“I wasn’t able to attend last night. I feel bad about that.”
“Don’t. It was a bit of a shit show. You should be glad you weren’t there.” There had been no mention of last night’s dinner during any of the hours I spent with Hayden today. But for me, it was the elephant in the room, and something needed to be said. “I don’t know if Jones or Callum said anything to you about it?”
“There are no secrets in our group.”
I figured.
“Listen …” I slowly filled my lungs. “My situation with your sister is complicated.” I let my head fall back a few inches, my fingers brushing through the strands of my hair. “And those complications were reignited at dinner. That wasn’t the place or the time or the appropriate audience for us to go at each other. I acknowledge that. But the two of us”—I hissed out a breath—“we’re like fire and water.”
“After witnessing her reaction to you in my office, I’d say that’s the perfect description.” He waited for me to look at him, and when I did, he stayed silent for a few seconds, moving his glasses to the top of his head, revealing eyes that were a deeper shade of green than mine. “Is there anything I need to know, Colson?”
The shift in his voice and the hardness in his stature told me he’d just gone from broker to brother, but to confirm, I said, “What do you mean?”
“My sister isn’t normally the spicy one of the family. Sure, she has an opinion, and she lets it be known, but she’s not one to fight with anyone. Yet the way she acts around you tells me there’s something deeper going on. As her protector, I need to know what that is.”
“I have a sister whom I feel the same way about.”
He leaned his forearms on his thighs, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he ground his teeth. “So, you understand me when I say I would kill a motherfucker for her.”
My nose flared as I exhaled—for reasons he couldn’t possibly know. “Trust me, I do.”
“Are you telling me that whatever has happened between you two is nothing I need to worry about? Or has something gone down that would make my hands want to reach for your fucking throat?”
I smiled and chuckled. “I appreciate a dude who’s willing to sacrifice a deal over integrity.”
“Colson, my man, I learned at a young age that money isn’t everything. It helps, of course, and it makes life a hell of a lot easier, but family is really what matters most. I will put them aboveeverything.”
“I like you, Hayden.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
I waited several beats. “I think you have a pretty good idea of why your sister is fiery when it comes to me.” I let that settle within him, although I didn’t think he was shocked by a single morsel of that admission. “But what I can assure you is that I would never do anything to put her in harm, and my intention isn’t to hurt her—personally or professionally.”
Man to man, I wasn’t going to deny something Hayden had already assumed, which I could see in his eyes. Lying wasn’t who I was. Besides, he wouldn’t want to strangle me for fucking his sister. He would, however, want to strangle me for causing pain or damage. Underneath everything he had said, that was what he was really asking.
His arms lifted off his thighs, and he pushed back into the couch. “Word is bond in my book.”
“Mine too.”
After several seconds, he reached toward me with a closed hand. “So, we understand each other?”
I pounded his fist. “We do.”
I certainly wasn’t going to ask Hayden for Sophie’s number. After the conversation we’d just had on the boat, that didn’t seem right. So, when I got off the yacht and went into his office building, I veered off to the restroom, and as I was headed down the hallway, I stopped outside Callum’s door.
He was at his desk, on the phone, rocking in his chair. When his stare connected with mine, he said, “Let me call you back.” He set his cell on the desk. “What’s up, buddy? You have a good day out there on the water?”
“It was great.” I nodded toward his window, where just outside was the boat Hayden and I had taken out. “I’ve got a question for you.” I stepped in. “More like a favor.”
“All right.” He brushed down his light-brown hair, like the wind had taken control of it.
“Is there any way you’ll give me Sophie’s number?”
He laughed, his arms crossing over his chest. “Wait. You’re serious?”
“I can’t ask Troy. It would be a work conflict.”
His brows rose. “And Hayden?”
