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“Do you live in a house or…” Harper asked.
“I have a penthouse apartment here in the city. I live on the top two floors of one of Russo Enterprises’ high-rise buildings.”
“All I’m hearing is you have a great view.”
He nodded, then realized he’d been a terrible business partner. Harper was new to the city, with no friends, and he’d left her on her own for an entire week, without offering her a tour of the city or even company for a meal. “I have an excellent view. Maybe one night this week, you’d like to join me for dinner. I’m a terrible cook, but I’m wonderful when it comes to ordering takeout. Probably why I own two restaurants. Just stop in and grab the special and go,” he joked.
Harper’s eyes widened with excitement. “Orrrr, you could supply the view and the kitchen, and I can bring the ingredients to cook dinner for you. The kitchenette in the hotel is functional, but that’s about it. I’m anxious to start trying out some new recipes so I can try to decide what to include on the menu once the restaurant opens. We can call it research.”
Conor enjoyed Harper’s enthusiasm. They hadn’t known each other for long, but her positive outlook was the one constant from all their conversations. He was drawn to it in ways that he shouldn’t be.
It was bad enough he had a hard-on for his contractor. Falling for his business partner would be the fuckup of all fuckups.
But he sort of liked the idea of Harper in his space, seeing his home. His loner status was wearing thin these days. He blamed his brothers. He’d spent the past few months hanging around two men who were so madly in love they couldn’t see straight. Matt and Gage’s happiness made it all too apparent how unhappy he was.
Harper made him smile, made the heaviness that never seemed to totally leave his chest lighter.
“I would love to do some research with you,” he said, then he added a label he really shouldn’t have. “It’s a date.”
“What’s a date?” Luca said from behind him.
Conor turned, surprised Luca had managed to sneak up on him. Typically, his Luca radar was much stronger. Especially when his scent reached him. For a guy who did hard manual labor, he always smelled good, a combination of musk and sandalwood and something that was uniquely Luca.
“Hey, Luca,” Harper said. “Conor is going to let me shanghai his kitchen this week to make dinner, since I’m going through cooking withdrawals in that hotel.”
“Is that right?” Luca’s grin widened. “You know, I’ve got a kitchen too.”
Harper giggled. “I never would have guessed. It’s so rare for homes to have kitchens.”
“Don’t tell Nonna that. She has two.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “She does not.”
“It’s not that unusual in Italian households.” Then Luca bumped shoulders with her playfully. “But, full disclosure, that Italian thing skipped me, because I don’t use my kitchen the way you would. Unless you prepare a lot of microwave meals or cans of soup.”
Harper crinkled her nose. “Disgusting. Between you and Mr. Self-Professed King of Takeout over there, I can see I have my work cut out for me. Tell you what. Why don’t we work smarter, not harder? Maybe you could join me and Conor? He’s promised an excellent view, and I can kill two birds with one stone, show you guys why it’s better to dine than to simply eat.”
Luca glanced his direction, and he looked almost…shit…hopeful?
The words “the more, the merrier” fell out before Conor could pull them back.
Internally, he groaned.
Who the fuck are you right now?
Conor was not the kind of guy who entertained people in his home. His dates—which were few and far between—happened in restaurants, and when sex followed, Conor either went to the date’s home, or he took them to one of Russo Enterprises’ hotels.
“Awesome. I’m really looking forward to it,” Harper gushed. Like Luca, she had an easy smile.
Conor envied their ability to not only feel happiness but to project it to everyone around them. He didn’t consider himself a miserable person, but he struggled with emotions—all of them, the good and the bad—so typically, he kept them buttoned up, locked away. The only people he felt relatively comfortable being himself around these days were his brothers, yet even with them, there were parts he kept hidden.
His close relationship with Matt and Gage was a fairly new development after nearly a decade of estrangement. For too many years, the three of them had been more business partners than brothers. They’d only begun reaching out to one another on a personal level after Gage fell in love with Penny, and those bonds were further strengthened when Matt opened up to them about the night their mother died.
He, Matt, and Gage hadn’t had an easy childhood. Mom’s struggles with depression became too much for her, and when he was nineteen and away at college, she committed suicide. Between losing her and dealing with their strict, judgmental, sadistic father, it was amazing he and his brothers were functioning members of society.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out his upbringing had fucked him up. Not too long ago, Conor had suggested his brother Matt consider starting therapy. It was definitely “do as I say, not as I do” advice.
Not that Conor hadn’t tried the therapist route.
