Maddy turned and threw her arms around Luke, crushing him in a hug. “Luke, why are you here today?”
He hugged her warmly, then replied, “Gio called and said he and Nick have a reason to celebrate. I had a window of time open so I thought I’d meet them for lunch. What trouble are you starting now?”
Maddy’s eyes rounded. “It’s a secret.”
Luke looked across at Rena sympathetically. “Then you two probably shouldn’t be shouting down the hallway.”
Rena lunged from her chair. “Did anyone else hear us?”
Luke shook his head. “Not that I saw. So what is this about you and Nick?”
“There is no me and Nick.”
Maddy let out an audible sigh. “She likes him.”
Rena spun on Maddy and snapped, “You are the world’s worst secret keeper.”
Maddy threw up both hands in triumph. “I knew it.”
Luke walked over and looked down at Rena. “Is there something going on I should know about?”
“No,” Rena and Maddy said in unison.
Rena glared at Maddy, who shamelessly smiled back at her. Scrambling for damage control, Rena said, “Maddy doesn’t understand that I’ve known Nick my whole life. Of course I like him. He’s like a brother to me.”
Maddy raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you can lie with a straight face. I’ll have to remember that.”
Luke looked back and forth between the two women. “Rena, I hope you don’t have feelings for Nick. He and Gio are finally getting along.”
“I know,” Rena said and rubbed her forehead roughly. “I would never do anything to endanger that.”
“Why can’t Rena and Nick get together?” Maddy asked.
Luke held Rena’s eyes. “Because if Gio found out, he’d never trust Nick again.”
“Which is why,” Rena said slowly, “nothing will ever happen between us.”
Maddy took one of Rena’s hands in hers. “I had no idea. This is so sad. Luke, couldn’t you talk to Gio? Get him to soften his opinion about it?”
Luke didn’t look away from Rena. “I wouldn’t even try. I don’t think they belong together either.”
Maddy cocked her head to one side and studied Luke’s expression. “Do you have feelings for Rena?”
He shook his head. “Not the kind you’re referring to, but I do care about her. Too much to ever let her date my brother. He’s coming around, Rena, but he’s not the one for you. Your heart goes out to him because you know what he’s going through, but he needs to figure it out on his own. If this goes badly, I don’t want him to pull you down with him.”
“You could improve his chances of succeeding here, Luke, if you showed a little more faith in him.” Rena folded her arms across her chest as she voiced the one opinion she was comfortable sharing in this conversation.
The tension in the room was as thick as the silence that dragged on was long.
“Awkward,” Maddy said with some humor as the standoff continued.
Rena didn’t back down. “You could also try having a little faith in me.”
Luke held her eyes for another moment, then sighed and said, “Sorry. This is the closest to happy I’ve seen my family be in a long time, and I don’t want anything to ruin it.”
“You don’t have to worry because nothing is going on,” Rena said firmly. She turned and pinned Maddy down with a glare. “Nothing. Are we clear?”
Maddy reluctantly agreed. “Gotcha. Nothing.” She tapped a finger on the corner of Rena’s desk, her irrepressible smile returning. “So, lunch, Rena?”
Rena shook her head and chuckled at Maddy’s persistence. “Not today. I really do have a lot of work to do.” She looked down at the paper clips strewn around the area behind her desk. “I should get back to it.”
Luke took out his phone. “That’s Gio. He and Nick are downstairs in a car. See you ladies later.” Just before he walked out the door, he stopped and said, “Rena, I’d ask you to come, but—”
Rena gave him a small smile. “I know.”
“Maddy? What about you?”
She looked down at her Cartier watch. “I’ve been away from the babies long enough.” She glanced at Rena, real sympathy in her eyes. “Besides, I got what I came here for.”
“I’ll walk you down.”
Maddy and Luke left together and Rena laid her forehead on her desk.
I probably should have gone to lunch with Maddy. She’ll never keep this to herself. Hoping she will is like hoping the sun won’t come up tomorrow.
Rena had watched how doggedly Maddy had pursued Gio when she’d wanted him to attend her cousin’s wedding. Hopefully this time she’d see that getting involved would only make things worse. Rena bent and gathered the scattered paper clips, returning them methodically to their container on her pristine desk.
Maddy didn’t base her decisions on what others thought was best for her. As far as Rena had seen, Maddy made her own rules and expected others to love her for it.
Eventually everyone did. So why do I think the world will come to a halt if I am caught doing what I want for a change? She half smiled as she thought about the coming weekend. Or who I want?
I can’t let the possibility that Maddy might spill the beans ruin this for me.
Rena held the container of paper clips in one hand and studied them with a frown. Maddy would never settle for boring. I don’t want to anymore, either. And to everyone who thinks that I’ll get my heart broken?
You don’t know me.
Heartbreaking is going to bed each night alone or, worse, with someone who makes you wish you were.
Rena tipped the container upside over the waste bin and emptied it. I deserve fucking colorful paper clips. And amazing, mind-blowing sex on Saturdays.
And I refuse to feel badly about that.
***
During lunch at Sardi’s, Nick looked across the table at his youngest brother, Max. “I had no idea you were in town.”
