AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He lets out a loud sigh, clearly relieved by my willingness to shove this under the rug and never speak of it again. “Do you want a tour before I’m six shots deep with the guys?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “A tour? Right now? I get it, you’re rich, bro… I think I’ll take a tour during daylight hours, thanks.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Fine, enjoy the bright sun in the morning.”
Oh shit…the windows.
“Wait.”
“That’s what I thought.” He steps inside, flashing me his signature cocky grin before partially closing the door and turning to face a tablet-sized monitor on the wall.
Seriously? I didn’t even see that thing.
“Is that an iPad glued to your wall?”
“Do you think you can sober up for two minutes and remember all of this?”
I shake my head. “Probably not, but go ahead.”
“This is how you access the blinds. They are on a schedule to rise at seven, but if you want to change the time, you can do it by going into the settings. I can show you in case you’d like to sleep in.”
The wine must be hitting me straight over the head because I bend over laughing.
“Fuck, Zoe…will you just pay attention for a minute?”
“Stop. This is ridiculous. You’ve made it…like really made it, Aaron. Do you remember when we used to dream about all this? You did it.” I inch closer, looking at the interface. The man has Apple products embedded inside his walls.
“Is this technology in every room?” I ask, poking the flat screen.
“Of course,” Aaron says flatly.
I straighten up, trying not to laugh again but fail miserably. “I’m sorry, do you hear yourself? If we weren’t related, you wouldn’t pay me any mind.”
“You’re right. Now, blinds.” He rattles on, and I do my best to focus, but my brain is fuzzy, and the last thing I care about right now are the blinds. That seems like future Zoe’s problem, and currently, I just want to get more wine, put on my headphones, and dance in the dark.
Nodding along, I pray my brother finishes his speech and leaves the room as soon as possible. I’m also thinking about the soaker tub in the bathroom and how wonderful it would feel to take a bath right now. After a full day of travel, it’s exactly what my body needs. Maybe some buzz action to take the edge off from earlier. I might be the right amount of drunk to let my mind fantasize about whomever. Maybe a dark-haired…
“Got it?” Aaron’s voice interrupts my inappropriate thoughts at the perfect time.
“Got it.”
“You didn’t retain any of that. And you’re turning red. You definitely drank too much.” He runs a hand down his face, defeated.
“No, I got it. Settings, blinds, up and down. Now go be with your friends. Forget I’m even here.” I place my hand on his back, ushering him out the door.
His tall frame retreats for a split second before he turns, his expression changing. “If you need anything, help yourself. Also, Zo…” he says, looking down awkwardly.
“Yes?”
“Dom and Tristan are my best friends. They are here all the time, so you’re going to see a lot of them. No funny business, okay?”
“Define ‘funny business.’” I blink at him, closing and opening my mouth several times but decide I’m going to torture him with this a little bit longer.
“You know what I mean.”
“I really don’t. You might have to spell it out.”
He grunts, rubbing the back of his neck. “No…forget it. Just, they’re family, all right? Brothers to me. So they’re brothers to you too.”
