“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said.
“I appreciate it.” Nate’s smile didn’t shift, but I caught the sudden glance at the floor. I remembered a time when I had to smile and pretend the world was all right when all I wanted was to crawl into a corner and bawl my eyes out. Maybe finding common ground was what made me like Nate instantly.
“It was a terrible accident,” Nate murmured and for the first time I noticed the dark circles framing his eyes. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and nodded.
“Terrible and sad.” Unaware of my gesture, I brushed a hand over my flat abdomen. A brief moment of awkward silence ensued between us, during which a waiter carrying glasses of champagne walked past. Nate picked up two, handing me one glass, then pointed to a couch in the corner of the huge living room. I nodded and followed him, my hands clutching the glass of alcohol. He sat down and invited me to do the same.
“How’s Jett holding up?” he asked. His voice was strained. A shudder ran down my spine at the thought that he was the one who’d been called to the morgue in order to identify his father’s body, scorched beyond recognition. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for him. I was glad it wasn’t Jett.
“As okay as the circumstances allow.”
“My brother’s a tough guy. If something’s troubling him, he works hard to get rid of it.” He took a sip from his glass and watched me for a moment before continuing. “After our mother left, he took charge. It’s the way my little brother copes.”
I leaned back, hiding my surprise. Of course Nate knew his brother well. They had grown up together. But talking about him so intimately jarred me. As though sensing my thoughts, Nate smiled and took another sip of his drink. “Just be there for him, and he’ll be fine.”
“You two used to be very close,” I said matter-of-factly, remembering the few stories Jett had told me back in Italy. Two boys watching the Lucazzone estate in secret, their imagination thriving with theories of mystery and conspiracy. Back then they didn’t know just how spot-on they were.
“Correction. We still are.” Nate’s eyes bored into me. “We’re friends. We’ve always been. Too bad we’re living in different states.”
“Jett said you work in Austin?” I asked.
His eyes moved to my glass. I fought the urge to take an obligatory sip.
“Yeah. I’m managing the southern division of Mayfield Realties. Not missing New York a bit.”
“Why?” I asked, a little stunned. It was one of the best cities in the world. So many people moved to New York to follow their dreams, I almost expected everyone to love the city, the magic of the holidays, the best shopping strips, and the spirit in general. He pointed at the gray sky outside the wall-to-ceiling window. In spite of the rainy weather and the crowded skyline, it was still a stunning view.
“I’m a southern guy, and to me New York is touristy. I’m not saying Texas is better—I just prefer it due to its weather, good schools, the best steaks in the world, low crime, the high employment rate, to name just a few thing.” He laughed, and I found myself laughing with him. “I’m not trying to sell anything to you, but you should come visit. You might end up wanting to persuade Jett to move down there.”
“I might,” I said.
“In which case I’ll have to insist you do it sooner rather than later. We could use someone like Jett. Not least because I want to go on a vacation every now and then. We sure miss him.”
I leaned forward, listening intently as I sensed my opportunity to find out more about my boyfriend’s past. “Jett used to live in Texas?”
“We were raised in Smithville on a huge ranch. When our mother got sick—” he paused, and I knew he meant her addiction to various substances “—our father decided that the South wasn’t good for us, so we moved to New York. I was sixteen and Jett was just ten when we moved from countless horses and lazy afternoons to smog and concrete buildings. It wasn’t easy. When I saw my chance to go back to attend college, I took it, but Jett stayed behind with Dad.”
Nate paused long enough to help himself to another glass of champagne before resuming his smalltalk.
“So, Brooke, this is probably one of those cliché questions, but how did you two meet? Were you doing your catwalk and he happened to sit in the front row?”
“No.” I laughed. “It’s a long story, actually. It was in a bar, and we were supposed to have a business meeting, which never took place.”
“Supposed?” His blue gaze bored into me again with a strange interest.
“Supposed, yes, because I didn’t know who Jett was, and his style didn’t exactly scream business meeting, so I brushed him off.” I smiled uncomfortably at the memories in my head. I hadn’t just brushed Jett off; I had been downright rude, which was justified, given Jett’s intentions at that time. I wondered whether Nate knew of those. “Didn’t you say Jett told you everything?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
“Ah, you caught me. I know the story, actually. I just wanted to hear your version.” He held up his hands in mock resignation. “Unfortunately, Jett forgot to mention you were this—” he gestured with his hand and laughed “—beautiful.”
