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“You got a life—”
“And I’m at the station most of it.” I pulled over in front of his house. “What do you need? I’ll go in and grab it.”
He shrugged.
I jogged up the front steps to the brownstone and inserted my key in the lock. Maybe my family was weird, or maybe just invasive, but we all had keys to each other’s places.
The house was dark when I stepped inside. I fumbled along the wall for the light switch and blinked a few times when the foyer light came on.
I climbed the stairs to his bedroom and looked around. Bed was unmade. An empty whiskey bottle was turned over on the nightstand. But everything else was tidy. Joe had always been like that.
I opened the closet and grabbed a duffel bag from the top shelf. Thank God my brother was neat. I pulled shirts and pants off the hangers and shoved them into the bag. One of his department button-downs caught my eye and I snatched a couple of those too.
I rifled through his drawers for socks and underwear. It was hard enough packing for myself, let alone trying to figure out what he’d want for a few days.
I’d come back when he was up to telling me what he needed.
Toothbrush.
I stuffed his shave bag with what bathroom crap I could find and dumped it in the duffel too.
I skidded to a stop halfway down the stairs when I found Joe standing in the foyer, door wide open behind him.
He lifted his gaze to mine. “Wanna help me burn this place to the ground?”
Chapter Nine
Beau
“We’ll honeymoon in St. Tropez—”
“I don’t have time for a honeymoon.” I flashed Alex the most unapologetic apologetic smile ever given in the history of smiles. I placed my napkin on the table. “And I have to go. With all this wedding planning, I’m incredibly behind on work.”
I pushed back from the table.
He clamped a hand on mine. “We’re not finished, sweetheart.”
I looked down at where he was not so gently holding me in place.We never got started . . . sweetheart.
“Thank you for dinner.” I forced the words out in a detached pleasant tone as I lifted my hand.
He held it in place, squeezing harder. Pain radiated from my pinkie. It wasn’t broken, but there would most definitely be a bruise.
“Kindly take your hands off me.” Years of refinement had taught me how to maintain control when speaking. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself because I was humiliated I’d let this farce go this far. And now I'd have the injuries as a big fatI told you soto taunt me.
“Sit down.”
Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought Alex had this in him. I hoped this wasn’t a preview of what was to come for whoever he did marry.
“Might I remind you what’s at stake? I can’t imagine your parents will be too pleased if this wedding doesn’t happen.”
He squeezed harder and I bit back the cry of pain that threatened to escape.
“The wedding is happening.”
“If my father finds out that you’ve treated me with anything less than perfection, I assure you it won’t.” A little lie never hurt. To the outside world, he was a doting father, so the fib was believable.
His eyes narrowed into uncertain slits. “He isn’t going to find out, is he?”
