"Sorry, just driving. Got distracted by..." I trail off, not wanting to explain.
Alder is quiet for a moment. “I guess I’m working out without you.”
I drag a hand along my unshaven jaw. I hate disappointing my twin. All my brothers. “You can’t get Gunny to sweat with you? Or Odin? We have all these siblings, Alder…”
He growls into the phone. “Something’s up with you, Fucker. Where even are you?”
I sigh and stare at my darkened phone on the magnetic holder. “Hung out with Stellan and his friends. Nothing big.”
I consider telling him about Sloane, but something stops me. I don't want to hear Alder's take on it, don't want him to reduce it to just another conquest story.
"Bullshit. Stellan’s in some cave doing bar exam prep."
"Look, can we talk about our family whereabouts later? I'm trying not to die on these mountain roads."
Alder sighs. "Fine. But I'm coming over tomorrow with kettlebells."
"Whatever you need, bro."
We hang up, and I crank the music, trying to drown out my thoughts.
Back in Pittsburgh, I pull into the private garage beneath my building and take the elevator up to my loft. The doors open directly into my living room, all floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek modern furniture that my decorator picked out. I toss my keys onto the floating glass console by the door and drop my bag on the leather sofa.
The place feels emptier than usual. Sterile. I wander to the kitchen and open the refrigerator, staring at the sparse contents—protein shakes, sports drinks, and takeout containers from restaurants I don't remember ordering from.
Without really thinking about it, I find myself searching for Sloane online. There are paparazzi photos of her and Josh doing regular shit like walking into buildings. He never has his arm around her. She never smiles in any of the photos.
Some sports blogs mention the divorce, and, of course, they make it all sound like her fault, but none of them list any specifics. Sloane is way too classy to talk to the press aboutwhatever went down with her and Josh. I only knew her for a few hours, but I could tell that much.
Frustrated, I toss my phone onto the counter and unzip my duffel. I pull out Sloane's necklace again, the gold sun catching the afternoon light streaming through my windows. It's simple but elegant, probably not expensive but clearly meaningful to her. I should find a way to return it.
It’s the chivalrous thing to do.
I walk into my bedroom and open my underwear drawer, carefully placing the necklace inside. Not because I'm some creep who collects trophies, but because I don't want it to get lost. Because I need to know it's safe until I can find a way to get it back to her.
Because it's all I have left of a night that felt like something more than what it probably was.
I close the drawer and sit heavily on the edge of my bed. My phone buzzes from the kitchen—probably Howie or Spinner sending more yacht photos, rubbing it in that I'm missing the trip of a lifetime.
But I'm not sure I would trade last night for anything, not even Monaco with the boys. And that thought scares the shit out of me.
CHAPTER 5
SLOANE
There is a war inside me.On one team, the pleasant soreness in muscles I had forgotten about, thighs deliciously sore and visibly bruised with tiny bite marks.
On the other hand, a dread-soaked ache, the absence of my grandmother’s necklace. Unimaginable loss compounded with guilt.
Mel throws a piece of cereal at me. “You ready to talk yet?” She sits at our rigged-up kitchen counter, getting breakfast together. When I moved in and saw how she couldn’t reach anything, I rearranged the furniture and sawed a few inches off the legs of a rolling island so she’d have a workspace to prepare her own food.
“I lost my necklace,” I manage, still pawing at my empty throat.
“Oh, babe. I’m sorry. Want me to call Stellan?”
Mel knows that the necklace is the only physical thing I really care about. My grandmother, who always worked two jobs to feed and house us, bought me the gold pendant when I started college. She was so proud that her grandchild was going to a university.
The small sun charm was her way of reminding me to "find light even on dark days."
