by Aiden Bates
Still, Adrian was his twin. He’d shared very close quarters with Adrian. They’d been very close, before Austin tested as omega. Only then had anyone even bothered to try to distinguish between them. Austin had felt a piece of himself click into place when he saw his brother standing there in his shop, and he couldn’t lie about that.
That didn’t make it any easier to hear the little slights. He knew that Adrian didn’t believe that Austin could sell all of the wine, or most of the wine. Austin could show him the financials and Adrian still wouldn’t believe it.
Adrian seemed to be trying, though. “Well, that’s nice, I guess. It’s good that you’re keeping busy, you know?”
Austin gave a little smile at that. “So when did you get into town?”
“Yesterday. I’m staying at a B&B up the road. It’s a nice enough place, I guess. I mean it’s cute. Quaint. It has a nice view of the lake. I cannot get used to how people up here talk, though. You’ve been up here for six years?”
Austin nodded, laughing a little. “Yeah. It’s all the cold and snow, goes right to their heads. They don’t have time to slow things down; they’ll get frostbite or something. They’re mostly nice enough folks. So, did you really come all the way up here to see little old me? Skaneateles is a long way from Texas, brother.”
Adrian snickered and drank from his glass. His shoulders were back and easy, his legs spread wide, and his feet were both on the floor. He obviously felt perfectly at home here. Adrian would feel perfectly at home anywhere. He’d always been like that, even when they were kids. “You’re not kidding. Well, I claimed an omega about two years ago. His name is Paul.”
Austin’s jaw dropped. “You’re settled down now? Wow. That’s fantastic. I guess it has been a long time.”
“Shush.” Adrian smiled, basking in his own glory. “Paul gave me a little boy maybe nine months after that, and then a little girl three months ago. They’re both at home in Austin with Mama right now, but I’ve got pictures.” He pulled out his phone and brought up pictures of the kids.
Austin made the appropriate sounds. He’d never been all that into children, especially babies. They all looked more or less the same, but people got pretty angry when you pointed that out to them. “They’re lovely. You’ve got a lot to be proud of.” He idly wondered how Paul felt about the whole thing, but of course that didn’t matter. Omegas didn’t matter, in the greater scheme of things. Not in the Baines family.
“Well, once I’d claimed Paul, it got me to thinking. Poor Kirby is still alone, you know. He’s still carrying a torch for you.”
And here it was. This was the only reason that Adrian, Austin’s own twin, had sought him out at all. It hadn’t been because he missed him, but because of what Austin could do for an alpha. “Kirby doesn’t actually know me, Adrian. If he’s got eyes for me or whatever, it’s because he sees something he likes in you and I look like you. I’d be nervous, start planning my speeches now.” He topped off Adrian’s glass before his own.
Adrian cackled. “No, brother. Kirby’s as alpha as the day is long. You remember the time that he came back to the ranch for break.”
“I remember.” Austin hadn’t been impressed by Kirby. They hadn’t said more than a couple of words to one another, and as far as Austin had been concerned they’d been two words too many. “We didn’t exactly hit it off, Ade.”
“What are you talking about, little brother? He was wild about you! He hasn’t stopped talking about you ever since! How you look, how you dressed, how you smelled, for crying out loud. You were supposed to submit to him.”
“I was supposed to stay in Texas too, but look how well that turned out.” Austin threw back a gulp of wine.
“Exactly!” Adrian smacked his hand down on the counter. “Look just how well that turned out! You’ve got a huge wine store with no customers. I mean really, I appreciate that you wanted to do something with the money Uncle Colton left you, but you’ve just squandered it away like this! You’re still unclaimed; you’ve got no children, that anyone knows about anyway. Your life is empty, Austin. Kirby’s still willing to have you. He’s at the B&B right now. Come on. Lock this dump up, we’ll stroll on back, and we’ll get this done before dinner.”
Austin drained his glass. He hated drinking like that, like the stuff was some cheap rotgut, but he needed some way of getting through the conversation. “Just like that, huh?”
