AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Matthew flinched, then took the pasta from me. “Let me warm that up. You always burn it.”
I sighed. Really, I knew better than to mention his current predicament. My brother had been walking around like a ghost for months after his involvement with Nina de Vries had cost him his job.
I didn’t know all the details since Matthew usually kept things like this close to his chest. The gist of it was that she was married to some jerk he was prosecuting, but Mattie couldn’t stay away. My brother, good guy that he was, went to his boss hat in hand and fessed up to the relationship. And promptly lost his job.
You could say it was a sore subject.
Generally, Matthew was the most level-headed person on the planet, but from the moment he met Nina, he was in another dimension.
Guilt warmed my belly. Here I was giving him shit about his current predicament, and my big brother was still taking care of me, like he’d done all my life.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m just hungry.”
“No worries.” He put the tray of pasta on the counter while he set the oven to preheat.
“I can do that,” I said, pushing him out of the way. “And I’ll set a timer so I don’t burn it. Don’t you have to leave for work soon anyway?”
Matthew shook his head. “Jamie gave me the night off. Going to a party instead.”
“A party? Really?” That sounded promising. He hadn’t been out in months except to bartend. I sort of missed the playboy version of my brother. “Whose?”
“My friends Eric and Jane. Early Christmas party.”
“The fancy ones uptown?” I didn’t bother to hide my frown.
The whole city knew who Eric and Jane de Vries were. Their wedding and family drama had been on the front page of every New York paper for more than a year.
They were also related to Nina.
“The same,” Matthew admitted as he traced a finger over a crack in the Formica. “But I should go. Jane and Eric have been good to me.”
“So good you’re out of a job, right, big brother?” I asked as I returned to the fridge for something to drink.
It was after six on a Friday. A glass of wine would be nice. But pickings were slim this close to paychecks. I sighed and pulled out the Brita.
Matthew’s face was dark when I turned around. “Nina has nothing to do with Jane and Eric.”
“She’s just his married cousin, right?”
“That’s beside the fuc—” Matthew cut himself off as he glanced up toward where Sofia had gone, then back at me. “The freaking point. She didn’t invite me. We haven’t spoken for months.”
“Since she got you fired?” I pushed, unable to help myself.
As soon as I said it, regret washed through me. None of this situation was his fault. I knew that. You couldn’t help who you fell in love with. I knew that more than most.
But that fact that it obviously hurt so much? Maybe that was our fault. I couldn’t help feeling like it every time I saw my brother coming home after a long night of bartending, I was a little bit responsible. His misery was for us, I knew. Sofia and me.
But I wasn’t stupid. He was going to this party because there was a chance she might be there, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“I’m going,” Matthew said. “They’re my friends, and I finally have a night off. And so do you, so you’re coming too.”
I looked up in surprise from the salad I was tossing. “What? No, I’m not.”
“Yeah, you are. Kate’s on her way with a suit for me, a dress for you, and free babysitting. You’re coming.”
“It’s Friday night, and you bullied Kate into schlepping all the way to Brooklyn to play dress-up with me? She has a life, Mattie.”
“Right now, we’re more concerned about yours. Or the lack thereof.”
