Chapter 4

The rest of dinner passed by with little incident. Their time was filled with pleasant conversation and delicious food, and Kate found herself enjoying the company of all the Bridgerton siblings. Eloise was lively and silly while Daphne was friendly and sweet, and Benedict and Colin both tried to outdo each other by making everyone in their vicinity laugh, causing their mother to get increasingly exasperated by their goofy antics.

Edwina kept trying to pull Anthony's attention toward her, and Kate didn't know how to feel about that. Edwina clearly wanted him to be interested in her, and while Anthony was kindly attentive to her and their conversation, Kate couldn't quite tell yet if the attraction was mutual.

If Anthony were to be attracted to someone, though, it would most likely be to Edwina. Boys seemed to flock to her no matter where she went – at school, the mall, parties, or even just hanging out at her friends' houses. Mary and Kate were always worried about her: they consistently encouraged her to be safe and make good decisions, considering how little they trusted teenage boys' intentions, but Edwina never gave them cause to worry. Until now, at least.

Edwina now laughed at something Anthony said, her pretty face lighting up as she pressed a hand to her chest, throwing her head back. Kate quickly looked away and picked up her glass of water, taking a sip.

"Mum, Gregory and I are finished," Hyacinth said to their mother after they had all tucked into dessert, which was a scrumptious lemon meringue pie. "May we go downstairs to the games room?"

"Ooh, may I go too?" Francesca asked, looking eager.

"Well, alright. But I would like an adult supervising you while you're down there," Mrs. Bridgerton said sternly. "Perhaps I could get one of the kitchen staff to go with you."

"We don't need a babysitter, mum," Gregory rolled his eyes.

"I can go with them," Kate offered. Mrs. Bridgerton looked at her in surprise.

"If Kate's going, I want to go too!" Eloise said immediately.

"Are you sure Kate? You're our guest tonight, I would hate to force you to look after the young ones while the rest of us are up here," she said hesitantly.

"C'mon Mum, we're not that bad," Hyacinth insisted, pouting as she crossed her arms.

"Truly, I don't mind," Kate said sincerely. "I love children – I work with them all the time over at the farm."

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you," Mrs. Bridgerton smiled at her. "But, nevertheless, you are still my guest. Anthony, would you mind going with her? Just so I don't feel like I'm loading all the responsibility onto Kate."

Kate felt her heart catch in her throat as she met Anthony's gaze across the table. He smiled at her, and Kate couldn't help but think he looked genuine in his pleasure.

"Sure, no problem," he said easily, and Kate for some reason felt herself blushing.

"Excellent," Mrs. Bridgerton smiled brightly. "Then it's decided."

Kate couldn't help but glance over at Edwina, who looked a bit bummed to realize that Anthony wasn't going to be sitting beside her anymore. Kate wondered if Edwina was going to insist upon joining them in the games room, but Daphne pulled her into conversation at that moment, distracting her.

The kids excitedly jumped out of their seats and ran out of the room, and Kate and Anthony both got up too, following them at a slower pace.

"So your family has a games room?" Kate asked Anthony as they walked together out into the hallway.

"Oh yeah. My mum had it renovated before we moved in, and it's probably my siblings' favorite room in the entire house," Anthony said. "Just wait and see."

They walked down another corridor, which had a large white door at the end leading to the basement. The door was already ajar, and the younger Bridgerton siblings thundered down the carpeted stairs, laughing amongst each other. Anthony and Kate followed, but Kate practically froze the moment she walked off the bottom step.

A massive 4K television dominated one of the walls, with over a dozen gaming systems stored in a long white credenza beneath it. Surround sound speakers were embedded in the walls and ceilings, but that wasn't even the coolest part of the room: on the opposite end were a dozen arcade machines, a skeeball machine, a pool table, an air hockey table, and even a Dance Dance Revolution machine. A massive shelf covered the back wall filled with rows and rows of video games, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs, as well as board games and electronic handheld games. A large popcorn machine and glass-door refrigerator filled to the brim with snacks and drinks were tucked away in the corner. The whole place was like every child's dreamland.

Kate couldn't help but stare all around her with her mouth hanging open.

"…Yeah, that was my reaction to this room when I came back home from school," Anthony said amusedly, looking at Kate's gobsmacked expression. "I couldn't believe my mum had done all this for my siblings."

"You must have the best mum in the world," Kate gushed to Anthony, still trying to take in her surroundings. "This is like my childhood dream room!"

"Mine too," Anthony grinned. "I dunno why she didn't build this when I was little."

Hyacinth, Gregory, Eloise, and Francesca were all currently in front of the 4K TV, setting up Mario Kart for the Nintendo Switch and fighting over which controller each of them would get to use. Kate and Anthony walked over to the massive L-shaped sectional couch near where the kids were and stood behind it, watching them.

"This isn't even everything, if you can believe it," Anthony said with an amused grin, crossing his arms. Kate looked at him. "In the next year, my mum plans on adding to the back of the house an indoor sports area with a swimming pool and basketball court. Possibly even a miniature skate park."

"No way," Kate couldn't help but laugh. "Rich people really do put their money to good use, don't they?"

"We might be rich, but there's a lot of kids in the house," Anthony shrugged. "The money's being put to good use."

"I'll say," Kate said, looking over at the massive TV where the Mario Kart startup screen and familiar music started to play. "Must be nice to grow up with all this stuff."

"You and your family live in this neighborhood – I would assume you guys must be doing pretty well for yourselves," Anthony pointed out, crossing his arms and leaning a hip against the couch so he faced her.