“You’re twenty-nine, brother. You don’t have a lot of other choices. I don’t see a line of alphas looking to give you another option.” Austin shook his head. “I’m just trying to look out for what’s best for you here, buddy.”
“Have you given any thought to the fact that I don’t actually want to be claimed?” Austin filled his glass again. Would it be possible to drown himself in such a small amount of liquid?
“That’s crap, Austin. You’re an omega. That’s what you’re for.” Behind them, the bells on the shop door rang again, but Austin ignored them. Whoever it was would do their business and get out. “You’re for making babies and pleasing alphas. That’s it. You don’t have heads for business. You can’t support yourselves in the long term. This is common sense stuff, Austin.”
Austin crossed his arms over his chest. “Do they have air conditioning in your cave? I swear to God, you get your attitudes from tablets, carved in clay, in writing made from little tiny triangles. I don’t want a claim. I’ve never wanted a claim. In ten years, I’ve had fifteen guys offer to claim me. I’ve run them all off. Plenty of them have been great guys, and I’ve said no each and every time because no alpha has anything to offer me that I want hanging around for the rest of my life.”
“You just don’t know what you want. You never did.” Adrian rolled his eyes and waved a hand. “Even when we were kids, you couldn’t decide between two different kinds of soup on the menu.”
“Wow, a twelve-year-old can’t decide between soup so all choices should be taken away from an adult man forever. That makes perfect sense, Adrian. I’m an adult. I know what I want. I know what I like. I know what makes me happy. It’s not some guy snoring away. It’s sure as hell not being bound to some jackass who thinks he’s entitled to treat me like dirt because of his gene status, okay?
“And if an omega ‘doesn’t have a head for business,’ explain to me how I’ve made millions on this place, huh?” Austin snapped his fingers at his brother.
Adrian shrugged. “Faulty accounting. You never did do well in math.”
“I did fine in math. And yes, millions. Maybe I’m not some big fancy whatever you are, but I’m doing something I enjoy that I’m good at. I don’t want your buddy, I don’t want kids, and I don’t want any part of a claim.” He pointed to the door. “If that’s seriously the only reason you came here, the door is over there.”
Adrian shook his head and scoffed. “Hell no. You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m your brother, and I’m the alpha of the family. I know what’s best for you. This place can be sold, and you’re going to find that it’s not worth anywhere near what you pretend that it is. You’re going to let Kirby take you, the way you were always supposed to, and then you’re coming home to Texas. That’s final, Austin. I’m not tolerating any backtalk on this.”
“Well you can go back to your bed and breakfast and not tolerate any backtalk there. Maybe Paul lets you order him around like that. Maybe he even likes it, I don’t know, but I’m not letting some prep school buddy of yours touch me at all, never mind for a claim. And legally, I don’t have to.” Austin put his glass down, his anger rising. He’d fight if he had to.
“You have a duty to this family, Austin. Whatever it is that you have going on here, you’re making the family look bad. You make us look weak, poorly managed. You were promised to Kirby, and you’re his. Do your job and get your ass over to him.”
“Do I need to call the police?” Austin pulled his phone out. “I told you no. You clearly don’t understand plain English.”
“You’re not going
to call the police on your own brother.” Adrian rolled his eyes and smiled. “Come on, Austin. Quit being a little bitch and come with me.”
“Try me.” Austin dialed nine-one-one and let his finger hover over the “dial” button.
***
Cody hadn’t planned to come in for much. All he’d wanted was to pick up a couple of bottles of that wine that Austin had given him and maybe talk to him about making a deal with Blue Bells Weddings. It was just business, nothing more. Sure Austin was hot, but Cody wasn’t looking for a long-term partner right now and he couldn’t let the omega’s “wow” factor color his judgment.
Cody was there to do business, and that was it.
When he saw Austin sitting at the register across from a carbon copy of himself, one that smelled like an alpha and dressed like he belonged on Wall Street, it gave him pause. Austin hadn’t mentioned being a twin. He hadn’t mentioned family at all. Of course he hadn’t. They’d talked business, Cody had placed his order, and that was it. Obviously Austin had a family. Everyone had a family. Even Cody had a family.
