Shoop, Shoop, Shoop)

"Did you know?"

Daniel sighed heavily. "For the nth time, I didn't!"

Clenching his jaw, Gareth reached for the bottle, but Hugh moved it with an impressive swiftness for an injured man.

"I'm not gonna let you spoil all my brother's efforts." His tone was stern, yet very even. "You suck it up, St. Clair. It's only a girl."

"Hugh," warned Daniel. "It's Hyacinth Bridgerton."

As Gareth glared at his manager, an amused look crossed Hugh's face. "You mean that...St. Clair..."

His eyes filled with mirth, a small chuckle on his lips. Gareth groaned, tilting his head to the ceiling. If only he could avoid these stupid people. But no, here they were, at his work place, getting on his nerves.

Generously, Daniel changed the subject to last night's head news.

"You should have been there, Hugh. You would have certainly seen who had-"

Gareth's eyes stayed glued on the white paint. Because, he had a theory. So far-fetched, so crazy, so... which explained quite a lot.

"Wasn't that your father's crusade too, St Clair?"

Blinking slowly, Gareth looked at Hugh. He hadn't been listening, and he was pretty sure the man could tell. Hugh saw everything. He used to be quite the detective, before his accident.

Examining him expectantly, he repeated his question for Gareth. "Wasn't your father's whole lawsuit about some legacy you had hidden? A secret diary that gave some treasure hunt location? Something about diamonds and precious gems?"

"How do you know- Do you read the tabloids, Prentice?"

Hugh shrugged at Gareth's face. "I don't, but Sarah does. And I actually listen to my wife when she talks."

"Touché," Gareth smiled easily. "She's quite the singer, isn't she?"

Daniel scoffed. "Please don't mention my cousin and any musical activity."

Hugh smiled warmly. "I'm quite ready to destroy all the instruments I ever come across, so that my wife can stay away from anything involving her voice or her fingers on a keyboard."

At his manager's enthusiastic nod, Gareth laughed. Few men were as blissfully in love with their wives- and few wives were as poorly musically inclined as the Smythe-Smiths. Such a pity for a family which was pretty closely involved in the music business.

"Anyway. Was that the truth, St. Clair?"

"Don't you already have a theory?" Gareth sent the other man a daring smirk. If Hugh was so clever, no doubt he would guess the real business.

Hugh darted a quick glance on him. "Well, my opinion is not so dramatic. Your father used some unjustified claim claim about you stealing from your late brother to get a settlement and rip you off. He thought you would have preferred to avoid a scandal that would have decreased your popularity."

Daniel smiled, used to his friend's cleverness. Although, Hugh wasn't done. His piercing eyes settled on Gareth's blue ones. "Although it's not the first time that I heard of a St. Clair with a mysterious diary and a lost diamonds story."

This intrigued Gareth. "What do you mean?" Of course, his nonna had loved to tell them fairy tales, and the story of the princess with the diamond jewels had been quite popular before bed time. Because which little boy didn't want to save a sad princess, trapped with a mean king, and find a treasure in doing so?

"You'll have to talk to my wife about it. She heard it from your grandmother in fact." His eyebrow arched in the same way his brother did. "But their trouble was that it was in Italian."

Daniel grimaced. "Sarah is as skilled in language as in music, isn't she?"

"Well, they had a good enough translator," shrugged Hugh.

Before Daniel could ask who it was, Gareth already knew the answer.

Hyacinth.

Try as he might, it seemed that all the roads always lead back to her.

Gareth hadn't visited in quite a few years. He wasn't even sure what he would say. But his grandmother had been overjoyed at the prospect of her favourite grandchild joining her for tea.

The door opened as soon as he rang. But it wasn't his grandmother behind it. Her blue eyes glinted; a coy smile plastered on her lips.

"You remember Hyacinth, I presume," Grandma Agatha said from the entrance where she waited to hug him.

The knowing smirk at the corner of her mouth seemed proof enough that this was no coincidence, that he would maybe get some of the answers he had been hoping for. But there was also a huge possibility that he would run away screaming before she parted with her secrets.

As Grandma Agatha lead him to the living-room, Hyacinth left swiftly through a side door, and reappeared carrying a tea tray with biscuits and little finger sandwiches.

He met her gaze, her blue eyes smouldering, travelling the length of his body in a way she never would have dared a few years ago. He met her gaze, her blue eyes smouldering, travelling the length of his body in a way she never would have dared a few years ago.

A young woman trailed behind her, almost catching Hyacinth's arm. "I hope that all is to your liking, Agatha," she declared to his grandmother who waved her hand easily, sitting them both on the couch.

"My sister-in-law, Lucy," Hyacinth told him quite politely. "Lucy is married to my brother Gregory. You met him a long time ago, if I recall?"

