The Rivals - Dylan Allen Page 0,355

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.

Chapter 29

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 working for Kingdom in their New York office. Beau was in college and Dare was in high school. The only time we were all up and home at the same time was in the very early morning hours. And so, this became our ritual.

We’d catch up, talk shit, and laugh over a cup of coffee while the sun ushered in a new day.

I miss that, because despite how different we are from each other, we’ve always been friends.

But, I’m not as young as I used to be. Too much scotch, not enough food or water, and dancing until we were drenched with sweat is starting to catch up with me and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.

Dare is already asleep on one of the lounge chairs. Curled up in a fetal position, the way he used to when he was a kid. When I see him like that, I can almost recall a time before his name became synonymous with trouble. It’s not his fault, he was only three when Jason died, and Hayes left. He got the short end of the parenting stick.

“You dumped her because she got a cat?” Beau’s question interrupts my reverie.

I glance at him and my lip curls in annoyance. I reach across the space between our lounge chairs and snatch my phone out of his hand. I have pictures of Regan on that phone and the last thing I need is for