murder me. He hated when anyone ran late. Fortunately, my brother loved me and would forgive me…after he eviscerated me. It was the eviscerating part I wanted to skip.
Brunch wasn’t supposed to be stressful.
But when I arrived at the restaurant, Elliot wasn’t alone, nor did he look angry. He was laughing at something his friend, Luca Rossi, said. I approached the table, tentatively smiling, and they both rose. Elliot gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Luca grabbed me in his arms, dipped me back in a purely dramatic fashion, then pulled me up to kiss my forehead.
“Bellissima!” He smoothed his palm down the crown of my head, beaming at me. “It’s been too long. I’m offended you’ve been back in Denver for weeks and this is the first I’m seeing you. I had to beg Elliot to let me come along today.”
Luca Rossi was one-hundred-percent bullshit. But he was charming and made me laugh, so I let him get away with it.
That was a thing for him: women letting his caddish behavior slide. Along with the charm, he was devastatingly handsome, his Italian roots coming out in his sleek, ebony hair, golden complexion, and intense brown eyes. Add in his height and gym-refined body, and Luca made panties drop wherever he went.
It was impossible not to flirt with him. From the moment he came home with Elliot on a break from Stanford, we’d fallen into a teasing kind of friendship. We both knew it was harmless, but it drove Elliot mad.
All the more reason to do it.
“And I’m offended I’ve been back for weeks and you haven’t even called me,” I shot back as I took my seat.
Luca grabbed my hand, rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, and gave me puppy-dog eyes.
“I would have, my sweet Elise, if your selfish brother had given me your new phone number. He actually told me if I wanted it, I’d have to do the work to find it myself. Can you believe that?”
Elliot rolled his eyes. “Get your hand off my sister.”
With a smirk, Luca lifted my hand to his mouth, giving it an over-the-top, noisy kiss.
“Elise, tell Elliot to stop interfering with our relationship,” Luca pleaded.
I lifted Luca’s hand to my mouth and gave him the same kind of kiss. “Elliot, stop interfering. Don’t you want Luca as a brother-in-law?”
Elliot’s upper lip curled in disgust. “Why would you even joke about that? Now I’ve lost my appetite.”
The fourth chair at the table was suddenly pulled out, and Weston Aldrich folded himself into the seat.
“Sorry.” He placed his phone face down on the table and turned his head to greet me. “Hello, Elise.”
“Oh. Hi. I didn’t know you would be here.”
Dear god, my cheeks were on fire. I let my hair fall forward, hopeful it would cover up some of my embarrassment. I’d been so brazen yesterday, emailing him all sorts of snarky remarks. It had been easy from behind a screen. Facing him again was a whole other ballgame. If I’d known, I might have changed out of my hiking gear. The leggings and long-sleeve T-shirt weren’t exactly my best look.
Elliot cleared his throat. “Neither of them was invited. At the gym this morning, I mentioned I would be having a quiet brunch with my sister and they glommed on.”
Luca lifted his glass. “I never turn down bottomless mimosas.”
Weston opened his hands. “I couldn’t be left out, could I? I would have been utterly grumpy.”
Dear. Freaking. God.
Why?
If it had been possible to douse myself in water and melt into a puddle like the Wicked Witch of the West, I would have. Weston, Elliot, and Luca would have been left gawking at the pile of clothing and gelatinous goo in my chair, but I would have been dearly departed, away from this awful moment.
Luca guffawed. “Like you’re not always grumpy.” He grabbed my hand again. “Anyway, you interrupted our discussion. Elliot objects to taking me on as a brother-in-law. Can you believe that shit? I’m offended.”
Weston cocked his head. “Wouldn’t you have to win Elise over first? Actually, you might want to stop sleeping with any woman who’s sentient before you do that. An STI test would be a good next step. I don’t know, it seems like you’re putting the cart well before the horse.”
There was something harsh in Weston’s tone and mocking in his smirk. In all the years I’d known him, or watched him from a distance, I’d never seen him with an expression like that, much less directed at his good friend.
Luca kept my hand in his, but his humor fell away. “That’s a low blow, West. What crawled up your ass?”
I glared at Weston. His smirk had fallen flat. “That was unnecessary,” I admonished.