"I s'pose," Kate said, feeling herself blush for some reason as she looked at him. "My father was a lawyer and my mother was a veterinarian, so money was never really an issue for us."

"Your mother?" Anthony asked, raising his eyebrows. "You mean Mary isn't your biological mother?"

Kate shook her head. "She's my stepmother, though she raised me most of my life. My real mother died from cancer when I was only two, and my father met Mary about a year later. Pretty soon, Edwina was born, and the four of us became a happy little family."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother," Anthony said sincerely. "Mary mentioned at dinner that your father also died when you were fourteen?"

"Yeah. He had a stroke," Kate said, grimacing slightly at the memory. "It all happened quite suddenly. But thankfully he had taken out a life insurance policy that was more than enough to support Mary, Edwina, and myself for many years. Mary still works part-time at a dentist's office, but that's really just so she can keep herself busy during the day. Money isn't really an issue for us."

"I'm sure that was a huge relief to your family," Anthony said with a small, sad smile. "I had just turned 18 when our father died, and I thought I would have to take on all the responsibility of our family's estate and commercial properties so we wouldn't lose everything. But my mother really stepped up and took control of the situation, and my father's life insurance policy was good enough to support all of my younger siblings until they become adults. His death was hard on all of us, but I'm happy everything has been able to work out for the best."

Kate couldn't help but smile slightly at him, her expression sympathetic. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with a parent's death as well. I know how difficult it can be."

Anthony looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face as he held her gaze, and Kate couldn't help but look back at him. Something unsaid seemed to pass between them, but before Kate could examine it too much, the kids began to shout:

"No fair! You cheated Eloise!" Gregory exclaimed as his car spun out. "You hid that banana peel behind the mystery box!"

"Don't hate me for being strategic," Eloise said defensively as her car sped around a curve. "Besides, Hyacinth is still winning."

"It's your own fault for not using the booster," Hyacinth said triumphantly as she crossed the finish line. "Yes!"

The kids continued to bicker as Kate and Anthony exchanged a grin. Kate couldn't help but giggle.

"I sort of feel like our talk of dead parents isn't appropriate when hanging out in the games room," Anthony said lightly, and he nodded toward the TV. "Do you want to play the next one? I'll even let you be Yoshi."

Kate smiled, shaking her head. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll just watch. I never learned how to play on the Switch, so I doubt I would be any good."

"Aw, c'mon Kate. I never knew you to back away from a challenge," Anthony teased her. "Are you really that scared to face me?"

"I will face you any day of the week," Kate said confidently, crossing her arms as she faced him. "Especially in a horse race."

"I'll definitely take you up on that," Anthony grinned at her. "Unfortunately, we're only relegated to the games we have down here. So what'll it be?"

Kate glanced around the room until her eyes landed on something nearby. She smirked before looking back at Anthony. "Air hockey?"

Anthony grinned. "You're on."

~/~

Twenty intense minutes of air hockey later, and the game was all tied up.

"Go Kate!" Eloise squealed, jumping up and down. The kids had soon abandoned their video game in favor of watching Kate and Anthony face off against each other in this one-on-one battle.

"Get her Anthony!" Gregory shouted. All the girls had gone to Kate's side of the table, so he felt honor-bound to cheer for the only other boy.

Anthony hit the puck so it ricocheted off the edge of the table and slid toward Kate, but she blocked it, causing the girls to cheer.

"C'mon Kate, you can beat him!" Francesca exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Kate hit the puck toward Anthony, and he blocked it, sending it back to her. They went back and forth several times, their faces furrowed in concentration, until Kate hit it straight into Anthony's goal.

The Bridgerton girls all cheered as Kate grinned at Anthony, feeling triumphant. He smirked back at her, a certain gleam in his eye as he retrieved the puck. "Feeling lucky now, are we Sharma?"

Kate felt her heart flutter slightly when he called her that. "Luck has nothing to do with it, Bridgerton."

Anthony grinned as he set the puck down on the table, but before he could hit it toward her, Mrs. Bridgerton appeared at the base of the stairs.

"Kate, your mother and sister are getting ready to leave," she said, smiling at them all gathered around the air hockey table. "And it's almost the younger ones' bedtimes. Can we wrap up this game?"

"Yeah, of course," Kate said.

The kids all groaned. "Aw c'mon, Mum. The game was just getting good!" Gregory whined.

"Last round! Whoever gets this next point wins the match – agreed?" Eloise suggested, perking up as she glanced between her brother and Kate.

"Yeah! One more round!" the kids all chorused, looking excited as they jumped up and down. Anthony shook his head, however, as he picked up the puck and set it down on the edge of the table.

"The game's over. Kate won the match, fair and square," he said, looking up at her with a smile. Kate blinked in surprise. "I concede that she is the better air hockey player."

"Aw man," Gregory sulked, crossing his arms. "You're no fun."

The kids looked bummed that the game was over, though the girls seemed mollified that Kate had won. They all gave Kate a hug and congratulated her on her win, even Gregory, before they all hurried upstairs to get ready for bed. Mrs. Bridgerton followed them, leaving Kate and Anthony alone.

"Your trophy, madam," Anthony handed her the red air hockey puck, and Kate accepted it with a smirk. "Enjoy."

"I shall hang it on my wall," Kate said teasingly, though after a moment her smile turned more sincere. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Anthony's eyes held a softer expression as he regarded her. "Although I do expect a rematch in the near future."

Kate giggled as they began to walk toward the staircase. "Obviously."


A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter :) Please review and comment!