“Whatever. Look, if you were in a relationship with Molly, and some hot hooker wanted to bang you—for free—would you go for it?”
“Of course not!” I’d never hurt or humiliate Molly that way.
“Exactly. And if that boyfriend is meant to be, he won’t either. Although my money’s on the hooker.” Noah grins, all smug.
“No. He told her he’s in love with her.”
“His head can be in love with her, but his dick can be in love with someone else,” Huxley says.
“See? Huxley likes my plan,” Noah says.
“No, I was just pointing out that Nicholas doesn’t have to let that other guy’s ‘love’ get in the way. It isn’t like they’re married.”
“Thank you, Hux. I think.” I turn to Noah. “There are lines one should never cross.”
Noah gives me a horrified look. “Lines existsolelyso you can cross ’em.”
“Not really,” Sebastian says. “And I wouldn’t cross them unless you have toandare dead certain you won’t get caught. And the hooker idea is terrible, so don’t listen to Rubicon over there. It’s like some kind of shitty entrapment. Don’t do it.”
“Just trying to help his love life along.” Noah grimaces. “Eight years is…”
A frickin’ long time.But I can’t erase the memory of the pretty, rosy glow in her cheeks when she told me her boyfriend loved her. I wish I could bleach my mind. “Stop. Even if she isn’t dating right now, she thinks I’m like my mom.” Which is another major obstacle to overcome.
Griffin and Huxley choke on their coffee. The others, thankfully, weren’t drinking.
“What the… How the hell did she come to that conclusion?” Huxley manages between wheezing gasps.
“You’re the most reliable one of all of us,” Sebastian says.
“It doesn’t matter.” I shrug. “It happened.”
“Oh wow…” Griffin looks at me with sheer pity.
“I didn’t know it was possible for people to be steadier than you,” Grant says. “What is she? An actuary?”
“An accountant,” I say glumly. “Look, guys. I’m not thrilled about the situation either, but she was just reallypleasedwhen she talked about having moved in with her boyfriend. And her happiness matters more than my feelings for her. It’d kill me to see her miserable for any reason.”
“Jesus, what a waste,” Grant mutters. “She has no idea what she’s giving up by judging you like that.”
My brothers nod in unison.
They don’t really understand. It isn’t just that Molly’s dating Owen right now. It’s also that she’s too young and innocent. She isn’t like us. She wants stability, and the fact that she’s convinced I’m like Mom means I’m not what she’s looking for.
Since I don’t want to think about those things, I turn to Sebastian. “Is the bracelet almost done?”
“Yeah. It should be delivered to your address, like we do every year.” Suddenly he narrows his eyes. “Wait a minute… Is this for Molly?”
I have no choice but to nod.Thanks, Noah.
“Damn. I can’t believe she’s still saying no when you’ve been giving her hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry every year!” Sebastian bristles.
“Not everyone is dazzled by shiny objects, even if they come from Sebastian Jewelry.” I don’t tell him I haven’t given Molly any of them since her nineteenth birthday.
Still, I’ve been asking Seb for a custom piece every year, hoping that one day I’ll figure out a way to give them to her. Meanwhile, I’ve been sending her a happy birthday text and a one-hundred-dollar Amazon gift card so she can have some book money. Georgia told me the more book money the better, although anything over a hundred bucks would probably get weird.
“I know it’s no big deal in your circles to drop a few thousand bucks, but you’re dealing withnormalpeople,” my stepsister told me. “We don’t do four-figure presents.”
I didn’t tell her I was thinking more like five or six figures. I don’t want her to think I’m irredeemably weird. My stepsister often shakes her head and calls me absurd and over-the-top.Anything but normal.
