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But now it feels like I’ve betrayed him. Not only is it fucked up that I’m lusting after his girlfriend, but it feels wrong that he has no idea about what’s gone down between us. I’ve spent hours in my head, going back and forth, tormenting myself over what to do.
In one respect, nothing has changed. Bianca needs him to keep her father alive. Because Adam has the one thing I don’t. Access to a fuck ton of money. And knowing what I know now, I understand why she can’t just talk to him. For as many good qualities as Adam has, he can also be petty as hell. If she tried to negotiate a deal to keep the contracts without continuing their relationship, there’s no question Adam would let them go. He’s always seen women as disposable, but in this case, something feels different. He’s more invested.
The question I don’t want to acknowledge is I’m not sure if Bianca reciprocates his feelings at all or if she’s just doing what’s necessary for her family. If it’s the latter, he deserves to know the truth. But I still can’t accept it as a viable option. Ultimately, it would hurt Adam and Bianca, and for what?
After downing entirely too much of Stefan’s most expensive tequila, I’m still not any closer to an answer. So I lie down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I’m not surprised when Adam shows up at my cottage after school. He gives me a questioning glance as he enters and makes himself at home on the couch.
“Are you pissed at me or what?”
“No.” I sit up and scrub a hand over my face so he can’t see my expression. “Why?”
“Because things have been fucking tense,” he says.
I stare at him, silent. But what I really want to do is tell him the truth. I want to tell him Bianca is mine. It doesn’t matter if he knew her first. I took her first, and I want to fucking keep her. He can have everything else. Our parents’ love. Their approval. The family business. The awards, the cash, the cars. But not her.
Then it hits me all over again. That’s exactly why she’s with him. He has all of those things.
“Is it because I didn’t make it to the ranch to visit you during the school year?” Adam asks.
“No. I didn’t expect you to come to that shithole any more than you had to.”
“I would have,” he says. “But you know how Dad gets. He’s got me at the office practically every weekend learning the ropes.”
“Yeah, well, it’s no biggie.” I shrug. “You didn’t miss much.”
He’s quiet for a while, and I hate this. We’ve never had a divide like this between us. Adam was always the one person I could trust. The one person I never had to hide from. But now, we may as well be living on different continents.
“I’m having a party tonight,” he says. “You should come down for a bit.”
“Who’s coming?” I frown.
“Just the usual suspects. People from school. Bianca and some of her airhead friends.”
I glance over at him. “What’s up with you two?”
“Bianca?” He smirks as he says her name. “She’s fucking hot, isn’t she?”
I want to tell him how hot she was coming all over my face before I took her virginity, but that would make me the asshole in this scenario.
“How’d you meet her?” I ask.
I want to hear his version. I want to know more because I’m a fucking masochist, and I can’t stop myself.
“Her dad owns a commercial landscaping company,” he says. “We were going through a transitional phase at TCA, and Stefan gave me the lead on new proposals. I wanted to streamline the process and use one company for all the Texas-based clubs. It was a huge potential deal. Luis put in a bid, and while we were negotiating, we invited the whole family over for dinner. Bianca came along, and the rest is history. I wanted to make her mine, and I did.”
“So you two are serious, then?” I grit my teeth.
“Serious as a heart attack.” His eyes flicker with determination. “She’s exactly the kind of wife I always imagined myself having. As soon as I settle into the business after graduation, I’m going to put a ring on her finger and lock that shit down.”
Bitterness coats my tongue as I study my brother. I’ve never seen him like this. He’s had girlfriends, but he’s always been a player. He does whatever he wants with whoever he wants, and everyone knows it. But I also know his determination never fails him. When he sets his eye on something, he always gets it. I could resent him for that, or I could face the facts. Bianca chose him the moment she walked away from me. And destroying their relationship means wrecking ours, too. Adam would never forgive me if he knew the truth. And despite the current tension between us, I can’t bring myself to tell him even though it’s all I’ve been thinking about.
