Beau’s abrupt declaration startles me. “Ready for what?” I ask.
“For you, dumbass. That’s all I’m allowed to say,” he adds when I start to press him for more.
I turn to Stone, who is distracted by whatever he’s looking at on his phone.
He’s smiling again.
This time, with teeth.
My curiosity about the evening is forgotten. I give him a suspicious once-over. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see it. But why the fuck are you smiling so much?”
He flushes, and his eyes get an almost dreamy look, one I’ve never seen.
“I think… I’m falling in love.” He sounds like he can’t believe it himself.
“Wow.” I can’t hide my surprise.
He smiles wryly. “I know. It’s a little complicated, though.”
“How so?”
“She’s married. Don’t say a fucking word. Not to anyone,” he whispers.
Then, he claps me on the shoulder and follows Beau out the door. I put my shoes on, grab my wallet and hurry after them.
The elevator doors open on our floor, just as I’m catching up with them.
“Good timing,” Beau mutters, as we step onto the crowded car.
Conversation is impossible, but I catch Stone's eye and give him a look that he knows means I’m not done with him.
He smirks and shrugs.
I smirk back and plan my attack as we descend.
When we step off the elevator, I pounce.
“I forgot my phone upstairs,” I lie.
“Aww, shit. Hayes. If you’re late, Confidence will fucking kill me,” Beau whines.
“Then you go get it. And Stone can escort me to whatever this is.”
“Good idea. I’ll be five minutes behind you,” he says, and turns back for the elevators.
“That’s not a little complicated.” I fall into step beside a speed-walking Stone.
He scoffs. “It is. She won’t be married for much longer. Now that I know for certain she could be mine; I’m just going to wait for everything to align and make my move.”
“I thought you had a girl in Houston?”
“That was nothing. This woman, she feels like my endgame.”
“Not if she’s already somebody else’s. You’re whipped. You’ll get over it.” I assure him.
When he doesn’t respond, I glance at him and find his attention is on something on the other side of the lobby.
I follow his gaze and glimpse someone… who shouldn’t be here.
“Is that… Regan Landel?” It’s a rhetorical question.
Of course, it’s her. No one besides her twin brother, Remi, looks like that.
“Yes, that’s her,” Stone says. His voice has an odd tone, and I turn away from where Regan is standing to look at him.
He’s watching her the way I watch Confidence. Devouring every detail like his life depends on it.
A terrible foreboding makes my chest tight. “Stone—”
He shakes his head and points at the restaurant we’re standing in front of. “We’ll talk later. We’re here. It’s showtime.”
I force myself to let it go for now. But only for now.
My brother looks besotted, but every man over the age of 16 is half in love with Regan Landel; she’s incomparably beautiful. So, I can understand why Stone, if he’s spent time with her or maybe even had a fling with her, would look at her and think he’s found nirvana.
But that way only lies trouble. She’s married one of the richest men in the world. He’s a business acquaintance. We play golf when he’s in town. And I know his wife is his most prized possession. I can’t believe she’d risk something like a tryst with Stone.
Even if she wasn’t married, when she finds out what our family did to hers, she won’t want anything to do with us, much less become intimately involved. If I can cut it off before whatever they’ve started takes root, then maybe, just maybe, I can stop the nightmare our parents started from getting any worse.
I Need Her
Stone
Hayes’ wedding went off without a hitch. It was beautiful and his new wife, Confidence looked like a fairy queen in just her floor length sequined white dress. A pregnant fairy queen whose belly shimmered like a disco ball when she took to the dance floor during the party that lasted well past midnight.
The moon was full, fat and low in the sky, and cast a silver gilt on everything.
Hayes took his bride to bed hours ago, but Beau, Dare and I decided to stay up and watch the sunrise together. Something we used to do when we lived together in New York City a few years ago.
I was finishing my residency, Hayes was studying for the next round of CPA exams and