Then he noticed the tense set to Austin’s shoulders. His jaw was clenched, too, and if he gripped that wine glass any tighter he was going to break it. Not-Austin was lighting into Austin. “You’re for making babies and pleasing alphas. That’s it. You don’t have heads for business. You can’t support yourselves in the long term. This is common sense stuff, Austin.”
Cody hesitated. Not-Austin’s voice dripped exasperation and frustration. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care that Austin’s face got darker with every word. The whole thing smacked of family drama. Cody didn’t do family drama, especially when it came to families that weren’t his. He should put his bottles down and sneak back out the door.
Austin crossed his arms over his chest. “Do they have air conditioning in your cave? I swear to God, you get your attitudes from tablets, carved in clay, in writing made from little tiny triangles. I don’t want a claim. I’ve never wanted a claim. In ten years, I’ve had fifteen guys offer to claim me. I’ve run them all off. Plenty of them have been great guys, and I’ve said no each and every time because no alpha has anything to offer me that I want hanging around for the rest of my life.”
Well, now, wasn’t that interesting? Cody snuck off into the wine racks, keeping one ear open for more as he moved. Hopefully Austin would get his family drama over with quickly, because Cody really wanted to talk to him about making some kind of arrangement between their businesses. He wouldn’t bring up the whole “omega who didn’t want a claim” thing. It was too good to be true, anyway.
The brothers argued back and forth, and Cody tried to puzzle out what was going on. Apparently Austin’s brother, whose name was Adrian and not Not-Austin, wanted Austin to let some alpha named Kirby claim him. Austin didn’t want to. Cody couldn’t understand why it needed to be more complicated than that, but evidently Adrian had trouble with the word “no.” Austin told him to leave, and he told him again to leave, and then he pulled out his phone.
Cody sighed. He hated family drama, and he didn’t see it as his place to get involved. At the same time, he didn’t see where there was another option. If Austin had the police come by it would be all over the papers. Their names would be all over the papers, and that meant dragging Blue Bells Weddings through the papers. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Besides, Adrian was getting nasty with his demands. “You have a duty to this family, Austin. Whatever it is that you have going on here, you’re making the family look bad. You make us look weak, poorly managed. You were promised to Kirby, and you’re his. Do your job and get your ass over to him.” Who spoke like that to their own brother? He surprised himself by wanting to help the handsome omega. Seriously, no one should be able to get away with that. It wasn’t instinct, or some kind of weird alpha thing, that made him want to help Austin. No, he was just being a decent human being.
Fortunately, Austin didn’t seem to be letting his brother get away with anything, but he had his phone out and his finger hovering over the keypad. If Cody didn’t act now, it would be a public relations disaster. He sauntered forward, making sure both Baines saw him coming. “Hey there, Austin. Are we still on for that date tonight or not so much?”
Austin blinked, without moving another muscle. Then he nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Cody. We are. My brother was just leaving.”
Adrian walked up to Cody. He stood a good four inches taller than Cody did, and somehow his narrow build looked more muscular than Austin’s. Cody wasn’t intimidated. He was from the Bronx. He could handle himself. “So you have a date with my brother, hmm?”
“Yeah. We arranged it a couple of weeks ago.” Cody forced himself to grin instead of punching the other alpha in the teeth.
“Well, Mr. Date Man, your services won’t be required. My brother is spoken for. Run along now.” Adrian made a shooing motion with his hand. “Go.”
Cody grabbed onto Austin’s arm and tucked it protectively into his own. This close, Austin’s scent was intoxicating. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to go with his decision on that, big guy, but thanks for the input.” He escorted Austin away from Adrian and toward the door. “I’m sure you understand.”
Austin smiled sweetly at his brother. “I’m afraid you’ll need to be leaving now, brother dear.” He gestured toward the door. “Here lies your way and all that.”
