“Imind,” I complain. “I didn’t ask you to come.”
“Be nice,” Donovan says, kissing the corner of my mouth. “He’s here to help.”
“He hasn’t helped at all.”
“To be fair,” Elliot says calmly, “I know next to nothing about Brenda and plan to keep it that way. And unless you figured out who she’s married to in the last ten minutes, you’ve found as much useful informationas I have, Bigshot.”
“You’re more than welcome to head back home and let me handle this,” I growl.
Elliot sneers. “Where would be the fun in that?”
“Yeesh,” Donovan says, moving herself back to the cushion next to mine. “If anyone was still questioning whether you two are brothers, they don’t need to anymore.”
Groaning, I palm my face and remind myself that I should be glad that Elliot is here, even if he’s currently the only thing keeping me from kissing Donovan for what might be the last time in a long time.
“I don’t know what you did to Derek this week,” Elliot says, sounding entirely unfazed, “but thank you.”
I drop my hand to stare at him. “What are you talking about?”
The grin he gives me carries less amusement and more genuine happiness. “Except when we found out we were brothers, this is the first time you haven’t kept yourself reined in. You’re letting yourself be human.”
If only he knew…
“Hey,” Donovan says and takes my hand. I’m more than happy to turn my attention to her because I have no idea how to respond to Elliot. Or I am until I see the way her eyebrows pull together. “You should tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Elliot says, even though Donovan hardly spoke loud enough formeto hear. He reads lips too well, a talent that would drive me crazy if it wasn’t one I’ve learned too.
As my chest grows tight with anxiety, I link my fingers with Donovan’s, not needing her to explain what she means. I want to tell Elliot about my struggles with perfectionism and the panic that comes with it. I want to tellallmy friends. Considering I admitted the truth to a woman I had known for a matter of days, it should be easier to talk about now than it was before. But that doesn’t mean it’seasy.
My issues have caused a lot of problems for my friends, so I’m going to have to work up the courage to come clean.
“Not today,” I decide out loud, and look at Elliot. “I’ll tell you someday, but I’m not going to be able to focus on anything else until we figure this out.”
Sighing, Elliot stands and stretches his arms over his head. “Okay, so… We know Brenda has ties toHot Scoop,” he says, thankfully accepting the change in subject for now. “We still don’t know who owns it, though chances are good it’s whatever guy she has in her life, whoever he is. The site grew in popularity after that first big article about you, even more so when they started talking about me.” He smirks, prompting me to roll my eyes.
“So Brenda is good for business,” Donovan says, taking over the recap. “Except, she went too far with today’s story, andHot Scoopis getting backlash from some of their diehard fans because—let’s face it—I’m extremely lovable.”
“Yes, you are.” I kiss her temple. “Brenda claims that her goal has always been fixing the rift between me and her, and with the wayHot Scooptalked about you, Elliot, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s after you too.”
“I’m going to disagree,” Elliot says, folding his arms. “She pitted us against each other from the beginning and has never once tried to contact me, not even after I surpassed you in wealth and influence.”
“Not sure that last part’s true,” I mutter under my breath, though it’s not like it matters if he has more money than I do. Maybe I’m just speed-running through the three decades of sibling rivalry and jealousy that I was deprived of.
Chuckling, Donovan pats my arm, silently telling me that she heard my grumbled remark. “You’re her greatest mistake,” she says to Elliot, who salutes her. “All of this started when Derek discovered you, and with you in his life, he doesn’t need her. So she’s doing what she can to change that.”
None of this is new information, which means we’re just talking in circles now. “We’re missing something,” I say wearily, “and we’re clearly not going to get anywhere on our own. Either she’s going to have to show her hand, or we’re going to need help.”
“Donovan really did a number on you,” Elliot says. “Derek Riley asking for help? Nowthat’sa story worth telling.” He barks out a laugh.
Rothesby suddenly gasps and sits up straight, looking around wildly. “Sir!”
“Still alive,” Elliot says with a roll of his eyes. “No need to panic.”
Rothesby leaps to his feet. “I’ve failed in my duty to protect—”
“Don’t start,” Elliot warns, but his bodyguard keeps professing his sincerest apologies, slipping into Candoran as he begs Elliot to dismiss him and replace him with a more competent protection agent. Groaning, Elliot takes the man by the shoulder and leads him out of the suite while trying to reassure him that his job is perfectly safe and they should both take a nap before they head back to Candora.
The door closing behind them leaves the suite in a silence that Donovan quickly breaks with a snort of laughter. “Who’s taking care of who in that relation—”
