by E. L. Todd
He didn’t seem like the doctor type, so I was surprised.
“I like to fish, even though I don’t go to the cabin very often. Too busy.”
“Have any kids?”
“No. Never been married. I was in a long-term relationship in medical school, but we just grew apart.” He shrugged. “And we were both too similar. It just didn’t work. Renee is the first woman I’ve really dated since then, and that was like three years ago.”
I could tell my sister was special to him based on everything he said, especially since he was the one to encourage meeting each other’s families. “How long have you been seeing each other?”
“Six months.”
I smiled slightly because my sister lied to me. She’d made it sound pretty new, but she was keeping her cards close to her chest, still unsure if she wanted me to meet him or not.
“What’s with the grin?”
“My sister has been hiding this relationship for a long time.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, she’s a weirdo.”
I chuckled. “Well, I’d like to get to know you better. As I mentioned, we play basketball on Wednesday nights. Will you be there?”
“Definitely. But how competitive is this?” he asked. “Because I’m decent but not amazing.”
“Kinda competitive, but it’s fine. We’ve got all kinds of players on the court.” Including a small brunette who made up for her size with her ferocity.
“I’m down for a match.”
“Great.”
My sister came back from the restroom, and we left the restaurant, heading outside to the sidewalk to say goodbye.
William extended his hand and shook mine. “It was great to meet you, Dax. I think the two of us hit it off pretty well.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think we did.”
His arm returned around her waist, and he looked down at her. “You can relax now.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Well, goodnight.” William prepared to turn away.
“Actually, do you mind if I take my sister home?” I asked. “Want to speak to her in private.”
“Of course.” William hugged her close then leaned down to kiss her. “See you later, baby.” He turned around and walked up the sidewalk.
My driver pulled up to the curb, and I opened the door for her.
She eyed me before she got into the back seat.
I joined her, then we headed to her penthouse.
After a few minutes of silence, she spoke. “So?”
“I like him, Renee. But that’s not what I want to talk about.”
“Oh?”
“William made it sound like you’re dragging your feet in this relationship.”
Her eyes narrowed on my face. “He told you that?”
“A lot of things were said.”
“I was gone for five minutes.”
“We both get to the point. Another reason I like him.”
“What is your point, Dax?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I just want to give you some advice. If you like this guy, you’re serious about him, don’t guard your heart. Don’t keep your walls up. Be honest. Because anything less might jeopardize what you have.”
She turned her gaze out the window.
“He really cares for you, Renee. It’s easy to see.”
“He loves me…”
“Yeah, I can tell.”
She turned back to me. “After everything you went through with Rose…I guess I’m scared.”
“If someone intends to deceive you, no amount of paranoia will allow you to see it before it’s too late. The people who try to use you and manipulate are actors. They’ll trick you, and as terrible as it is to say, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. But if you continue to keep your walls up at all times, you’ll stop everyone from getting to you, both good and bad. I don’t know him well, but he seems like the real deal.”
“He is.”
“Then you shouldn’t care what I think, Renee.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t help it, okay? I don’t have a father to walk me down the aisle. I don’t have a father to grill a man I bring home for Christmas. You’re all I have.” She looked out the window again. “Your opinion means a lot to me, and since it’s just the two of us, I want you to be close to the man I marry.”
I digested those words. “Is this a man you think you’ll marry?”
She nodded. “I love him.”
I’d only seen them together once, and I could picture them ending up together. William wore his heart on his sleeve, so I could watch it beat for my sister—right at the dinner table. “I’m sure I will be, Renee. You’re so smart. You know how to pick the good ones from the bad ones.”
“But you’re smart too…”
Not smart enough.
“I really hated Rose, even when you were together, and I felt like it put a wall between us. I don’t want that to happen again with the man I decide to be with.”
My past would continue to haunt me forever. It affected every relationship I ever had, sabotaged my relationship with the woman who really blew my mind. “It won’t. Nothing will ever stop us from being close. Rose was the biggest mistake of my life, and I won’t repeat it. I’ve learned from my stupidity. You could never lose me.”
She turned back to me, her eyes soft, a little wet. “You really like him?”
“Why would I invite him to basketball if I didn’t?”
For the first time that night, she relaxed. She finally took a breath and let her shoulders fall.
“Now that I know how you really feel about him, I’ll do what I can to bond with him. I can’t force a relationship if the chemistry isn’t there, but I think he and I are compatible. Don’t worry about it.”
She nodded. “Well…I’m glad we had this talk.”
“Yeah, me too.”
The car stopped in front of her penthouse.
She looked out the window before she turned back to me. “I really miss Mom and Dad. When I see William with his parents, it makes me sad.”
I hated seeing my sister in pain, seeing the sadness I couldn’t fix. “Me too.”
“I know we aren’t super close, but I’d like to be.”