It was true. Damn her for having such a better memory. Gregory had joined them for a few days on his tour- he was a decent drum player on a college break. He had spent the first day looking at them both in a suspicious way, before reminding Gareth that Hyacinth had four brothers. Hyacinth had then proceeded to throw on him the closest available object, which unluckily, had been Gareth's new wireless microphone.

When Gareth had shrugged it off by laughing, Gregory had deemed that she was safe enough, since she wasn't in any danger despite breaking his work equipment. Gareth hadn't answered; he wasn't sure he would have reacted the same to his guitar being broken, but Gregory had seemed happy enough.

Both girls took their leave before Grandma Agatha turned to face him. "Your visit is way past due, Gareth."

He nodded slowly. "And I believe you have a lot to tell me."

"Why, do you think you're entitled to our secrets?"

She poured the tea with practiced easet; his grandmother clearly still received a lot of visitors. And kept a handful of young women on hand to help.

"I will eventually know them, so you may as well spare me the trouble," he replied smoothly.

But Granda Agatha waved her hand as if shoeing the troublesome thought aside. "Now, why would I do that?"

Her cunning back eyes took him in, taunting him to deny her words.

Gareth busied himself with drinking his cup of tea. If he was not careful, he was going to be the one to spill his guts.

"Gareth."

He turned slowly. She was standing in front of him, arching a brow in that "take no shit" manner that had made him like her right away.

"Won't you talk to me?"

Gareth tilted his head back, looked into the sky in at the setting sun.

"How ironic life is, wouldn't you agree Hyacinth?"

His eyes were blazing as he took in her lithe body. Her pursed lips, painted red; as if she had ever needed make-up on her face. He wasn't sure why he was so angry. Was it due to the way she held herself, with the poise and experience of a worldly woman? Starting with her clothes, she looked so different. Gone was the sweet girl he had loved. The thought crossed his mind that that if he undressed her right now, even her style of underwear would have changed.

Or maybe- maybe he was just irritated with himself that he had missed all these changes. That they had occurred while he was wallowing in self-hatred and she was prancing around the word, bestowing her favours on men, enjoying her-

"Gareth."

Of course, she could tell when he got lost in his own thoughts. If Gareth could still read her face, it made sense that she in turn could read his.

Her knuckles slowly raised to his cheek. He closed his eyes. God, he had missed her. Missed her smile, her bright eyes, the scent of her skin... But he was furious too.

"When did you steal it from me?"

"Gareth-"

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

Although she didn't deny his accusations: because, what would be the point- Hyacinth bit her bottom lip, in that familiar way of hers, obviously wondering how much he had understood. How much to tell him. How much to hide.

Infuriated, Gareth went on. "Were you ever going to stay? Was I just a job to you?"

"No!" she had stepped back, as if burnt by his words.

"Then what?"

She licked her lips. "Don't you dare make this about me! You were ready to impregnate me-"

"Because I loved you!" he roared, livid, his hands falling on her shoulders.

Hyacinth's hands grabbed his shirt, and tugged his head down to hers. And she kissed him. Kissed him like he used to.

She tasted like wine and cheap lipstick.

As she stood on her tiptoes, crushing her body to his, he could tell that she wasn't twenty anymore. She didn't hesitate, blowing softly on his ear, trailing kisses on his throat, her hands gripping the hair at the base of his nape.

"Am I being seduced?"

"Shut up and kiss me," she breathed before moulding herself to his chest again.

Gareth tried to. He tried to, but he had so many questions, he needed at least a few answers. And he couldn't for the life of him stop thinking that his grandmother had known all along that she was sending a thief to seduce him.

"You never called," he muttered as she fumbled with his shirt.

"I thought you didn't love me!"

He put his mouth on her jaw, sucking on the side of her neck. "I'm so angry though, Hy..."

"Does it really matter? Would you rather fight with me than kiss me?" she sounded so young, so careful, that Gareth could not help but hold her tighter. In his arms, against his heart.

"I would have you in any way I could, surely you know this by now."

"Well, I'm still me," she managed to say, her voice muffled by his body.

"Is that what you went to do in Italy?"

She raised her head to look at his, square in the eyes. "You have to know, Gareth- I'm good. I'm really good."

He scoffed. "Thanks for telling me. It's all I ever wanted to know, that you were a proficient thief."

Hyacinth snuggled into his arms. "Well, we're only stealing to give it back to the proper owners, so it's not as bad?"

"What a pair we make. The rockstar and the thief."

A grin stretched on her lips. "They are some perks."

At his arched brow, she merely laughed. "Well, for one, I'm quite flexible, Gareth. Don't you want to find out how much?"