“Like Delaney?” I ask it as a question, but I already know the answer.
“Yeah, like Delaney.” Henry manages to get the words out between sniffles. I’m pretty sure he needs more consoling now than I do.
“Let us help you start treating yourself better. Allow us to convince you that you can have nice things,” Hayden says.
“Like Delaney.” Holden can’t hold in his laughter or hide his smirk at his attempt at humor.
My tears have stopped, and Henry’s have slowed—thank God—and though I shouldn’t encourage him, I’m so busy fighting a smile that I didn’t catch the sneaky chuckle before it came up out of me. Soon, we’re all four laughing at the stupid joke, and when we finally settle down, we all lean back in our chairs. We sit quietly after the heavy conversation.
Except Henry. He has his phone out and is typing away. When he’s finished, he places it on the table and leans forward.
“Okay. I’ve ordered Chinese food for us. We’ve got some work to do.” Henry looks between each of us while he talks.
From the looks on their faces, Holden and Hayden are just as confused as I am by his declaration.
“Now, let’s tag-team this and figure out how to fix our brother,” Henry teases. I roll my eyes, and he grins at me. “Seriously, though, it’s clear you’re dealing with some stuff?—”
“Yeah, ‘cause you legit lost your mind at that fundraiser,” Holden adds.
“Not helping,” Henry says to him. “Let’s brainstorm how to fix it. Even better if we can do it before the food arrives.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Harrison
Istare down at my hands, throat tight. How much do I share about where my head—and my heart–is? I deliberate for only maybe thirty seconds, then figure what the hell, it can’t hurt… hopefully.
“Yeah, I’m messed up right now. I don’t know what to do about it. But there’s nothing you can do either.”
No one speaks for a long moment. Then Hayden says quietly, “It’s her, right? Delaney. There’s some kind of history there?”
I glance up. “Yeah. There’s something there.”
“Ruthie says it was a one-night stand,” Henry says carefully. “She claims Delaney blurted it out at lunch. What was that about?”
“It was a business lunch,” I say. “We were going to the building department, and we grabbed food beforehand. Ruthie and Lester crashed it. You know Ruthie; she wouldn’t stop prying. So, Delaney just said it was a one-night stand. I should’ve known Ruthie wouldn’t keep that to herself.”
“So, it’s true?” Hayden asks. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, and I’m not slut-shaming you.” His half-grin says he’s trying to lighten things up.
I know my brothers will keep everything we speak about here confidential.
“It was… different. I don’t know how to describe it.”
They’re all watching me. I lean back and sigh. Delaney did tell me she’s not ashamed of how we met.
“Listen, I’m not telling you every detail. But it was the anniversary of Dad’s death. I was at that god-awful conference Henry made me go to—” I shoot him a look “—and I was at the bar, feeling sorry for myself. Then she walked in. Gorgeous, yeah, but it was more than that. There was a profound sadness in her eyes. Something in me recognized it and couldn’t ignore it.”
I pause, remembering. Even then, before I knew anything about her, I hated that something had made her sad enough that I could see it.
“She told me it was the worst day of her life. I still don’t know why, and she never told me. She was trying to get drunk on cheap whiskey and could barely swallow it, so I bought her a bottle of Macallan. She didn’t even realize how expensive it was, and that itself was refreshing, charming. We went up to my suite, talked, drank, and snacked. For those few hours, it was like the pressure on my chest finally eased. We laughed, and the sadness dimmed for a while. And yeah, one thing led to another. She stayed the night.”
“So, what’s the problem?” Holden asks gently.
“The problem is that she snuck out the next morning. Then she showed up at Henry’s wedding and ran from me again. Now, suddenly, she’s here. And I can’t get her out of my head. Even before she started working for us, I couldn’t—it’s worse now, though. A hundred times worse.”
“Why not just get to know her as friends?” Henry suggests. “Ask her to dinner.”
All three of them have their full attention on me.