His eyes landed on me. “It’s unnecessary for Luca to shamelessly flirt with you when it obviously makes Elliot uncomfortable.”
Elliot lifted his coffee to his mouth. “Speak for yourself, West. Although the idea of my sister succumbing to Luca’s flagrant advances is repellant, I do have a sense of humor. They’ve been playing at this same joke for years. I’m not worried about my friends going after my sister. We all know she’s a no-go zone.”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t realize I was a zone. I was under the silly impression I was a woman who could make my own decisions.”
Elliot put his cup down, his movements casual and easy. “You can. I trust that you find the idea of succumbing to Luca as repellant as I do.”
I snorted, goading him a little more. “I don’t know…” I lifted Luca’s hand to my cheek, pressing it there, “Luca’s looking awfully good today, and I’m single now. It might be our time.”
Luca shot me a wink. “Is it? Jesus, Elise. Give a guy some warning. I haven’t had the chance to have a full-body wax.” He gestured to his T-shirt and jeans. “I’m basically a human sweater under my clothes.”
I bit my bottom lip and let my lashes flutter. “Oh, keep talking, you filthy, fuzzy bear.”
Our waitress stopped at our table, taking our orders, and I climbed aboard the bottomless mimosa train with Luca. Based on Weston’s permanent scowl, I was going to need to drink to get through this brunch without snapping at him.
Must not tell grumpy boss he’s a dick.
Elliot leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you were late. What were you doing this morning?”
“Saoirse and I were supposed to go on a sunrise hike this morning, but she was too hungover to get out of bed.”
Weston let out a low growl. “You went out alone before sunrise?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m late because I waited until it was daylight to go on the hike and misjudged how long it would take to get here. And honestly, Elliot, I was ten minutes late. Is that really a crime?”
If I’d told them my Uber driver had taken the long way and driven fifteen miles under the speed limit, all while turning around in his seat to speak to me, he probably would have found a way to block my account so I could never order another rideshare.
Which was why I wasn’t going to mention it.
I wanted to continue being able to drink bottomless mimosas and not worry about driving my tipsy self home.
Elliot raised his chin. “It’s not a punishable crime, unfortunately. You know how I feel about prioritizing commitments.” His fingers steepled. “West raises a good point, though. You went hiking alone?”
“In the daylight,” I replied.
Weston angled his body toward mine. “By yourself.”
“Yes.” The weight of their glares had me sinking in my chair. “It’s a busy trail, though. I passed people every few minutes. Plus, I had my phone and bear spray. I wasn’t being stupid.”
“You’re a young, pretty woman. You can’t go on hikes alone,” Elliot said with a sense of finality.
“Thank you for saying I’m pretty. However, I lived in Chicago for three years. I’m not some naive little lamb taking myself out for slaughter. I made sure I was on a safe trail and Saoirse knew where I was.”
“It’s an unnecessary risk,” Weston added.
“Do you go on hikes alone?” I challenged.
“Of course. But since you’re not naive, you know it’s different, as maddening as that is. You shouldn’t be anywhere secluded by yourself.”
I frowned at Weston, hating that he was right about the state of the world, but I’d taken precautions and kept my wits about me. I wasn’t arguing to be stubborn. They were simply wrong.
“I think we’ll have to agree to disagree.”
“I don’t love it, bella,” Luca added soothingly.
I winged an eyebrow at him. “Et tu, Brute?”
“We want our Elise to be safe.”
I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t help smiling at him. His friends could really take some lessons from him on bedside manner.
Fortunately, our food was delivered, putting a pause to them ganging up on me. And since they were three large men who’d undoubtedly put in some hard work at the gym this morning, they dove into their food, letting the topic slip away.
When they emerged from their scraped-clean plates, conversation focused on Elliot’s forthcoming trip to Dubai to visit a property his company was considering investing in. He hadn’t traveled in the month since I’d moved back, and I suspected that was purposeful. He’d been keeping an eye out for me, and I supposed he’d decided I was steady enough to leave for a week.
The men grappled over who would get the check, Weston being the most adamant. I didn’t bother trying. Not that I couldn’t have snuck in and beaten all of them, but all three would have held a grudge forever if I’d paid for them. It was not worth the trouble.
