“Yes. At first I thought they were messing with me, but honestly? I think they’re completely serious. I got a vibe like they truly believe they’re cursed.”
“If I didn’t have a job, and if I had any money, I’d be on a planeright nowto meet these guys,” Daph says.
Oliver makes a noise he never would’ve made when we were dating—a growly, irritated, overprotective grunt that we all know meansquit your job because I can take care of you and you know I’ll pay for you to fly to Colorado to see your brothers anytime.
As if I wouldn’t beat him to it.
Or try to.
The Oliver I dated was a complete pushover, but this one throws punches and gave my father a black eye a few weeks ago when dear old Dad insulted the fuck out of Daphne.
It’s possible Oliver’s even more protective of her than I am now.
And while he’s on a mission to give away his own fortune now that he’s stepped away from his family’s corporation, he’s still the kind of guy who’ll make sure he has fallback money so that he can do things like guarantee neither of them ever has to work again if they don’t want to and put Daphne on a plane to Colorado to meet our half brothers anytime she so much as thinks about them.
“I need another couple weeks,” I tell her. “Ifmy cover doesn’t get blown. Or if I don’t get eaten by a moose.” I tell them about running into Jonas Rutherford and about the moose, and then finally get to the other reason I’m calling. “And I mentioned Decker’s suspicious? He asked an old military buddy to come check me out. And the military buddy figured out who I am.”
“Oh, shit. Do you need help burying the body?” Daph asks.
Oliver snort-laughs. “You think she hasn’t already taken care of it?”
“He’s fine,” I tell them, which is a complete lie. Rhys is way better thanfine. In all of the ways a man can be better thanfine, which also makes him the complete opposite of fine. “If I disappeared him, Decker would notice, and my cover would absolutely be blown. Instead, we’re…compromising.”
“Is this a naked kind of compromising?” she asks.
My god, I wish. That kiss—and then Lucky interrupting it— “No.”
Silence lingers on the other end of the phone like she doesn’t believe me.
“No,” I repeat.
“I don’t understand what there is to negotiate. He’s a problem, so you have to eliminate him.”
“I’m notthatkind of ruthless.”
“Aren’t you though? Don’t youwantto be?”
“No.”
I wasn’t lying when I told Rhys I wanted to get to know my family. After watching Daphne settle into her life without money, I swear she’s happier than I am some days.
Probably most days, in fact.
Somewhere in the past few years, I’ve realized too many of my friends are the type who are friends with you because it’s better than being enemies.
Or they’re the type who only wanted to talk about work and strategy and success, like your whole worth is determined by how hard you work instead of the sum of all of who you are.
Not all, but enough of them.
And honestly? I’ve been just as bad.
But Daph—when she was disinherited, she moved in with a friend she’d met there at her last college, and I watched their friendship blossom into something that hit my envy buttons in ways that even Daph dating Oliver hasn’t.
She’s so tight with Bea, I sometimes worry Bea’s going to replace me as Daphne’s favorite sister.
Or only sister.
I’m not here getting to know the triplets because I’m afraid she’ll replace me though.
