Colin was right. This is pretty intimidating. But somehow, I managed to keep my back straight, my chin up, and my pulse steady. Until we entered the dining room. Then I froze, unable to convince my feet to keep moving.
Because the man rising slowly from his chair, blinking like he was as stunned as I was, was the same asshole who’d jumped in my cab last week. For a long moment, neither of us breathed, but then his lips twitched and not with an apology but with a goddamn grin.
Oh, hell no.It had just become official. This night was actually going to kill me.
CHAPTER 4
ALEX
Tonight, the odds were in my favor. Sometimes, the universe lined things up too perfectly to ignore, because the tall, blonde angel of wrath from my fated cab ride strode straight into the dining room like she’d been conjured just for me.
She paused when our eyes caught, like her brain short-circuited at the sight of me.Yeah, she recognizes me, alright.
She might’ve even been putting the pieces together already while Zach introduced Colin and a woman, Nora, who I assumed was their mother, to Douglas, Nate, and Will. The rest of our brothers were off doing their own thing, which was fine.
We didn’t need everyone here for this. This dinner was meant to be casual, friendly, just a little reconnaissance. What I’d wanted was the chance to scope out the fault lines widening beyond repair over at Thayer Steelworks and to meet the family who used to be in charge.
“This is my sister, Jane,” Colin said proudly, smiling at her with a deep sense of respect and admiration that made me straighten up a little. He looked at her like he trusted her with his fucking spine, but then he said, “She’s the COO at Thayer.”
Fuck.
She’s the COO? The angel of road-rage vengeance with perfect hair and a glare that could char drywall? Well, yeah. Actually, that kind of tracks.
I stepped forward and extended my hand. She hesitated for half a heartbeat before she took it, her grip firm and her eyes locked on mine. She didn’t blink or soften in polite deference. Her chin even lifted slightly as our gazes held.
Yeah, she’s got some spirit in her.
“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again,” I said before my brain had caught up with my mouth, and I was still holding her hand, gripping it like I’d never let go.
The corners of her mouth twitched, but not into a smile. This was something much sharper. Her manicured nails pressed slightly into my skin, just enough to make me let go, and I honestly had to wonder if she’d burned me.
Amazing. She’s just… wow.
“You know each other?” Nate asked. If we weren’t currently being watched by every pair of eyes in this room, I would have kicked him under the table.
“We’ve met,” she said with a gracious smile that fooled absolutely no one. Well, it didn’t fool me, anyway. “Thank you for having us in your home.”
She turned to my father and offered him the same charm, as dutiful, gracious, and polished as I would have expected from a woman with her last name, but to me, she was a trained killer hiding in pearls and a curated dress that had probably cost more than the cab she’d accused me of stealing.
Unsurprisingly, my father was more than pleased by her attention. His interest zeroed in on her like a spotlight and I felt the heat of it aimed at the side of my face. A silent question. A warning. Or maybe just that quiet, Westwood brand ofdon’t screw this up.
When he released her hand, he smiled at her mother, waving her into the seat beside his at the head of the table. “Nora, please come sit.”
Nate and Will immediately took Colin, one on each side of him exactly as we’d planned.Divide and conquer.
But nobody had mentioned a sister—and certainly notthissister.Someone should’ve sent a memo, but I suppose we’ll just have to improvise and adapt.
I slid into my seat directly across from her, giving myself the best view in the house. Jane leaned in close to her mother, her voice soft and her tone steady, as if she was guiding her through the conversation, which was a little odd.
Occasionally, her fingers touched her mother’s wrist, but I couldn’t tell if she was grounding her, giving her a gentle command, or just plain reminding her not to spin out. Honestly, Nora looked fragile.
Or maybe just out of practice.Like social niceties had once been her kingdom and now she just didn’t trust her standing in it. But Jane filled every gap seamlessly.
At times, she turned to Colin to add clarity to anything business-related, but my brothers had been doing this all their lives—business, acquisitions, mergers, and corporate rescue missions.
It was a dance we all knew and I watched them perform it with perfect, choreographed moves as we ate. Except Jane saw every step coming.
Before Colin even realized where the conversation was headed, she’d already rerouted it. A quiet nudge here or a shift in tone there. A single question dropped in at the perfect moment. She wasn’t just participating. She was steering, reading the table the way some people read sheet music.
