“He wouldn’t let you fake it in a million years,” I agree.
“But this all sounds pretty intense for pretend,” she says. “What happened that you couldn’t tell me about at Sweeter Grind?”
I set my drink down on the coffee table, drumming my brain to figure out where to begin.
“He’s a split personality. Sometimes this seems almost real, and then the next minute he’s Mr. Wardhole again. We went to the art museum today. He was being cute, at first, attentive and sweet. They had a new box of donations for his grandma’s exhibit and he just...he freaked. He wouldn’t even tell me what the problem was. Apparently, his dad donated stuff he doesn’t want outside of the family.”
Brina blinks slowly, her eyes wide.
Yeah, I know the feeling.
“His reaction doesn’t make sense. I can get not wanting people to see all of his family’s private moments, but the way he went off...it was a little scary.”
“They must have a strained relationship. Did you ask about it?”
“Of course. He basically barked crap at me and kept saying I didn’t need to be mixed up with his dad.”
“Odd. It’s almost like he’s trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Did you Google?”
“Ugh, not yet. It’s been a marathon since we set this up, and now I’m almost afraid to go down that hole. It might have sharp teeth.”
She shrugs. “It’s probably nothing, just a messy divorce or something. I bet he was a deadbeat or Ward’s too deep in the drama to set his own head straight. Mag broke up with me twice to ‘protect my reputation.’ He also thinks he’s way more of a bad boy billionaire than he actually is. For a while, he thought he was shielding me from family crap too.”
I grin. “He was so stupid.”
“And now he’s a sweetheart. I think I’m starting to love happy endings even more than Mom,” she says with a saucy smile. “Why would Ward and his dad have such a rotten relationship, though?”
I pick up a couch pillow and hug it.
“You tell me. He’s a doting grandson and still bosses his little brother around like they’re kids. It’s kind of adorable.”
Brina nods. “So, he cares about his family. If he’s not cool with his dad, there has to be a reason.”
I hadn’t thought about that.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t put it off. I should just pull those skeletons out of the closet and be glad they’re not mine.”
Brina pulls her phone out. “Don’t worry. I got this.”
I laugh, pick up my phone, and join her in pulling up Beatrice’s bio. I’ve probably read it ten times, but always glossed over the family stuff.
She has one son. Victor Brandt. That’s a good place to start.
Brina rocks her heels, giddy with excitement. “Feels like the good old days with you and I living together. I miss them sometimes. But I wouldn’t trade it for my husband.”
I’m sure she wouldn’t. I’m jealous, but I can’t think of anyone who deserves to be happy more than Sabrina Heron.
I type Victor Brandt into the search engine. A picture of a scruffy middle-aged man with Ward’s stormy eyes pops up on the screen and the results are...long.
Jesus. This guy was plastered all over the news.
“He was married to a woman named Giselle,” Brina says. “Simms is her name now, but she was a Brandt for a while.”
“I hope his parents’ divorce wasn’t the trauma. So many people have divorced parents and aren’t monsters. If that’s his excuse...”
“I don’t think so.” Brina doesn’t look up from her tablet, pursing her lips. “His parents seem—adventurous.”
“Adventurous?” I echo.
Brina gives a pained snicker.
“Scandalous. I was trying to be polite.”
“His dad filed for bankruptcy a few years ago,” I say, reading over the article.
Is that what Ward’s so worried about? I could see how a past stained with financial ruin could give pause to someone entering a massive business deal, but it’s his dad’s beef, not his. And Victor apparently separated from Brandt Ideas long before the bankruptcy occurred.
“Looks like his mom’s been engaged to two multimillionaires and a billionaire in the past five years. Whoa,” Brina hisses. “She’s currently single again and seems to be on the prowl. So says The Chicago Tea.”
“Oh, man, Ward hates that blog so much.” I laugh. “Rich cougar, huh?”
“Well, she’s strutting her stuff pretty hard on the ’gram. Of course, she only flirts with a certain profile of guys...” Brina meets my eyes and bites her lip, seeing something on the screen that hurts. “I sometimes