The sound he made after his next bite was deeply satisfying. I smiled, finally tucking in myself and finding that he hadn’t been faking it for my benefit. It really was quite good.
Miriam would be proud.
We ate in comfortable silence for a while before I remembered the odd exchange I’d had with the driver that morning. It had gotten me thinking a bit throughout the day and I cleared my throat, taking a sip of my water as I decided how to broach the subject.
“You know, Arnold kept confusing you with Will this morning,” I said. “It sounded like they’ve got a rather good relationship.”
He froze slightly. “Did he? That’s weird, but yeah. I guess they are pretty close. Arnold has been Will’s driver for a while now.”
“Right, he mentioned that,” I said. “Anyhow, it made me wonder when I was going to meet him. Will.”
“You’ve already met him.” Jesse took a sip of his whiskey. “He came with me to the estate, remember?”
“Yes, of course, but that was a long time ago. Arnold made him sound exactly like you are now. I was wondering if I might get to know him a bit, too. He’s your identical twin. He must be important to you.”
Jesse no longer looked at his food, the table, or even me. Instead, he was suddenly intently focused on the bricks behind me. A solid five or maybe even ten seconds later, I leaned forward slightly. “Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat and finally looked back at me. “Yeah. Yeah, I mean, soon. You’ll meet him soon.”
Picking up the glass again, he took another long, deep swallow of his drink and I frowned. Right now, it didn’t really look like he wanted me to see his brother again and I could not, for the life of me, fathom a reason why.
CHAPTER 25
WILL
When I walked into Alex’s office the next morning, he didn’t even bother looking up from the file in front of him. “Close the door.”
“Learn some manners,” I said.
He sighed. “Just close it.”
I did, quietly clicking it shut behind me before I crossed the expansive space and sat down in the chair across from his desk. When he finally looked up, he seemed resigned about something and a rock formed in my stomach.
“Dad is hosting a garden party this weekend,” he said. “In honor of Jesse and Eliza’s engagement.”
The rock grew larger. “A garden party. Are you sure hats and tiny sandwiches are called for before we even know if we’ve really got a groom?”
“Hats and tiny sandwiches are perfect,” he said, though he didn’t look convinced. “Although, with the weather supposed to be acting up, it’ll probably have to be inside. At least Eliza should feel more at home, right?”
“Right.” I leaned back in the chair and sighed. “This is all happening really fucking fast.”
Alex folded his hands on the desk. “I know, but we’re not trying to overwhelm anyone. Dad promised to keep it small. Just an intimate gathering to celebrate their impending nuptials.”
“That means he’s inviting three hundred guests, isn’t he?”
He shrugged. “Maybe he would’ve, but like I said, the weather is supposed to be terrible. He’ll have to take that into consideration.”
“Chicago is going into the early fall, man,” I said. “Isn’t it just shocking that we can’t rely on good weather for a garden party?”
He pursed his lips at me. “Sarcasm isn’t helping anyone right now, Will.”
“Really? That’s funny. I thought you wanted me to be channeling Jesse and that’s all I’m doing.”
He rolled his eyes. “The point is that Eliza needs to be there.”
“Only Eliza?” I arched an eyebrow at him. “Tell me, isJessegoing to be making an appearance as himself, or am I standing in for him again?”
“You sound tired.”