“I’m looking into redeveloping an area in Secaucus.” Max shrugged.
“In Secaucus?” Gio asked, mulling over the idea.
Max nodded.
“Have you purchased the property yet? I may have some useful connections,” Gio offered.
Raising one hand, Max dismissed the idea. “Thanks, but you know I like to work things out on my own.”
Luke reached for his glass. “Is it a casino?”
“No, it would be an expansion of my hotel chain. I haven’t fully committed to the endeavor yet.”
The reason wasn’t a mystery to Nick. “He doesn’t know if he can handle being that close to us.”
Max groaned. “I went to see Mom. She’s as crazy as ever. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”
“How did she look?” Gio asked casually, but he was watching Max closely.
“So, that part was true? You’re not speaking to her?” Gio started to say something, but Max cut him off. “Forget I said that. I really don’t want to know. I came here because Luke said we have something to celebrate.”
Luke leaned in toward Nick. “I called him after I spoke to Gio about your meeting this morning. I thought he’d like to know that things are going well. I had no idea he was in town, but when I found out, it seemed like a perfect time for all of us to get together.”
Nick looked quickly at Gio. “What did you tell Luke?”
Gio shrugged one shoulder. “Just the truth. Westlake was trying to play hardball and you backed him right into a corner—exactly how I would have done it. It was impressive. Luke usually hears about how I want to strangle you. I thought it would be nice to share something good for a change.”
Luke added, “And I thought that sounded like something we should all celebrate.”
Nick couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice when he turned to Max and said, “So, essentially we’re celebrating that I’m not a complete loser in the eyes of my brothers.”
Max clapped Nick on the back and said, “We all hoped this day would c
ome. Should we toast with beer? Champagne?”
Without missing a beat, Nick said, “I actually don’t drink anymore.”
That seemed to surprise Max, who looked at his two other brothers and asked, “Am I the only one here who is shocked to hear those words?”
Gio laid his napkin on his lap and picked up his menu. “I guessed as much when Nick showed up to work every day.”
Luke smiled and followed suit with his own napkin. “People tell me everything. It’s the price I pay for being the sane brother.”
Max laughed. “Hey, I’m the sane one.”
Nick picked up his own menu and spoke as if to himself. “Funny, I thought it was me.”
In a much more relaxed manner than usual, Gio added, “I always knew it wasn’t me. I got the looks and brains instead.”
All three brothers jokingly made sounds of outrage. Max turned to Luke. “Nick is sober. Gio has a sense of humor. Are you a veterinarian now? Did I accidentally enter a parallel universe because I don’t recognize any of you?”
The waiter came by, interrupting the conversation. After all four had given their orders and were alone once again, Nick said, “It was time I made a change. Something clicked inside me when I heard our uncles talking about family and how our father would have been proud of us. I didn’t think he would be. Proud of me, that is. I hadn’t done anything to make him proud. I wanted to be more like the rest of the Andrades and”—he looked around the table before continuing—“no offense, less like us.”
Gio cleared his throat. “I felt the same way. So much of what I was angry about didn’t matter anymore when I thought about the next generation. I don’t want to be us, either.”
Luke interjected, “We don’t have to be. Yes, we have to be us, but we don’t have to be at each other’s throats all the time. We’re not enemies, we’re brothers.”
Max studied each of his brother’s faces. “You’re all serious? This isn’t some sort of sick prank? I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time swallowing this.”
Nick smiled at his youngest brother. “Would it help if I told you that Gio is still an unbearably pompous ass most of the time? I just keep that fact to myself now.”
Gio’s eyes narrowed. “Or if I said that I’m waiting for the day human resources files a group complaint because every secretary in the building discovers she’s not the only one he’s sleeping with?”
“I haven’t slept with every secretary. Aren’t there hundreds? That would take me months.”
A muscle in Gio’s jaw clenched visibly. “Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not doing something you shouldn’t be and I’ll relax.”
Nick threw up his hands in the air. “You’d never believe me if I told you, so why waste my breath?”
Max started laughing. “Okay, I feel better. Now I know I’m sitting at the right table.”
Luke said, “You can laugh, but they are much better than they were.”
With a more serious expression, Max said, “I admire you, Luke, for always believing things will work out. I won’t say I’d bet on you being right, but I admire your optimism.”
Gio’s hand clenched on the table. “When I was on Isola Santos I felt like an Andrade. And their motto is: Family is everything.”
Nick shook his head with humor. “I wonder what the Stanfield family motto is?” He laughed sarcastically. “I’ll have to ask Mother. That should be entertaining.”
The meal arrived but no one moved to touch their food. Luke said, “It doesn’t matter what the last generation of our family believed. We decide what our legacy will be. The four of us.”
Gio nodded. “Speaking of the four of us, Julia and I are serious. We’ll be picking a wedding date soon. I want the three of you there.”
Luke said, “Of course we’ll be there.”
Max hedged. “It’ll depend on my schedule.”
With a frown, Luke countered, “You’ll make time for your brother’s wedding.”
Unapologetically, Max shrugged. “Hey, I just did the big family wedding thing. I don’t know if I can handle another of those soon. Tell me where you want to honeymoon, though, and I’ll hook you up with a penthouse.”
