I pictured myself standing in her doorway, clutching a bouquet like some lovesick teenager, while Priya glared at me and Nalani made pointed comments about restraining orders.
Definitely not.
I sank back into my chair and pressed my palms against my eyes until I saw spots.
There was only one person who could help me. One person who had pissed off enough women in his lifetime to have become an expert in the art of the grand gesture.
I grabbed my keys and headed for the door.
The drive to Xavier's apartment took twenty minutes. I spent every one of them rehearsing what I would say, how I would ask for help without sounding completely pathetic.
I failed on both counts.
Xavier opened the door in sweatpants and a wrinkled t-shirt, his hair sticking up in three different directions. He looked likehe'd just rolled out of bed, which he probably had. It was two in the afternoon.
"Brother." He leaned against the doorframe, eyebrows rising. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I need your help."
The eyebrows climbed higher. "You need my help."
"Yes."
"You. Sebastian Dubois. The man who’s spent the last decade bailing me out of every conceivable disaster." A grin spread across his face, slow and delighted. "You need help from your screw-up little brother."
"Are you going to let me in or not?"
He stepped aside with an exaggerated bow. I pushed past him into the apartment, which looked exactly like I expected. Expensive furniture, empty takeout containers on the coffee table, a trail of clothes leading toward the bedroom. Xavier's natural habitat.
"So." He dropped onto the couch and kicked his feet up. "What's the crisis? Did one of your spreadsheets develop a personality? Did a contract disagree with you?"
"It's about Aria."
The teasing faded from his expression. He sat up straighter, actually paying attention now. "Ah. The woman you're hopelessly in love with but managed to spectacularly alienate."
"That's the one."
"And you need my help because..."
"Because I need to do something big. Something that will show her I'm serious." I started pacing, the way I always did when I was working through a problem. "I have the deed to the hotel. Mr. Kahale agreed to sell to her instead. But I don't think I can just walk up and hand it over. I need to apologize properly first. I need to make a gesture."
Xavier was staring at me with an expression caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief.
"A gesture," he repeated.
"Yes."
"You want me to help you make a romantic gesture."
"That's what I said."
He burst out laughing.
The sound filled the apartment, bouncing off the high ceilings, echoing through the open floor plan. He laughed until tears formed in the corners of his eyes, until he was clutching his stomach and gasping for breath.
"I'm so glad you find this amusing," I said flatly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He wiped his eyes, still grinning. "It's just... Sebastian. You convinced a woman to marry you. You had a whole wife. However, did you manage that if you don't know how to woo someone?"
