The Carlyles Read Online Free

sprang from orderly white window boxes flanking the entrance. Idly he leaned down to smell one, thinking of a certain someone he wanted to give flowers to. As Owen inhaled the sweet scent, the door swung open, revealing a woman in a navy blue linen dress with striking, perfectly white hair, even though her face was completely unlined. She sort of looked like a white wig–wearing Nicole Kidman.
    “Good day,” she announced in a prim British accent, opening the door partway and glancing down her ski-jump nose at Owen quizzically. “May I help you?”
    “Hi. I’m, uh, Owen Carlyle? I’m here to see Rhys. I’m new to the swim team and wanted to pick up my stuff?” he began awkwardly. He really hoped he had the right house.
    The woman’s face broke into a warm smile. “Owen Carlyle! Of course, I knew your grandmother quite well. What a wonderfully unique woman.” She ushered Owen into the expansive foyer. Owen awkwardly toyed with the blue flower he had snapped from outside. “You know she was on the show a few times?”
    Owen furrowed his brow in confusion. In front of him was a grand, sweeping red-carpeted staircase like the one in Sunset Boulevard, one of Avery’s favorite films. He had no idea what it was about, but Avery had probably watched it four hundred times.
    “Tea with Lady Sterling,” the woman said sternly, as if she was correcting him. “Tea with me ,” she clarified.
    Owen still didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about. He seldom watched TV, and when he did, he made a point of not watching shows with the word tea in the title.
    “Nice to meet you.” Owen stuck out his hand awkwardly. The foyer walls were painted a soothing taupe color and were bordered by ancient-looking English foxhunting scenes. Suddenly, a preppy-looking guy wearing pressed chinos and a pristine short-sleeve blue button-down shirt bounded down the red-carpeted staircase. He looked like he was headed out to play golf. Owen tucked his hands into the pockets of his ratty Adidas shorts and hunched his shoulders inside his thin gray Nantucket Pirates T-shirt.
    “Rhys! You have a guest.” Lady Sterling smiled fondly at the two boys. “This is Owen Carlyle. Owen, darling, please do tell your mother I would love to see her. We’ve only met once, at a charity function, and you know how those things are,” Lady Sterling trilled as she clicked down the hall.
    “Nice to meet you, man!” Rhys gave Owen a firm handshake. He was just a little bit shorter than Owen’s six feet, two inches, and had dark brown hair and gold-flecked brown eyes. He opened a closet door and pulled out a maroon Speedo swim bag. “This is for you.”
    “Thanks, man.” Owen pawed through it to find six PowerBars, a maroon towel with ST. JUDE’S embroidered on it, and three tiny black Speedos. He held one up to his hips awkwardly. It was about five sizes too small. “Well, good meeting you.” Owen stuffed the swimsuit back into the bag and turned to go.
    “Wait up,”Rhys called behind him. “You busy this afternoon? Want to go to brunch? Fred’s is pretty good. It’s on the top floor of Barneys.”
    “No!” Owen said quickly, one foot already outside. The last thing he wanted to do was run into Avery in the midst of some sort of fashion emergency.
    Rhys looked crestfallen. “Oh, that’s cool.”
    Owen shook his head. “I mean, can we just grab bagels instead? Go to the park?” he asked awkwardly. Despite the bevy of girls following him at all times, Owen had never really had close guy friends. In fact, it was because of the bevy of girls following him at all times. The guys at NHS had always been jealous of Owen’s good looks and easy confidence, and knew they didn’t stand a shot at scoring when he was around. Owen tried not to care, and he wasn’t lonely or anything. But come on. It wasn’t his fault he was a chick magnet.
    It’s not easy being beautiful.
    “Fine by me.” Rhys nodded in agreement and pulled down a pair of