It was raining by the time we were ready to leave. We lingered under the restaurant awning, saying our goodbyes.
I took out my phone to order an Uber. Weston watched over my shoulder.
“You don’t need to order a ride.” He pressed on my screen, exiting the app. “I’ll drive you home.”
“No thank you. I don’t want you to go out of your way.”
Luca barked a laugh. “It’s not out of his way.” His eyes flicked to Weston’s. “She doesn’t know?”
Weston’s headshake was subtle. Elliot groaned.
“Oh, for god’s sake. You live in the same building as West.” Elliot pulled me into a hug before I could wrap my head around what he’d just said. “Be good while I’m gone. West and Luca are here if you need them. I’m allowing Luca to have your phone number on the caveat he doesn’t send you dick pics.”
Luca’s brows waggled. “Sexting at nine?”
I let go of Elliot to fist Luca’s T-shirt. “Come on, Grandpa. No one sexts before midnight.”
Elliot shoved a cackling Luca away from me. “No sexting. Don’t even joke about it or you’ll be getting a front-row view of my breakfast splattered on the ground.”
Weston’s palm pressed gently on the center of my back. “Wait here. I’ll go get my car so you don’t have to walk in the rain.”
“You don’t have a driver?” I was only slightly teasing.
His hand slid up to my nape and gave it a quick squeeze. “I don’t. What kind of environmentalist would I be if I was driven around in a big gas guzzler?”
Weston disappeared into the rain, and it was times like this it was easy to forget he was the CEO of a very successful company.
A large black SUV pulled up to the curb. Elliot had a wry expression. My brother wasn’t nearly as environmentally minded as Weston and had no qualms about being driven around in a big gas guzzler. He and Luca both hugged me again before climbing in the back of the SUV.
A minute later, Weston pulled up. I was prepared to run out to him, hoping not to get too drenched, but he hopped out of the Tesla and strode across the sidewalk, holding a large umbrella. He was drenched, but he made it look good. His shaggy hair was dripping wet, like he’d gotten extra sweaty doing things. Most likely sexy things. And the way his shirt was plastered to his chest was obscene. Every square, taut muscle was on display, small, tight nipples stabbing at the fabric.
Reaching me, he gathered me under his arm, ensuring all of me was beneath the umbrella and walked me to his car. I managed to climb in without getting a drop of rain on me.
What a gentleman.
I twisted in my seat as Weston pulled out into traffic.
“We live in the same building?”
“Mmmhmm. I’m in the penthouse.”
“Naturally.”
His mouth quirked. “I suggested the building to Elliot.”
“Good suggestion. Did you also have the rent magically decreased? Saoirse and I are paying well below the market value.”
He shrugged then completely dodged the question. “Why were you and Miles in the stairwell yesterday?”
Sighing, I sat back in my seat. “I thought he was the one leaving the Post-its, so I was speaking to him about it.”
His head jerked. His hands tightened slightly on the wheel. “Why would you think it was him?”
I was unwilling to delve into my high school trauma. If he didn’t know how Miles had treated me, I wasn’t going to be the one to break it to him. Not that he would have cared. What was done was done.
“It seemed like a prank. Miles is known for doing that type of thing.” I stacked my hands in my lap. “How did he know the nickname you used to call me?”
“Hmmm?” His brow dropped. “Ellie? I don’t know. Back then, Elliot and you were kind of my whole life outside of school. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d picked up on it when I was prattling on about you.”
“Oh.” I slumped, somewhat lost for words. Of course, to anyone with eyes, it was obvious Weston and Elliot were joined at the hip and had been since elementary school, but I never would have guessed he’d include me as part of his whole life.
“Why was he hugging you?”
I turned sharply toward him. “What? How do you know that?”
He grumbled, tapping his thumbs on the wheel. He didn’t seem keen to answer me, which meant I wasn’t answering him either.
“You’re really not going to answer me?”
Since he chose to stay quiet, I did as well. But while I was silent, I chewed on the possibilities. There was really only one that made sense, but I couldn’t imagine why Weston would go out of the way to watch the security feeds.
He pulled his car into the underground parking below our building. I couldn’t quite figure out the door, but that was fine since he pressed the screen in the console, opening it for me.