Adrian grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. “This isn’t over, Austin.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” Austin held the door open as Adrian walked away.
Austin changed the sign on the door to closed and turned to face Cody. “Seriously, I’m not sure how I can thank you for that. I mean you just saved me from a huge mess. Ten percent discount on anything you buy, for the next year at least.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Cody ran his hand through his blond waves. “Family drama is always the worst, man. Sounds like yours was especially fun.”
Austin looked over at him for a moment. Then he grabbed a glass and filled it with something red for Cody. “I have successfully avoided any and all family drama for the past ten years. I suppose I was due.” Then he laughed, like the sun parting the clouds. “I still think I handled it right, though. I can probably survive that once a decade, especially when there’s a big strong alpha there to chase the scary family critters away.”
Cody hesitated. Was Austin offering something? Cody didn’t want it. It wouldn’t be a sincere offer, not with that kind of timing. “Look, Austin, I only came in here to talk business.”
Austin laughed that full body laugh of his, the one that had him exposing his beautiful neck. Austin wanted to do things to that neck. “Of course you did, Cody. Right now, that’s what I love most about you.” He lifted his glass in a kind of toast. “What kind of business do you want to talk about? You run a wedding planning company, correct? I assume you need more wine.”
“Well, I do.” Cody forced himself to relax and sat down. Of course Austin hadn’t been hitting on him, not after the conversation he’d had with his brother. Who thought like that? “Here’s the thing. I have a few caterers that work with me. My favorite, Sabrina, she doesn’t drink. So she buys wine, but she doesn’t ‘get’ wine.”
“I noticed that. Not a criticism, but the wine pairings in that menu you sent weren’t exactly outstanding.” Austin tilted his head to the side and caught his tongue between his teeth. “Let me guess. You want me to basically play sommelier.”
“More or less.” Cody nodded. “I mean all you have to do is look at the menu and decide what would go well with what. You seem to have a knack for it. And I want you to supply the wine, of course.”
“Seems reasonable. It’s not much different than what I do with the other restaurants and bars around here. Is Sabrina on board?” Austin leaned forward just a little.
“She is. I can have her call you tomorrow to talk about it, if you want.”
“Sure. Send over your contract, too. I mea
n I’m not going to be your bartender.” Austin met his eyes. “I’m not that guy.”
“No. Sabrina has her own people to do that. All I want you to do is tell me what kind of wine to buy, and then sell it to me.” Cody swallowed. He had to keep reminding himself that it was a business meeting. Touching would be inappropriate.
“I can definitely do that.” Austin grinned. “You’ve got yourself a deal, darlin’.” His grin took on a mischievous cast. “Are you busy tonight? I’d love to treat you to dinner to celebrate. Plus, there’s a possibility that we could run into my brother, which will make your brilliant ruse look more real.”
Cody ran his tongue along the back of his teeth. He should say no. He didn’t want to give the wrong impression, not to Austin and not to anyone else. At the same time, Austin’s scent was like a drug. He wanted more of it. “Is there any place good around here?”
“You bet! There’s a great little Indian place only a couple of blocks up.” He grabbed his jacket.
They walked over. It was earlier than Cody usually had dinner, but he’d survive. “I can’t help but think it’s weird, to go from Texas to this.” He gestured at the coats everyone was wearing. “How do you not just die of frostbite? I mean I’m just from New York City and I feel like I’m going to shiver right out of my skin sometimes.”
“It was a big adjustment.” Austin stuck his hands into his pockets. “Honestly, it seemed like a logical choice. It was someplace my family wouldn’t ever go if they had a choice in the matter, so here I went. I can’t say I’ve regretted it, although I can afford to hire someone to clear my sidewalk and driveway so I guess I’m kind of privileged that way.”
“I’ve got a condo downtown. I literally never think about snow removal, except for when it gets in my way.” Cody laughed.
They got seated right away, and ordered their food. “I’m dying to know,” Austin said. “How does a guy like you wind up in the wedding planning business, anyway?”
Cody raised one eyebrow. “Guys like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”