I hadn’t put in much effort, because I’d been too busy fighting Rose and dealing with the depression afterward. I hadn’t been emotionally available until I met Carson in that bar. That was the moment I was ready to feel something. “I would too, Renee.”
Six
Carson
I was in the booth alone, drinking my glass of wine, when Denise walked in wearing her light blue scrubs and joined me. Her hair was curled but slicked in a short ponytail, and after working a twelve-hour shift, she still looked crisp.
“I’m so jealous of your work outfit.”
She laughed. “Baggy clothes covered in people’s germs?”
“Uh…let’s skip the hug.”
“That’s what I thought.” She got the waitress’s attention and ordered a beer. “I would love to get cute every day for work. Dresses, skirts, heels…that’s the one thing I dislike about my job.”
“It gets old. You have to pick out what you’re going to wear the night before…too much work.”
“That’s why I try to look good outside of work, because I don’t get the opportunity often.”
The waitress brought the drink and walked away.
“Are you still writing that editorial piece on Dax?” She took a sip.
“Yeah. We do mostly hard-hitting news, but people don’t always want to read about scandals, wars, crimes against humanity. Sometimes they just want a good story. The history of his company is interesting. It’s rare for a Fortune 500 company to remain a family company for so long. It has the corporate power but also the quaintness of a family-run business.”
“And that’s just…totally normal?”
I knew what point she was trying to make. “Honestly, it’s been really nice. I like being friends. When we were foolin
g around, I felt like I didn’t really know him, and not just because he was lying to me at the time. Now, I actually know who he is, and there’s no pressure, so…it’s easy.”
“It’s because you aren’t risking anything.”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug.
“But those old feelings? They just went away?”
“Uh, no,” I said with a laugh. “I still want to jump his bones sometimes. But those feelings I had when we were seeing each other are gone. His betrayal kinda erased all that.”
“But you don’t seem mad at him anymore.”
“I’m not one to hold a grudge.” I ended the relationship, and he accepted that. No point in living in the past anymore. He shouldn’t have lied to me, not when I was so scarred, but I understood his reasoning and didn’t hate him for it. He was still a good person in my eyes. He wasn’t a heartless, lying son of a bitch like my ex-husband.
“I guess that’s good. He seems like a good guy. Maybe you two can try again later.”
I drank from my glass and smeared my lipstick onto the edge. “No.”
“Then you are holding a grudge.”
“No. It’s just that kind of trust is broken. That’s all.”
“Well, I don’t see how you can be friends with someone if you don’t trust them, and you seem to be good friends already.”
“Not the same thing.”
She shrugged then took a drink.
“I’m surprised you’re pushing for him when he lied to me. I mean, I’m your sister.” Shouldn’t she be pissed off like an angry mob? Shouldn’t she want to knee him in the balls?
“I’m not saying what he did was okay, but I get where he’s coming from. It would get old trying to find someone to be with when your wealth is always the main focus of conversation. He could date women just as wealthy, but I imagine they’re snobby and lazy. No, he shouldn’t have lied as long as he did, but…” She shrugged. “He still seems like a sweetheart to me.”
“He is.” The comment was automatic because those feelings were undeniable. He’d always been good to me, protective in the alleyway and on the court, and supportive of my ambitions.
“Charlie is a sweetheart too, and those kinds of men don’t grow on trees.” She picked up her glass and brought it to her lips for a drink, her eyes scanning the bar.
I stared at her with my fingers wrapped around my glass, trying to read her body language, dissect the casual words that came out of her mouth. I wanted to shut my mouth and keep my distance because getting involved would no longer make me Switzerland, but the curiosity was too much. “You got a thing for Charlie?”
She turned back to me. “All I said was he’s a sweetheart.”
My eyes narrowed. “You didn’t answer the question.”
She rolled her eyes. “Saying a guy is a sweetheart doesn’t mean—”
“Bitch, just answer the question.”
She suppressed the smile on her lips, her eyes playful, just the way they used to be when we were kids. I could read her so well because I’d spent a lifetime doing it. The corner of her mouth lifted when she lied. “I may find him easy on the eyes…”
So, my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me.
“Come on, watching a bunch of hot, shirtless guys play basketball is kinda irresistible.”
“But Charlie is the only one you noticed.”
“Well…look at him. He’s fitter than an ox. How do you live with him and not hook up all the time?” She turned back to me. “Do you?”
“God, no.” I held up my hand. I stuck out my tongue because the thought was truly disgusting. “Ew. Just ew.”
“Ew? How can that possibly gross you out?”
“He’s like a brother to me.”
She shook her head. “But the very first moment you met him, you must have found him attractive.”
“Eh. I’m not into blonds.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Thanks…”
“I’m just saying, I prefer men who are a little darker.”
“Like Dax.”
“Exactly.” Man, he was hot. “So, if you’re into Charlie, are you going to go for it?”
“What?” she asked incredulously. “Are you crazy?”
“Why is that crazy?”
“Uh, hello? Kat?”
