“Because I hate her and it hurts to bring up the past,” he said bluntly.
She nodded, feeling for him. Her family smothered her sometimes, but they loved her. And she knew she always had a home to go to should she need it. Smith had no one but a few biological ties to strangers he felt uncomfortable around. “Reid seemed nice. Was that a front?”
He sighed and ate a piece of pastry. “He’s okay. I guess.”
“And Cash? The not-so-nice guy?”
“He’s loud and obnoxious.” Smith glared at his coffee. “And it’s weird that he looks like me.” He paused. “They have a cousin, Evan. I worked alongside him for a while. He’s not bad. He’s pretty smart, actually. He and his girlfriend invite me to stuff, and his mom keeps insisting I call her Aunt Jane.” He got a funny look on his face, one of disbelief and amusement. “She keeps inviting me to her new place in Bainbridge.”
She frowned, not familiar with that neighborhood. “Bainbridge? Is that close?”
“Bainbridge Island. It’s a ferry ride away.”
“Oh. Right.” She sipped her coffee, watching the emotions cross his face. She wondered if he realized how confused he looked. “That sounds nice, your aunt and cousin including you.”
He shrugged. “It was weird. But nice, I guess. I like Evan’s girlfriend.” He gave her a faint smile. “She has a teenage brother who’s really smart. The kid is also a smartass. I like him.”
“A smartass. No wonder you like him. It’s like looking at yourself, am I right?”
“Maybe.”
“So, this thing at Reid’s. You don’t want to go?”
He sighed. “Not really. Reid’s nice, but we have nothing in common. And Naomi is this fiery redhead who owns her own business and dresses in heels and shit. Like, she and Reid are on a totally different level than me.”
“What level would that be?”
He shrugged, and a hint of pink colored his cheeks. “I don’t know. I’m smart enough. But I’m not the executive type. Reid is. Evan is too. He’s a big shot CPA. He, Reid, and Cash own the company. I just work there.”
She nodded and remained quiet while he continued.
“I was fresh out of the Corps when I came home. I knew it was stupid, but my first stop was to Meg.”
She took a moment. “Your mom. I mean, your aunt.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I thought she might be glad to see me. I used to send money home, you know? Thought that might soften her up. But she was just as spiteful as ever.” He drank his coffee and continued to tear at his pastry. “Now I know why. She raised her sister’s kid. And she was secretly in love with my father—Cash’s dad.”
“You know, you really need to write a book about all this. Or maybe a Lifetime movie script.”
His tension eased as he laughed. “No shit.”
She smiled at him, feeling a lot of empathy for a man who hadn’t had much softness in his life, but who still managed to help her in need. He could have turned into a giant jerk after being raised by such a mean-hearted person. Instead he buried his kindness behind gruff words and that huge frame.
“Would getting to know your brothers be so bad?” she asked. “What if you let them in then learn they’re asses? You never talk to them again. Although you do work for them. That could be awkward.”
“I only took the job when Meg told me their names. I was curious. She used to talk about my amazing cousins all the time when I was a kid. I could never measure up.” He frowned. “I used to hate the fuck out of them.”
“I would too,” she admitted, “if my parents constantly talked about them being so great and treated me badly.”
“Yeah. I can’t let go of that. And it makes it tough when Reid or Cash try to be nice. I just want to smash their faces in.”
“Maybe you should. You said Cash is like you.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Then he probably likes to fight too. You should go at it, let the anger out, and go from there.”
He perked up. “That’s not a bad idea. I’d love to rearrange his face.”
