“This was supposed to be invitation only,” he muttered, and Isabella gave him a look of curious confusion.
He’d let the admins handle the invite list, knowing they had a better idea of who would be most sympathetic to the cause. He’d assumed that would rule out anyone affiliated with his family, but apparently he was still capable of being surprised.
“Christian,” Heath’s tone was scathing. “I should have known.”
“It’s so good to see you!”
Heath’s audible scoff made Evan smile. He knew it well.
“Is it? You’ve had plenty of opportunities to see me before this, but somehow we keep missing each other. Like eight or so months ago, when we were supposed to vacation together, but you decided to elope instead.”
“Right. About that. I can explain.”
“Well, I can’t wait to hear it.”
Isabella listened to the exchange happening below them with obvious interest. “By the look on your face, I’m guessing you know who Heath is talking to. Wait, is that?—?”
“The guy he was supposed to be on the island with? Yes, apparently.”
“Well, that’s awkward.”
“Oh, it gets worse.”
She looked at him with pinched brows. “Worse?”
He laughed, his thoughts walking a fine line between appreciating the irony and having a full-on breakdown. When would he learn not to celebrate when things were going well? Every time he did, the universe threw a wrench right at his head.
“That is Chris Westin, my older brother, and the guy Heath has apparently been in love with for years.”
“You’re not serious.”
“I wish I wasn’t, but this is exactly the sort of fucked-up luck I’ve had my entire life, so… yeah, it tracks.”
Of all the rich pricks in the world, Heath had fallen for not just his brother, butthebrother. Chris was the golden egg, the one in charge now that their dear father had semi-retired. That he might also be gay was news to Evan, but it wasn’t like they got together on the regular to chat and catch up. He limited his personal knowledge of family affairs to business, and even then, his attention span was short. Which was why Rich had gotten the better of him in the islands.
“Are you okay?”
He realized his hands were in his hair and he’d mussed it beyond fixing. “Yup. I’m great.”
She snorted and tried to fix it anyway. “What are you going to do?”
“Right now, I’m vacillating between hysteria and making popcorn. My gut says I should do everyone a favor and let Heath strangle him.”
She hid a smile behind her hand as she looked back at the escalating scene below. “I think we should intervene, but quietly. You don’t want a scene on your inaugural evening.”
Right, he knew that. He wasn’t sure how to pull it off without one, because every ear in the room was already trained on the conversation, but he’d figure it out.
One thing was certain—no way in fucking hell he was letting his brother con Heath into falling back in love with him.
chapter 35
. . .
“I’d wanted to tell you about the trip, but things happened so fast…”
“So fast you couldn’t make a quick call? Send me an email? A text? Carrier pigeon?”
“Elopements are very sudden, last-minute things, Heath.”
