AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You were close to your mom,” I remark.
“What makes you say that?”
“This.” I touch his gold chain. “And when you looked at your family photo, you talked about Matty, but your eyes were on your mom.”
He glances at me as if sayingdamnabout me noticing. “I miss her,” he says, snatching the plate I’m drying and touching the tip of my nose, as if I’ve been naughty. “Leave those. What were you after?”
“Just some water.” I wipe the drip he left on my nose.
He grabs a glass and fills it up with filtered water. “You don’t want wine?” he asks, pouring himself a glass of red.
“You tend to get low quality sleep if you drink before bed,” I say.
“I’ll get low quality sleep anyway.” But he pauses, and then ditches the wine and grabs a glass of water for himself.
“Alcohol gives you low quality sleep, but water might make you get up to pee in the middle of the night,” I tease him.
“So you’re saying no liquid before bed, then?” He holds up the glass as if asking me what he should do with it.
I flash him a smile as he drinks the water anyway, and then gestures for me to follow him. We arrive at one of his many living rooms. With an extended sigh, he settles himself down on a long couch, which is also deep and so very well cushioned, it might as well be a bed.
I sit next to Rob. “You have so many living rooms and sitting rooms. How do you tell people which is which?”
A soft chuckle lifts from his mouth. “We’re now in the junior lounge. My favorite, actually, cozy and private. The other ones are for me to have meetings and entertain people. There’s the formal living room, which is the largest, and then there’s the main lounge, the second living room, and the junior living room.”
I nod nonsensically. I sure suck at real estate, because I’m still confused. Then I ask, “What time do you usually go to work?”
“No set time, really. But I’ll need to follow Matty’s timetable when he goes back to school.”
“You’re amazing.”
“Am I?” He gives a few discreet shakes of his head. “It’s been hard. It’s been really hard since our parents died. Nothing can prepare you for it.”
“Matty seems close to you.”
“He is. He has always been.” He smiles fondly to himself. “He’s more than just a brother to me. My parents’ marriage was on the rocks, and they were in the process of getting a divorce before Matty came along.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Rob.”
“And I kept arguing with my dad. We were both stubborn people. Those were some of my darkest years. I was jumping from one party to another straight after work. I threw myself into random street brawls, entertaining myself with jaw-breaking punches—both ways. The next morning I often turned up drunk, black and blue.”
I cock my head, trying to imagine him like that.
Appraising my expression, he says, “But you’ve gotta know, Amber-Rose, I might’ve been messed up, but Ineverplayed with women. I pose for photos with them, I party with them, I tell them they look nice—but one-night stands aren’t my thing. Having sex drunk isn’t my thing.”
His assurance leaves me speechless. I’m glad he never acted like a teabag who dipped himself into every cup of hot water whenever one presented herself. But I wonder about the relevancy of his statement. I guess he just doesn’t want to ruin his potential to become my long-term boyfriend.
“Matty truly changed everything,” he continues. “The minute Dad found out Mom was pregnant, they scrapped the divorce plan, and after Matty was born, he gladly called a truce with me.” He gazes at the ceiling, as if recalling the moment. “And as for me, the day Matty was born, I took control of my life, and I became—me.”
“I should thank Matty for that.”
Rob nods. “He’s a miracle. But it’s not the same having to care for him twenty-four-seven.”
“You’re doing a great job,” I convince him, only to receive an expression of denial. “I don’t mean this in a bad way, but have you thought about hiring a nanny? You have a lot on your plate.”
This time a smile forms on his face, perhaps welcoming my practical advice. “I have thought about it, but with Matty being so unpredictable, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I have Clay to help me anyway, so I do get an occasional break. Matty is close to Wyatt, too. Sometimes my pilot takes care of him. I believe Matty thinks Wyatt is the coolest guy in the world—cooler than me.”
I shake my head. “No way. You’re everything to Matty, I’m sure.”
