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He smirked. “Because I needed a vacation, and since this family never actually leaves Boston, I figured I’d just take a random week off to relax.”
“Do Mamma and Papa know this?”
“Nope. I’ll tell them tomorrow. Today I just wanted to spend time with my favorite sister.”
I felt my eyes widening. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“What? It’s not like it’s a secret. You’re my best friend. Quinn is Orlando’s. It doesn’t mean I love you more than anyone else, I just happen to like your company more.”
I shook my head at him. Sometimes I really didn’t understand my siblings.
While Nacio drove us to a little bakery that made the best sandwiches this side of the Charles River, I finally checked the text from earlier.
Shawn:Hey, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed meeting you last night. Any chance you’ll be at Youngblood again anytime soon?
I stared at my phone screen, thumbs hovering over the keypad for way longer than should have been necessary. Shawn was practically a stranger. It wasn’t like I had much to lose no matter what I said.
Me:Thanks, it was nice meeting you too. My brother is off work this week, so I’m going to be busy with family stuff, but I’ll be there in the evening on the 13th.
Shawn:Looking forward to it.
Nacio and I claimed a small table in the corner of the bakery’s first floor. Kendra, who’d been working here since I was born, sent us a grin and a wave from the counter. She made her way over with her notepad and took our orders.
“So, Nacio, you still playing guitar?” she asked, stuffing her pad and pen into her apron.
My brother rolled his eyes. “I still can, but I make a point of not playing in public. You know that.”
“Just wondering if you’d changed your mind and decided to do something with all that talent you have.”
“I’m not my father. I don’t want to live the life he did when he was my age.”
“Just seems like a waste of talent.”
Nacio smiled. “God forbid I be blessed with any kind of musical talent without wanting to go places with it. I have another purpose. I don’t need to chase fame.”
Secretly, I envied my brother for his certainty in his path. His work gave him purpose, and I’d never seen anyone be able to take that away from him or make him doubt he was on the right road for his life. I wanted that kind of certainty—that peace.
I was willing to work hard, I just wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be working toward.
Four
Samuel
I’d been backin Boston for a week and I’d barely left Youngblood and the rooms on the floors above. The club had been running smoothly in my absence, but it was taking me longer than I’d hoped to get acclimated to being here again.
Every morning and throughout most of the day, Joriel and I trained in the gym. Everyone had been taking my threat to fire anyone who couldn’t keep up with my standards seriously. I was almost impressed.
In the evenings, I’d been hanging out in the back rooms or my private alcove in the main club. I sat in that alcove now, paying little attention to the people on the dance floor or sitting at the bar. I had other people to monitor the room and make sure everything was going smoothly. I was more interested in the girl sitting beside me.
Daphne had grown up a lot in the eight years since I’d met her. She was only about five feet tall, more than a foot shorter than me, but the girl could fight, even if she didn’t look like it at first glance. Her strawberry blonde hair was cut at her shoulders and had some curl to it. Wire-rimmed glasses took up half her face, and she was wearing huge silver hoops in her ears.
“You know those earrings are a liability,” I said.
She smirked at me. “But they make me look like Buffy. I just need some leather pants and heeled boots.”
I sighed. “You are not a vampire slayer out of a TV show.”
Her smirk turned to a grin. “You know who Buffy is? I’m impressed, Sam.”
