AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Of course, it’s her. No one besides her twin brother, Remi, looks like that.
“Yes, that’s her,” Stone says. His voice has an odd tone, and I turn away from where Regan is standing to look at him.
He’s watching her the way I watch Confidence. Devouring every detail like his life depends on it.
A terrible foreboding makes my chest tight. “Stone—”
He shakes his head and points at the restaurant we’re standing in front of. “We’ll talk later. We’re here. It’s showtime.”
I force myself to let it go for now. But only for now.
My brother looks besotted, but every man over the age of 16 is half in love with Regan Landel; she’s incomparably beautiful. So, I can understand why Stone, if he’s spent time with her or maybe even had a fling with her, would look at her and think he’s found nirvana.
But that way only lies trouble. She’s married one of the richest men in the world. He’s a business acquaintance. We play golf when he’s in town. And I know his wife is his most prized possession. I can’t believe she’d risk something like a tryst with Stone.
Even if she wasn’t married, when she finds out what our family did to hers, she won’t want anything to do with us, much less become intimately involved. If I can cut it off before whatever they’ve started takes root, then maybe, just maybe, I can stop the nightmare our parents started from getting any worse.
I Need Her
Stone
Hayes’ wedding went off without a hitch. It was beautiful and his new wife, Confidence looked like a fairy queen in just her floor length sequined white dress. A pregnant fairy queen whose belly shimmered like a disco ball when she took to the dance floor during the party that lasted well past midnight.
The moon was full, fat and low in the sky, and cast a silver gilt on everything.
Hayes took his bride to bed hours ago, but Beau, Dare and I decided to stay up and watch the sunrise together. Something we used to do when we lived together in New York City a few years ago.
I was finishing my residency, Hayes was studying for the next round of CPA exams and working for Kingdom in their New York office. Beau was in college and Dare was in high school. The only time we were all up and home at the same time was in the very early morning hours. And so, this became our ritual.
We’d catch up, talk shit, and laugh over a cup of coffee while the sun ushered in a new day.
I miss that, because despite how different we are from each other, we’ve always been friends.
But, I’m not as young as I used to be. Too much scotch, not enough food or water, and dancing until we were drenched with sweat is starting to catch up with me and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.
Dare is already asleep on one of the lounge chairs. Curled up in a fetal position, the way he used to when he was a kid. When I see him like that, I can almost recall a time before his name became synonymous with trouble. It’s not his fault, he was only three when Jason died, and Hayes left. He got the short end of the parenting stick.
“You dumped her because she got a cat?” Beau’s question interrupts my reverie.
I glance at him and my lip curls in annoyance. I reach across the space between our lounge chairs and snatch my phone out of his hand. I have pictures of Regan on that phone and the last thing I need is for him or anyone to see them.
“Why are you reading my texts?”
“Because you keep secrets and you’re not allowed to have secrets from me. Remember?” He spears me with an annoyed glare.
“No, I don’t remember.” I grumble and open my phone’s security settings. I change my password; the same one I’ve had for the last ten years.
“Are you changing your passcode?” he asks in surprise.
“How’d you guess?”
He laughs. “Stone, come on. You read my texts all the time.”
“I used to. You were a minor and I paid for your phone.”
“You were two years older than me and being young doesn’t mean I didn’t want my fucking privacy, man."
I roll my eyes.