He moved closer to me, invading my personal space, as he whispered in my ear, “I’m not surprised my little brother fell for you. We’ve always shared the same taste. If I had been the one to meet you, Brooke, I would have asked you out, too.” He leaned back again, watching my reaction with the kind of self-assured expression I knew well from his brother. It seemed being cocky and full of oneself ran in the family.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“I’m happy my brother met you,” Nate said. “It was about time.”
I hesitated, unsure how to react to his statement.
“I should get going,” I said, standing. “Jett might be looking for me and—”
“Sure.” Nate reached into his blazer and handed me a business card. “Here’s my number. Call me if my brother needs anything or, you know, if you need someone to talk to. You’re part of the family now. I’m sure my father would have loved to meet you.” His expression seemed pained but disappeared quickly. “Maybe you could convince Jett to visit us for a weekend. It’d be great to have you guys around. Bring back some normality.”
“Sure.”
I fiddled with my glass. Nate’s brows shot up. I frowned and followed his line of vision to the hot dark-haired guy who seemed to be a head taller than everyone else making a beeline for us, and my heart jumped in my throat. I had yet to get used to the idea that I was actually dating him.
“I see you’ve met my girlfriend,” Jett said to Nate, a grin lighting up his face—the first I had seen since his father’s death. His arm locked around my waist, and he pulled me just a little bit closer, as though to establish his territory, which made me smile.
“Look at you. You’re a changed man. How have you been doing, little brother?” Nate patted Jett’s shoulder a little harder than I would’ve expected. I regarded them as they briefly hugged each other, their eyes locked in something I couldn’t quite pinpoint—until I remembered something Jett once told me.
Competition.
His childhood and teenage years had been full of battles to be the better, the stronger, the more daring out of the two of them.
“How’s the lovely Natalia?” Jett asked.
“Good. She’s been bugging me to make you come visit.”
“I’m planning to. In a few weeks, maybe, when everything’s settled.”
“Hopefully still this year.” Nate chuckled and shot me a meaningful look, which I took for an invitation to persuade Jett to change his plans.
“I’ve brought the company records you wanted to see,” Nate said. “Do you want to go over them now or later?”
“Give me two minutes with Brooke, and then we can talk.” Jett glanced over at me. I said a hurried goodbye to his brother, and then Nate was gone.
“Has he always been this—?” I began.
“Confident, yet complex?” Jett cut me off. “Yeah. He’s like the center of a hurricane. You’ll never know what you get before it hits you.” His eyes met mine, and for a moment I wanted to wrap my arms around him and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. I missed the old Jett, when he wasn’t angry at the world and plagued by guilt. “You can also easily push his buttons. You don’t want to see him explode when he’s drunk. Natalia has seen her fair share of him in that state, which is why I’m surprised she’s still with him.”
“Who’s Natalia?” I asked.
“His fiancée.”
Nate was engaged. I didn’t expect that, just as much as I didn’t expect him to have a possible drinking problem.
Jett’s eyes fell on my full glass and he took it from my hand. “You’re not supposed to drink that.”
“I didn’t intend to,” I said dryly.
I wanted to know more about Nate and his life but there were more important questions that needed an immediate answer.
“Does he know?” I whispered.
“What?” Jett frowned.
“About the estate?”
Jett hesitated, pondering whether to tell the truth. I scowled in the hope he wouldn’t dare lying because we had sworn each other to honesty.
“I told him, but—” he heaved a sigh “—he doesn’t want to believe it. In his eyes our father could do no wrong, maybe because they were so much alike. Unlike Robert, Nate’s a good guy.”
“You guys talk often?”
“Not as often as I wished. The distance isn’t helping.”
“We should head down there for a few days,” I said. It might do you good. But that I didn’t add. “We could tell everyone about the baby.”
“Yeah.” He glanced at his watch impatiently, signaling that my time with him was up. “I need to go over some papers. It won’t take long, Brooke. Will you be okay?” I nodded, and Jett’s eyes filled with worry. “If you’re tired, I could have someone drive you home.”
“I’m fine, Jett.” I squeezed his hand and shot him a dazzling smile. “You guys do whatever you need to do. I’ll wait here.”
“It really won’t take long.” He kissed me and hurried out.
I watched him disappear in the crowd and then returned to the buffet. Ever since I’d found out about the pregnancy, I’d felt hungrier than usual, so I grabbed a plate when my phone rang. A look at the display showed me it was Sylvie. She had called several times in the past few days, and in all the turmoil I had failed to get back to her.
“Hey.” She sounded nervous. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“The funeral’s today,” I said to remind her in case she had missed my texts.
“I know.” She paused, hesitating. I could almost hear her nervousness through the line, which turned me instantly anxious. “I was wondering if we could meet tomorrow. I haven’t seen you in a while.”