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Because a wife so loving and sweet would surely soothe some of the ache that had settled into his shoulders. He wanted Emily. Hell. He might need her despite his best attempts to push her away.
But it wasn’t fair to her.
Not when she had a much better option than him. Didn’t she see that? Why had she sought out Ace today if she had the offer of an earl?
The carriage stopped again and he slowly lifted himself off the bench he’d slumped against, smoothing back his hair.
He should cancel. Reschedule.
He’d need every ounce of control to face his half-brother and he had almost none left. He could feel emotions he usually buried deep simmering just under the surface.
But if he didn’t attend today, would his half-brother ever see him again?
Mirabelle needed him to do this and do it well.
Anna needed him to succeed.
Rush, Triston, Gris, and Fulton were all depending on him.
He snapped open the door and started down the steps, making his way to the Earl of Easton’s front door.
It swung in before he’d even made it to the top of the wide granite steps, a starched and straight butler eyeing him from the doorway. “Lord Smith, I presume?”
Ace listened for any trace of disdain but caught none. “That’s right.”
“Right this way, my lord. His lordship is expecting you.”
Ace followed the man up a wide set of stairs, polished and gleaming, up to a stately landing and down a wide hall to a study that overlooked a perfectly manicured garden.
Ace liked their home, it was comfortable, and large enough, and it had the advantage of being entirely theirs.
But this was elegance on another level.
Easton sat behind the desk, his gaze meeting Ace’s, his look impassive and unreadable. “Ace.”
“East.”
The other man gestured for Ace to sit. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from my nefarious brother?” East’s voice held a hard edge that Ace ignored.
They shared the same jaw. Hard and lean. And their eyes were different colors but the shape… “Nefarious?”
“Did you or did you not infiltrate the Den of Sins to root out our secret to success? Or was it me personally on whom you were spying?” There was the derision Ace had been expecting. It was almost a relief. That he knew how to deal with.
They weren’t wasting time, apparently. “The former. I had no idea you were, well, you.”
East gave a quick nod. “I appreciate that bit of honesty.”
Ace sucked in a breath. “I’ve never lied.”
East scrunched his brow as he stared across the desk. “How do you figure that?”
“No one asked, ‘Do you own another club?’ They only asked if I was interested in funding the Den of Sins and working there one day a week.”
East’s eyes grew larger. “I suppose that’s true.”
“And I didn’t learn anything I might not have gleaned as a patron. Make the interior plush. The liquor exotic and expensive, the dealers attractive.” He drew in a breath. “Unless you count, keeping track of earnings to make certain you don’t have thieves. I did learn that bit from being an owner.”
East’s jaw hardened. “So you yourself never stole from us?”
