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The man was downright contagious. I couldn’t help but smile back as he swallowed me with a bear hug. “Hey, Jace. Depressed as usual I see.”
He laughed and stepped back. “You know it.”
I walked in and set the gift on the entryway table while Jace closed the door behind me. The loft space was already echoing with conversation, Andre sitting on one of the couches and chatting with Wyatt. I had only met Wyatt once before, but I remembered him being the exact opposite of what I’d expected him to be.
I’d anticipated an older version of Jace, but he couldn’t have been more different. Where Jace was laid-back and quick with a joke, Wyatt had seemed quiet and intense—intimidating. I’d heard Jace call him genius, and I suspected that was more than a playful nickname. It was no secret that he was second in command at his father’s financial company and was freaking loaded. But it was obvious his knowledge extended beyond his field. When he’d gotten into a discussion with me about animal testing, his opinions and astute observations had made me wonder if he’d gotten a medical degree on the side. But when I’d joked about as much, he’d shrugged and said he liked to read medical journals in his free time.
“Hey there, little sis,” Andre said, raising his beer in acknowledgement. “Welcome.”
Wyatt turned and greeted me as well, his smile restrained but genuine.
“Drinks are in the kitchen,” Andre offered.
“You read my mind.”
I headed toward the kitchen and found Jace’s girlfriend, Evan, berating something in the oven. “Twenty minutes, my ass.”
I grinned. “I don’t think insulting the food makes it cook faster.”
Evan turned toward me, the frustration melting from her pretty face. “Hey, you. Long time, no see.”
She came over and gave me a quick hug, leaving flour marks on my black blouse.
“Oh, hell,” she said, trying to brush it off for me. “I shouldn’t be trusted with baking. I can cook a meal, but let me near anything having to do with cake, and I’m as skilled as a five-year-old with an Easy-Bake Oven.”
I waved her off, the flour coming off easily. “Everything smells great. So that counts for something, right? Anything I can do to help?”
Evan pushed her dark bangs up her forehead, looking like some fifties throwback with her frilly polka-dot apron. “Grab a beer and relax. I got this. Mostly.”
“All right, but yell if you need me. I have no baking skills either, but I know how to put out a fire.”
She laughed. “Duly noted.”
I made my way back to the living area, but all the guys had moved out to the balcony. I snaked through the arrangement of couches and chairs toward the large sliding glass door that led outside and pushed it open. The sound of conversation abruptly halted with my entrance. The men looked up like they’d been caught looking at girlie magazines. I hesitated. “Uh, sorry. Am I interrupting some secret boys-only meeting?”
Wyatt was holding an envelope and a piece of paper in his hand. He glanced back down at it, some weird expression morphing his dark features. He rubbed his thumb over the red wax seal he’d broken on the envelope.
Jace leaned back in his chair and propped his ankles on the lower bar of the balcony’s railing. “Nope, just giving Wy his birthday gift.”
“Oh,” I said, taking a tentative step onto the balcony. “What is it?”
“J.” Andre shot Jace a quelling look.
“No big deal. Just a complimentary visit to a . . . spa called The Ranch,” Jace said, ignoring my brother’s warning.
I lowered myself into one of the chairs, an oh-that’s-nice response jumping to my lips. But then the name settled on me, kicked my memory bank. My gaze snapped back upward and over to Wyatt. He was carefully sliding the note back into the envelope.
“Uh, you really shouldn’t have,” Wyatt said, his voice and posture stiff. “I’m not really a spa person anymore.”
Jace’s mouth lifted at the corner, obviously having way too much fun seeing his brother’s discomfort. “Oh, no, it’s been way too long since you’ve relaxed. I think it’s exactly what you need. I’m sure they’ll have treatments there that will whip that stress right out of you.”
Andre choked on his beer, coughing loudly and leaning forward, his gaze darting to me. Jace gave him a friendly thump on the back, and I stared at my brother, snippets of conversation colliding in my head, mashing together.
The Ranch. Andre recognizing Foster. Every cell in my body seemed to cringe. Oh, sweet Jesus. Things I didn’t want to think about flooded my mind. I wanted to put my hands over my eyes but of course that wouldn’t help block the mental pictures.
Andre stood in a quick rush, setting his beer on the table. “I need some water. Anyone else want anything?”
They all declined and Andre disappeared inside without another word. Jace smiled as if nothing had happened. “So, Cela, are you all ready to head back to south Texas? Dre told me you’re leaving soon.”