Weston plugged the car in to charge then we headed to the elevator.
“The penthouse?” I pursed my lips.
“Where else?” His eyes danced over me. “Do you like your apartment?”
I nodded. “I do, though I’m suspicious about the rent.”
“Just accept your luck. Don’t question it.”
“Do you know anything about the flowers I’ve been receiving every week?”
Another bouquet had been waiting for me Friday when I got home from work. Just as sweet and pretty as the previous week. Terrence had had no clue who they were from, and of course, there’d been no card.
“No.” He tucked his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to come up to my apartment?”
“No.” My nose twitched. “Do you want to come to mine?”
“Yes.”
My stomach tilt-a-whirled at his immediate response.
He followed me off the elevator, hovering behind me while I opened the door. It was quiet, so Saoirse was probably still sleeping. Alcohol hit her hard. She was going to spend her Sunday in bed, and knowing her, wouldn’t feel the least bit guilty about it.
I held my hand out toward the flowers sitting on the kitchen bar. “These aren’t familiar to you?”
He slowly shook his head. “I haven’t seen them before. Though, they’re the perfect size for a bedside table. I wonder why you didn’t put them there.”
I beckoned him to follow me down the hallway. “We have to be quiet. Saoirse is sleeping off her Saturday night.”
“Still?”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “That sounded judgy.”
“It was.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. He had no right to know I found him funny.
Just inside the doorway of my bedroom, I pointed out the flowers on my nightstand.
“Those are last week’s. They’re still really fresh. I’ve been rotating them so Saoirse and I can both enjoy them.”
I looked up at him. He was close. Despite his damp clothing, his body heat radiated out of him. It occurred to me then we were alone in my bedroom. Why had I invited him here? I couldn’t recall the thought process.
It also occurred to me how exposed I was in my leggings. They were fine for hiking, not for wearing in front of Weston Aldrich and all his perfection.
“You’re a good friend to share even though your roommate is lazy.”
Snorting, I shoved at his chest. “She isn’t lazy. Saoirse is the busiest person I know. Sometimes it catches up to her.”
He wandered more deeply into my room, picking up a picture from my dresser. Elliot, my mom, and me at his high school graduation. A couple years later, she was gone, and our family was down to two members.
“She couldn’t even pretend to be happy,” I remarked.
“No.” He traced his thumb over the picture. “Elliot was leaving. It was probably a hard day for her.”
“Every day was a hard day for her.”
He set it down and turned to me, his hands back in his pocket. “You’re nothing like her.”
“Good. I like when people say I’m just like my dad. When they compare me to my mom, it feels like an insult.”
“It probably isn’t, but I can understand why you feel that way.” His mouth set in a firm line. “The circumstances aren’t ideal, but I’m glad you’re back in Denver. Elliot’s relieved to have you home.”
Having him in my room was strange, and he was standing there as though completely comfortable among my things. There had been so much distance—distance I had imposed and he’d added to—being in close proximity now was admittedly jarring.
“Thank you. The circumstances are actual shit, but being here isn’t. The swanky digs definitely ease the pain.”
He chuckled, his perfect pink lips tipping into a beautiful smile, and my insides knotted. Why did he have to look like that and have a laugh I could imagine hearing in the bedroom while losing my mind with him?
“That’s good to know.” He walked forward, to where I stood by the door. “I should go. I’m probably getting your floor wet.”
I stepped aside to let him pass. “It was incredibly gentlemanly of you to fetch the car for me, you know.”
He rubbed his hand down his front, still smiling softly, both of us in the doorway.
“If I don’t practice once a year, I’ll forget how to do it.”
I gasped, my hands on my cheeks. “And you practiced on me? Wow, what did I do to deserve this honor?”
He reached out and tugged the end of my hair, giving me a long look. “You came back.”
“That simple?”
The corner of his mouth hitched. “Yes. That simple.” He raked his hair away from his face. “I really do need to go. I have a few hours of work ahead of me, and again, my clothes are soaked.”
After Weston was gone and I had time to go over what we’d talked about in my head, I realized he’d never explained why he’d been leaving the Post-its.
I made a mental note to ask him at work.
And for once, I was looking forward to seeing him again.
