Brother? My mind raced, pieces starting to click together like a puzzle I hadn’t known I was solving. The familiar mannerisms, the confident smirk, the way Bruno and Tyrone seemed to know him.
“Andy?” Fin’s worried voice cut through my revelation. “Everything okay over here?”
I turned to find both Fin and Ethan hovering nearby, concern etched on their faces. Ethan was frowning at Bruno and Tyrone, clearly confused by their lack of action.
“Why aren’t they—” Ethan started, but the stranger cut him off with a wave of his hand.
“Join us!” He gestured to the empty chairs with theatrical flourish. “I’ll order drinks. My treat, of course.”
“Your treat?” Fin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “And you are… what, exactly? Andy’s personal stalker?”
The stranger snorted, amusement dancing in those familiar eyes. “Not that kind of stalker, promise. Zero interest in your friend here”—he gestured at me—”beyond the fact that he’s dating my brother.”
Fin and Ethan exchanged confused looks.
“Brother?” they echoed in unison.
“Matt’s brother, Ryan,” he clarified, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “The favorite one, if you must know. Though he’d probably argue that point.” He leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. “What? Matt never mentioned having a devastatingly handsome younger brother? I’m hurt. Truly wounded. Though I suppose that’s classic Matt—Mr. Private-and-Mysterious himself.”
I sat there, mouth slightly open, as the pieces continued falling into place. Matt had never mentioned having siblings, but then again, Matt rarely talked about his family at all. Looking at this guy now—really looking—I could see the resemblance. The same confident bearing, the similar smirk, even some of the mannerisms. It was like watching a younger, more rebellious version of Matt, complete with leather jacket and smart-ass attitude.
“Hold up.” Fin held up his hands like a traffic cop. “You’re telling me you’ve been following Andy around because you’re Matt’s brother? That’s not creepy at all.”
“So,” I leaned forward, fixing Ryan with my best interrogation stare—which, admittedly, probably looked more like mild indigestion, “how long have you been playing private detective?”
“Detective?” Ryan pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Please, I preferconcerned brother conducting routine reconnaissance. And it’s only been a few days.”
I frowned, the timeline not adding up. “A few days? I’ve been feeling eyes on me for almost a couple of weeks now.”
“Actually,” Ryan’s expression turned serious for the first time, “I only flew in yesterday morning. Though now I’m concerned about who else might be watching you.” He paused, then grinned. “Maybe you’re just that paranoid? Dating a billionaire can do that to you, I hear.”
Fin snorted. “So instead of hitting the casinos or clubs like a normal Vegas tourist, you decided to stalk my best friend? That’s some quality vacation planning right there.”
“Not stalking.” Ryan rolled his eyes with the practiced exasperation of someone who’d had this argument before. “Investigating. There’s a difference. One involves binoculars and creepy notes; the other involves… well, okay, maybe some binoculars, but definitely no creepy notes.”
“Oh, well, that makes it so much better,” I deadpanned. “Glad we cleared that up.”
“Look,” Ryan leaned forward, his amusement evident, “when your super-private, trust-no-one older brother suddenly starts dating someone, you get curious. Matt’s idea of sharing personal information is telling you what he had for breakfast—three days ago.”
“That does sound like Matt,” I admitted, thinking about how little I actually knew about his family life.
“Exactly!” Ryan exclaimed. “So when I heard he had a boyfriend—a real, actual, living-in-his-penthouse boyfriend—I had to see for myself. I mean, the last time Matt showed interest in anyone, I was still in high school. That’s practically ancient history!”
Ethan, who’d been quietly observing, finally spoke up. “And what’s your verdict after all thisinvestigating?”
Ryan studied me thoughtfully, taking a slow sip of his drink. “Well, he’s not a gold digger?—”
“Thanks for the character reference,” I muttered.
“—because a proper gold digger would have better shoes.”
I glanced down at my perfectly acceptable sneakers. “Hey!”
“He’s got spirit,” Ryan continued as if I hadn’t spoken, “which Matt needs because God knows he can be a stick in the mud. And”—he gestured to Fin and Ethan—”he’s got good friends who come to his rescue when they think he’s being harassed by a mysterious stranger. All points in his favor.”
“Glad I pass the brother inspection,” I said dryly. “Though you could have just, oh, I don’t know, introduced yourself like a normal person?”
“Normal is boring.” Ryan waved dismissively. “Besides, this was way more fun. The look on your face when you marched over here, all ready for confrontation—priceless. Though I have to say, you’ve got guts. Most people would have just sent the muscle.” He nodded toward Bruno and Tyrone.
