“How was the firm today?” River asked. “I’m excited to come visit once I’m settled in.”
I took a seat at the counter. “It’s good. Kai and I were running the firm from the condo here for so long, it still feels like a luxury just to get out of the house.”
River laughed, and I tried to ignore the way it sounded like wind chimes. “And now it seems like Kai lives at the office. Whenever I Skype him, he’s there.”
“We both spend too much time there,” I admitted. “But at least we’re having fun.”
“Yeah, I was looking at your website. The client list has grown so much.”
“More clients, more drama,” I said. “But that’s how PR goes. One of my busiest clients was in today with a black eye from her ex-girlfriend’s current girlfriend. An attempt at a romantic reunion gone horribly wrong.”
River winced. “Sounds messy. Romantic reunions are usually much better in theory than in reality, I feel.” The way he said it implied he had experience on that front, and as I held his gaze, I saw there were clouds in his eyes. Even with a friendly smile playing on his lips, he looked a little tired and touched by something sad.
I smiled softly. “I would pass your advice on to my client, but I know she wouldn’t listen. Anyway, their bad breakups are good for my wallet, and the work keeps me busy.” River scrunched up his face in a frown, like I’d said the wrong thing, and I nervously changed the subject. “What about you?” I asked. “Have you figured out any plans for Pittsburgh yet?”
He shook his head. “I’m still landing.”
I heard the door pop open, and River turned. “Kai?” he hollered.
“Little brother?”
I grinned and followed River to the front of the condo. As I watched, the brothers took each other in a long hug. Kai slapped River on the back, like he did with me sometimes when he was emotional, and when they pulled away from each other, they each had big smiles on their faces.
They started catching each other up immediately, and I stepped away to heat up the rest of the leftover pizza and grab a few drinks. Kai’s regular serious expression softened around his brother, and River’s clouds brightened, too. On the sectional, River curled his legs under himself and waved a hand loosely through the air while he talked, and I caught myself staring at his fingers as they dipped from side to side.
Probably, if Kai hadn’t gone and scolded me about not sleeping with River, right then would have been the moment that I could have let go of the sensations stirring at the core of me. I wouldn’t have sat there, distracted by his soft skin and umber eyes and by the slim V of his hips, sticking out above the low waist of his sweatpants.
But Kai’s voice was in my head, echoing.Keep your filthy hands off my brother.
And the vision of River, naked on my bed, lingered in my mind.
And so that became about the only thing I could think about—what it would feel like to put my filthy hands all over his brother’s body.
“The Red Bottle is hiring, aren’t they, Leo?”
I startled and turned to Kai. He had his hands on his knees as he looked at me expectantly.
“Right,” I said. “The Red Bottle.” I turned to River. “You want to work as a bartender? They just hired someone for Tuesday nights, but I could ask around to see if anyone else knows of an opening.”
Just hopefully not somewhere I frequented. I might need places to go and get away from the roommate who was making my cock swell.
River shook his head quickly. “Not really. Honestly, I’d be happy filing paperwork and organizing spreadsheets for a while, like I did back in London. Just something nice and quiet.”
Kai’s face lit up, and the second I realized why, my gut twisted. “Wait—” I started.
“Leo needs to hire an assistant,” Kai said brightly, talking over me. “You would be perfect. His last two haven’t worked out.”
River’s face twisted up a little with what looked like worry. “Oh, I don’t want to impose.”
“No, really,” Kai continued. “It’s good pay. We’d get to hang out around the office. And you’ve got experience as an administrative assistant, so it’s not like a family favor you don’t deserve or anything.”
My mouth fell slightly open. I was desperate for a good assistant after two disaster hires in a row, but this would be significantly worse than just having confusingly hot River as my bartender.
“River might not want to work at a PR firm,” I said, stumbling over my words as I reached for an excuse. “There are so many other industries in Pittsburgh, you know.”
“Come on,” Kai said, prompting River. “It would be fun. And it would save you the hassle of looking for a job.”
River seemed to consider that last point carefully. He tapped his fingers along his knee, sighed, and nodded. “If you really think it’s a good idea,” he finally answered. “Thanks.”
