Instead, he smiles, small and sad. “Could’ve fooled me,” he finally says, pushing himself up. “Come on, Carter’s had enough time to cool down.”
It takes me a beat to stand and follow him on wobbly legs up to the house.
He was right. My brother beams, preening under his fiancée’s praise, who has her arms around his middle. Everything about them is so adorable, I get whiplash after the charged air in the barn.
Adam, seemingly unaffected, sets the table, elbowing Carter. “You never cooked for me before. Maybe we should’ve taken our relationship to the next level.”
I grab the napkins, following him around the table. “Not everything can be bought with sex.”
He smirks. “Not to gloat, but it has brought me some perks.”
“What do you mean?” Eliza frowns.
“Relax,” Adam chuckles, bringing out the glasses. “I’m not pimping myself out in the name of corporate espionage.”
“Sure,” I mutter. “Those women give you intel out of the goodness of their hearts.”
I never thought that nudging him toward Congressman Turner’s internship would set him on a path he excels so greatly in. Public affairs suits him in ways I didn’t anticipate. Information is his currency, and if the rumors are true, he’ll go to any lengths for his clients.
He stops, pressing a palm to his chest. “Bless them.”
“You know Casanova almost got himself killed several times.” I smile at him with false sweetness.
Adam places the last glass on the table and looks at me, his forehead comically scrunched.
“What are you, the Venetian Inquisition?”
“Just saying. Carter doesn’t like funerals.”
“And you’d have no problem with my untimely demise?”
I shrug, setting down the Wellington. “I look good in black.”
“I should’ve gone with Mom to Uncle Kenneth’s,” Carter groans as he pulls the chair out for Eliza, who’s pressing her lips to the point they’re invisible to keep herself from laughing.
Adam throws his head back, laughing. It’s infectious. Genuine. And beautiful. He’s shaking his head when his brows shoot up, and he fishes the buzzing phone out of his pocket.
“Excuse me.” He heads to the office, shutting the door.
I get to enjoy this renewed ease with him, letting the past melt away, until reality comes crashing down.
The giddy warmth in me curdles when Carter sighs. “You know I love you, right?”
Oh, shit.
He looks slightly uncomfortable as he gestures vaguely. “I don’t know if this banter is yours and Adam’s…” Carter looks like he sucked on a lemon. “…way of flirting.”
Eliza chokes on her water and hides behind her palms, muffling the poorly suppressed laughs, her shoulders shaking.
I flush hot. When I open my mouth to strongly refute the accusation with a few choice words, he holds his palm up.
“Trust me. It’s nothing I like to think about. But…you’re both in your thirties. Act like it.”
This again. “I’m sincerely tired of your big brother wisdom.”
With a nerve-grating nonchalance, he shrugs. “Just calling it as I see it.”
“Maybe look harder. I’m not your teenage daughter,” I grit out.
