Dom scowled at him, bringing some humor to the tense moment.
I looked at Jesse. “The reason I had such an intense reaction to seeing you was not to hit on you. I was actually shocked, and I’m still shocked now.”
“About what?” he asked, amused.
“You could be the identical twin to one of my friends from college. He was killed in a car accident twenty years ago.”
The humor slipped from his face, and his eyes widened. “Where did you go to school?”
I looked at him, confused. “UC-Berkeley.”
He dropped his gaze to the floor, then looked up at Dom. “Can you get Cooper, babe?”
Dominick looked at me, then back to him with confusion. “Okay, why?”
Jesse looked at me when he answered. “Because I think Preston is going to tell me he knew my Uncle Seth.”
Now my eyes bugged out as Nick and Dominick looked back and forth between the two of us.
“Uh, yeah. Give me a second to get Coop.” Dominick worked his way through the crowd and returned with his brother-in-law.
“What’s up?” he asked Jesse, looking from me to his brother.
“Coop, who does Mom say I look like?”
Cooper looked at him. “Uncle Seth. Why?”
“Holy fuck. What are the chances?” I muttered as Nick moved over to my side.
“Show them the photo, babe.”
I nodded and unlocked my phone. Pulling up the photo of Seth, Alejandro, and me taken in college, I handed it to Jesse.
They gasped in disbelief and I looked up at Nick. “Good call,” I whispered.
“Tell us how…where…” Cooper asked.
I smiled. “Your uncle was one of my best friends in college. He shared a suite with me and Alejandro, and we were closer than brothers. When he died in that accident, it took us to our knees for a long time.”
Alejandro walked up and leaned on the bar. “Did you show them?”
I nodded. “He’s their uncle.”
“What?” he asked, shocked.
Jesse spoke up as he handed my phone back. “He was our mother’s younger brother. I was ten when he died. And I’m shocked.”
“I understand. That was my predicament as well. When I walked away from you all, I went to my office and called him,” I said, motioning to Alejandro.
“I can confirm that. It was unreal.”
“Now I really feel like an asshole,” Dom muttered.
I held out my hand to shake his. “No, man. I would have reacted the same way. There are no hard feelings on my end.”
“Thank you,” he said.
Cooper broke in. “Can you guys come sit with us? We can talk more. The guys are going to be surprised.”
