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Damn.He figured he would get shit for being out all night, but he had no idea Jason would be dead-on. How had he found out? Kevin? No. He wouldn’t have said anything. This was not what he expected. “You suck, bro.”
Perfect. Way to sound like a fifteen-year-old.
“Why do I suck? You’re secretly dating my sister-in-law!”
“Obviously it’s not much of a secret. How did you find out?”
“Someone from my office saw you two all dressed up and eating in a diner.”
Josh ran his hand through his hair. “We actually went out to a nice restaurant, but... ah... never mind.” Jason was still chuckling under his breath and Josh was getting more and more pissed off. “I should have just canceled on you.”
“Right. ’Cause I wouldn’t have found some other way to talk to you about this.”
“We’re going out to dinner with Mrs. Rossi tonight, to let her know we’re together. Caroline wanted to talk to her mom before Meg found out.”
“Oh, Meg already suspects. She’s known you liked Caroline since the day she stormed out of our house.” He sipped his coffee. “You’ve been dubbed ‘The Boyfriend.’ ’’
“The Boyfriend? Great.” Josh locked his hands behind his neck and blew out a breath.
The waitress came back to take their order. “Did Meg say anything else?”
“Nah. She’s just wondering when you two are going to tell everyone. Now that I know dinner is tonight, we’ll definitely be there.”
“Be there?”
“Oh, yeah. Meg’s mom asked us to come, but we had plans. We’re canceling now because I really want to watch you squirm.”
Josh sat back and considered his younger brother. Jason and Meg had been married about six months and the first two were no walk in the park. He remembered Jason saying they needed time to get used to each other. And now they were going to make a big joke out of what was going on between him and Caroline? Not a fucking chance.
“Don’t come,” he growled. “Just don’t.”
Jason froze and Josh guessed it wasn’t what he said, but how he said it. “Caroline is nervous enough about all the changes going on in her life and our relationship is part of that. It’s not a joke.”
“I didn’t mean...”
“I won’t have you and Meg making Caroline uncomfortable. We’re taking Mrs. Rossi out to dinner. The three of us. That’s it.”
Jason was about to argue and then Josh saw he’d reconsidered. Jason took a sip of his coffee and was obviously considering how to change his mind. “Meg wants to be there. It’s important that she and Caroline make peace with this.”
Another long silence settled over the table and Josh knew he owed Jason more than a bad attitude. He and his brother had been at odds for too long, and he wasn’t going to allow another rift to develop, not when things were finally improving between them. “She’s important to me, Jason. I don’t want anything to mess it up.”
His brother picked up the teaspoon that rested next to his coffee cup and twirled it in his fingers. “If it’s meant to be, nothing will. You might be surprised that you have more people in your corner than you thought.”
Josh laughed. “I know but tell Meg to keep in mind Caroline has no patience for her right now, and if she pushes too hard, she might lose her sister altogether.” That was something that would kill Meg. His brother’s wife could be the most headstrong and difficult woman he knew, but she didn’t do anything halfway, especially for people she loved.
“I’ll pass it on for later.”
By the time their breakfast was delivered, the tension had ebbed a bit and the conversation went back to more neutral topics, like business. Josh was glad he could talk to his brother because he was facing some tough decisions with Campbell Holdings. “I’m thinking about pulling my investment and leaving the firm.”
That got his brother’s attention. “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. I can’t work with Dad anymore.”
“If you pull out will the company fold?”
“I don’t know how it would survive. There would be some legal wrangling to do, but the investors would be okay. Except Mom and Dad. They’d be broke.”
“Shit. That’s a big step for you. You’ve been fighting to save Grandpa’s legacy for years. What happened?”
