The same couldn’t be said for our estate. Jesse appeared by my side, smiling as he motioned for me to join him. “Let’s go find them, huh?”
I nodded lamely, butterflies suddenly fluttering in my stomach when I caught a whiff of a woodsy, masculine scent on my next inhale.Bloody hell, this man smells good.
Despite my errant thoughts, I managed to follow him without tripping over my own feet, eventually finding myself in a hallway that opened up into a wide, fancy sitting room. Father and Winnie were already seated with two men I assumed must be Douglas Westwood and Alex, the brother Jesse had mentioned, and the eldest of this Westwood brood.
Alex stood as we entered, his attention shifting immediately toward Jesse. “There you are, Jess. I need?—”
He stopped short, studying him for half a second like something wasn’t quite lining up, then continued anyway. “Actually, never mind. We’ll handle it.”
Jesse—ifit was Jesse—looked faintly confused for just a moment, like he’d been caught off-guard or mid-thought, but the expression passed so quickly, I thought I might’ve imagined it. This happened sometimes, I supposed.
Identical twins must live in a constant state of mistaken identity. Douglas Westwood rose more slowly, his presence filling the room, and there was absolutely no hesitation in him when he turned toward his younger son.
“Dinner will be ready soon,” he announced. “In the meantime, Jesse, why don’t you give the ladies a tour of the house?”
Father nodded approvingly, as though tours of other people’s homes were a perfectly ordinary activity. Douglas, however, wasalready turning away now that he’d issued his orders. “Alex, walk with us.”
As easy as that, the three men, Father, Douglas, and Alex, disappeared toward what I assumed must be Douglas’s office, leaving us alone with Jesse. He looked mildly perplexed again, but it seemed he was just as adept as I was at shaking things off because the very next moment, he was already sweeping his hand out ahead of him again.
“Alright, shall we?” he asked, glancing between Winnie and me.
My sister groaned immediately. “If this is boring, I’m leaving.”
“It’s a tour, not a hostage situation,” he said. “You’re free to leave at any time.”
To my surprise, Winnie laughed, but I quickly learned that he was effortlessly charming, guiding us from room to room with natural ease. He pointed out details I might’ve missed otherwise, mentioned small bits of history, and elaborated upon certain design choices and who they’d been made by, giving a more personal impression of the house as a whole.
I also noticed that he stayed close to me, but not obviously so. Just near enough that when Winnie wandered ahead or lagged behind, he seemed to fall into step beside me without even thinking about it.
“This place is incredible,” I said as we passed through a long hallway. “Absolutely gorgeous.”
“It has its moments,” he said. “It’s less impressive in winter when the heating bill arrives, though.”
I giggled, immediately feeling silly for it, but I hadn’t been able to help myself. He was funny in a dry and understated way, like he didn’t quite mean to be amusing but it happened anyway.
For a little while, I even almost forgot why we were here, but then his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and made a face like he’d just remembered an unpleasant obligation.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, glancing up at me. “I need to take this.”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly.
He hesitated for a second, like he didn’t quite want to leave, but then stepped away and disappeared down the hall, already lifting the phone to his ear. Winnie flopped down on a chair the moment we made it back to the sitting room.
“This is so boring,” she declared. “We have to go out tonight. I’m not sitting around for the entire trip while old men talk about business.”
I didn’t answer. Just then, Alex stepped out of the office, and as his gaze swept across the room, he seemed strangely annoyed. Peeved, even.
His eyes moved to the space where Jesse had been standing earlier, but Jesse wasn’t there now and Alex’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly. A strange, uneasy feeling settled low in my stomach as I watched him. Why was Jesse’s presence here so important?
CHAPTER 3
WILL
Ileft Dad’s house with Nate still blowing up my phone. It almost certainly meant something was exploding at the office or someone had forgotten to sign something important—or both—but it definitely wasn’t happening in my department.
I dialed him back once I was in my car. “Nate, what’s going on?”
“Will, finally. Thank God. Why the hell did Alex just send an email asking to set up a massively generous prenup for aWinifred RoderickandJesse? Am I reading this correctly?”