Trust me, I hadn’t forgotten about her.
“I know she’s more your friend than mine, but I would never do that to her. She’s still hung up on him. That would be so terrible to break her already-broken heart like that.”
I appreciated the sensitivity. But now I knew they both wanted the other…and they couldn’t be together.
“Besides, Charlie might not even see me that way. If he sees you like a sister, he might see me the same way.”
I had to hold back my chuckle so it wouldn’t fly out of my mouth. Wow, my sister was oblivious. How did she not see the way Charlie stared at her pretty much every second they were together? “How long have you felt this way?”
“Only recently. That basketball game really had an impact.”
It had been smart of Charlie to invite her.
“I thought maybe we could just hook up. You know, a one-time thing, but if Kat ever found out…that would be bad. And just getting into bed with him is a betrayal and would put you in a difficult situation.”
I was already in a difficult situation.
“So, I should just forget about it. There are plenty of other fish in the sea, right? Dax is pretty hot, so maybe—”
“Uh, excuse me?” I snapped. “Bitch, he’s off-limits.”
She grinned. “Yeah?”
“I just mean, because he’s technically my ex.”
“Sure, Carson. Whatever you say.”
Charlie was making dinner when I walked inside. “Hungry?”
“Come on, are we really going to do this?”
He shook his head and kept cooking.
I sat at the kitchen table and scrolled through my phone as I waited for my personal chef to deliver my meal. We had a nice setup. I paid for all the groceries, and he did all the cooking.
He set the grilled chicken with rice and vegetables in front of me. “What’s new with you?”
“Nothing.”
He sat down and slid a fork toward me. He started to read his phone, elbows on the table and his body hovering over his food.
I stared at him as I ate, unsure what to do. If I told Charlie what Denise told me, what would happen? Would he leave the apartment and head to her place right now? Would they shack up right away? Why did I have to be in the middle of this?
“You’re quiet.”
“Just tired.”
“You’re never tired.”
“Come on, that’s impossible.”
“Well, you’re never tired when you eat.”
I continued to stab the fork into the meat and vegetables, placing each bite into my mouth.
Charlie lifted his head and stared at me.
“What?”
“You’re being weird.”
“No, you’re being weird. Who says someone’s being weird?”
“Whatever.” He turned back to his food.
I ate in silence, wishing I could talk to him about my dilemma. He was my best friend, the person I talked to about everything…but now, I couldn’t say a word to him.
Dax was busy at the office all week, so his only availability was Saturday. He told me to meet him at his place and we would drive together. He texted me the address, and I walked a few blocks until I made it to Fifth Avenue…where all the fancy-pants people lived.
I checked in with the bellman and then the security guard before I was allowed into the elevator. It rose up the building then came to a gentle stop before the doors slid open and revealed a gorgeous living room with fresh flowers in vases, interesting paintings hanging around the space, a massive TV on the wall with enough couches to seat twelve people comfortably.
He really was a billionaire.
I stepped inside and heard the do
ors shut behind me.
He was nowhere in sight. “Uh…hello?” The backdrop of the living room was floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a gorgeous view of Central Park. There was a large dining table that could fit ten guests. He also had a full kitchen with a large island. It was a dream house, the kind of penthouse you saw in People magazine because a famous person owned it.
Footsteps sounded on the hardwood a moment later. Dax stepped out of the hallway in jeans and a classic tee, dressed in dark colors that complemented those dark eyes and hair. His scruff was gone, so it gave him an entirely different look, a clean look. Over six feet tall with the shoulders of a soldier, he was far more beautiful than the view of the park out of his windows.
He walked up to me. “Want anything to drink?”
If I spoke right away, I would stutter, so I let the silence pass for a few seconds before I cleared my throat. “No thanks. So…this is your place? A lot nicer than that other one.” It wasn’t a jab at his lie, but it was such a contrast, to see where he actually lived, where he ate and slept, brought his other dates.
“Want a tour?”
“How big is it?”
“Like ten thousand square feet.”
“Jesus Fucking Christ.” I blurted that out uncontrollably and covered my mouth at my lack of class. I was on the job right now.
He chuckled at my reaction. “It’s fine.”
“Yeah, let’s skip the tour.”
“Alright.” He grabbed his wallet and keys off the counter.
It was weird to see him in that penthouse, to see who he was really was. But it also fit him a lot more than that fake apartment ever did. The suits he wore in his office fit him better than his t-shirts did. He’d always been a man with a powerful presence…and now it all made sense.
We returned to the elevator and rode down to the garage.
He stood with his muscular arms by his sides, his gaze straight ahead. “How’s it going?”
“Good. You?”
“It’s Saturday, so I’m happy.”
“Well, you’re working this Saturday.”
“Nah. This isn’t work.” The doors opened to the garage, and he led the way. It was lined with Bugattis and Ferraris. They must belong to the tenants in the building, a collection of toys they probably never used because they had private drivers.