Nick shook his head. “Seriously, Max?”
With quick irritation, Max snapped, “Don’t judge me, Nick. You’ve done whatever you’ve wanted, however you’ve wanted to, your whole life. Now, just because you’re sober for a few months and working at the family company, you think you’re the better brother?” He stood up and slammed his napkin down on the table beside his untouched plate of food. “I can’t do this again. You had me fooled at the wedding. That’s how this works. You lure me back with a promise of sanity and then the crazy returns. I’m happy you’re all getting along right now. I don’t believe for a second it’s going to last, and I don’t have the time or the energy to sit around and pretend I do. Send me an invitation, Gio, and if I’m free I’ll be there.” He turned to Luke. “Thank you for calling me today, Luke. I know you meant well.”
Gio stood. “Sit down, Max.”
Max looked at his oldest brother coldly. “You don’t tell me what to do, Gio. You never could and you never will.” With that he turned and walked out of the restaurant.
“He’s beginning to sound like me,” Nick drawled.
Gio sat back down, shaking his head. “I don’t understand. He wasn’t like that the last time I saw him.”
Luke looked every bit as mystified. “He’s not usually so angry.”
“He must have stayed at Mother’s five minutes too long,” Gio said, then reached for his fork and knife.
Chapter Twelve
It was ten o’clock in the morning on a crisp fall day when Rena stepped out of a taxi and wiggled in an attempt to adjust her panties without touching them. She put her hands in the pockets of her blazer and tried to hold the elastics of her underwear while shimmying her ass back and forth. It didn’t help, but she wasn’t alone at the large flat field she’d driven to. That’s what I get for thinking I could do kinky well.
After a few days of brainstorming how to make her day with Nick as sexy as he’d made their last romps, Rena had visited an adult toy store. She didn’t consider herself a prude, but as she’d stared at the options displayed on the wall, all she could ask herself was, “What is that and who would use it?”
Thankfully, a woman had come over and asked if she could be of assistance.
“I’m looking for . . .” Rena had hesitated, blushed, then started again. “Something really sexy but not over the top.”
“For yourself or for your partner?”
“For both of us?”
“Sure,” the woman had said casually as if Rena had been asking to see a watch or bracelet. “Let me show you some suggestions.”
Rena had taken one last look around the wall covered with enormous dildos, strings of beads, and plugs of all shapes and sizes and readily agreed, “Please do.”
She’d followed the clerk to a section full of items she was comfortable with—basic vibrators. She’d received one as a joke at her housewarming party, and like the tool set she’d gotten, she’d eventually put it to use.
“I’ll be taking it on a date,” Rena said, without meeting the eyes of the other woman.
The clerk held up a box of vibrating thong panties and said, “These are very popular. You wear them and give your partner the remote control.”
Rena accepted the package and her confidence grew. I’m a grown woman, and there is nothing wrong with trying something new now and then. She turned the package over and read the description on the back, then smiled. “It’s perfect.”
However, nowhere during the process of cashing out did the woman mention how intimately the underwear’s mechanics would lodge itself if worn while driving. Or walking. Every time Rena moved, the bullet-shaped insert rubbed against her already excited clit and scrambled her thoughts.
And it’s not even on yet.
This is going to be incredible.
A middle-aged gentleman dressed in a bright-yellow company T-shirt, his attire matching that of the other three men with him, waved her to approach. She did and hoped her gait didn’t reveal her secret. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, Ms. Sander. We have everything set for you.” He shook her hand enthusiastically and introduced her to the other men on his team. “Is your friend on his way?”
“He should be,” Rena answered, looking at the inflating hot air balloon and basket behind him. “How long will we be able to be up there for?”
“You paid a deposit and agreed to one hour, but you can have more time if you want it.”
How long does one need to have a wild encounter in a hot air balloon? She studied the basket. It wasn’t large enough to lie down in. I guess we’ll be standing up. She bit her bottom lip. That can be nice, too. “How high will we go?”
I hope they won’t be able to see us from down here.
“I can take you up twenty-five feet or a hundred, depending on the wind. So far everything looks like a go, but I like to make that decision when I’m up there.”
When he’s where?
Rena’s head snapped around and she asked, “Don’t you stay on the ground?”
Both of his eyebrows rose comically. “Ma’am, I’m the pilot.”
Rena looked back at the balloon. “But this is a tethered ride. We just go up and then come down. We don’t go anywhere. I’m sure we don’t need a pilot.”
“Did you read our website? We do tethered rides at fairs and large events. You booked a regular trip.”
“No,” Rena said slowly. “So you can’t just let us go up and then bring us down?”
“Lady, this isn’t a kite. A balloon in a ten-mile-an-hour gust of wind could drag a couple of trucks with ease. We didn’t bring the equipment to tether it.”
“Oh, I was hoping we could go up alone.”
“That wouldn’t have been possible either way. You’d have to know how use the burner and the valves properly.”
“Would you give me a quick lesson if I paid you double?”
“You’re not understanding what I’m saying. As soon as it leaves the ground, it’s a registered flying aircraft that requires a licensed pilot.”