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An amused hitch of his lips. “We can make it official if you like.”
It’s hard to catch my breath, my legs feeling shaky. “Now it’s me who’s imagining this.”
“Ah,” he remarks. “But these fantasies aren’t forbidden.”
My heart swells. They might not be forbidden to voice or note down, but they might be unlikely to happen. “Ones just for you, or…”
“Or,” he stresses, knowing I’m referencing his brothers. “Write down your heart’s desires. Your body’s. We’ll see what comes of your list.”
No promises then, but it’s a start. A start at understanding what my ideal would be, even though I’d be happy to settle for something far simpler.
When I look for the others, they’re nowhere to be seen. With a final glance around Brecken’s room, I return to the hallway, turning left where Reuben and Luca wait for us by the threshold to the living room. By my reckoning, there are two doors—apart from the turret’s—that I’ve not snooped behind yet. With that in mind, I open the door to my right, finding a vast gym, complete with a sauna and a hot tub. The space extends the length of the hallway. Mirrors line two walls, a third composed of computerized scenery that switches from dense pine forests to summer mountain meadows, to sparkling, serene lakes.
It’s unreal.
“This might finally tempt me to use a gym,” I remark dryly.
Walking across the hall to the last door, I spot a camera on the wall angled towards it. There’s a card reader on the door, blocking my entry. “What’s in here?” I ask, picturing a vintage car collection with some fancy elevator that whizzes them all the way down to a basement garage. Yet, as soon as the ridiculous idea enters my head, I dismiss it. Considering what they plan to inherit, considering the lifestyle they’re accustomed to, I’ve found them down-to-earth and pretty low maintenance.
“This is our office.”
Luca waves a card across the electronic lock and pushes the door open. The first thing I see is a bank of windows on the far side of the space, a conference table to seat ten parallel to them. At the other end of the large room are several workspaces tucked into corners and against the walls. Plants feature heavily, flowers too. Laptops and computers, low-level cabinets, and drafting tables with huge printers fill the remaining space.
“Just the three of you in here?”
“Yeah.”
There are two empty desks. “Do you have secretaries or executive assistants?”
“They work downstairs, with the rest of the office staff, unless we invite them up here.”
Right. And I will be downstairs too. It’s just as well; if I was up here I’d never get any work done.
“You have an incredible space. The whole suite is beautiful. And this view,” I compliment, walking to the large windows and looking out at the slopes. From here, I can see the cable cars ascend the mountain.
“Come on, let’s get a drink.”
I follow Roo to the kitchen, the others at my rear. While I take a seat on a high-backed stool by the generous breakfast bar, Reuben rummages in an industrial metal fridge.
“If that is just your wine fridge, I’d say you have your priorities bang on.”
“There’s a lettuce in here too,” Reuben rebuffs. “We like to stay healthy.”
I share a smile with Brecken who’s bringing glasses out of a cupboard. “Do you cook?” I ask genuinely.
“Not if we can help it, but we make great snacks.”
“I know you do,” I say, my voice low. I’ve snacked on them all, but I’m constantly hungry around them.
Reuben chuckles under his breath, expertly removing the cork and filling four glasses. We toast, drinking deeply, and I thank them for the beautiful roses in my room.
“How did the meeting go with your father?”
Not asking them via the group messaging app was tortuous, but arguably, it’s not really my business. I’m their love interest, one that might need to make a big decision at some stage—depending on what their father demands from them—but I’m several steps removed from the business discussions and obstacles they face as brothers. Despite only seeing them for a short time, I know I already have very strong feelings for them, not least for their timely arrival on the mountain top. But part of me feels I’m not embedded in their life as fully as I should be in order to ask such a personal question.
With slow precision, Luca places his glass on the counter between us. “We told him about you. Sienna had already mentioned you, and of course our hostile welcome, so it made sense to fill him in on our developing relationship. We asked him to give us some time.”
Oh, okay. That sounds deeply personal, and a teeny bit embarrassing seeing as I’m not just with Balthazar’s first-born son, but all three of them. But it also sounds like this isn’t a short-lived affair. And while I hoped it wasn’t, if it continues, then I’m very much at the center of the tangled game playing out here.
