Page 161 of A Matter of Time

“Your wallet is a travesty.” He grinned wickedly. “The sound the Velcro makes when you peel it apart to pay for something gives me chills. Use that instead.”

“Thank you.” I smiled back, smiling because we both knew the wallet I had now was quite old but there was no Velcro. “I’ve been obsessing about this, wishing I’d just gotten it.” I did that a lot, and always had to judge a purchase not made on the amount of thought I would put into it afterward. Sometimes I was just out for some retail therapy, but other times I really wanted something, and when I didn’t end up getting it, afterward it nagged at me like dripping water in the shower.

“I know you well,” he said before giving me a final pat on the cheek before he was on his way out the door.

The second the door closed behind him, Dylan yelled my name.

“Jory!”

I turned to face her.

“Dane Harcourt is your brother? The architect?”

“Yeah.” I smiled, because when he was my boss, I was proud to claim him, but now that we were family, I practically glowed when anyone mentioned that we were related. He was born to be a big brother, and I was so glad he had chosen to be mine.

“Holy shit,” Chris breathed out, and everyone laughed at him. “Jory, buddy, you could’ve warned me. I’m a huge fan of his work, being an architect myself.”

I shrugged. “Sorry.”

“So where did you guys go for Christmas?” Dylan asked me, carrying the champagne to her refrigerator. “I knew you went out of town, but you never said where.”

“We went to Vail,” I told her. “It was nice. He skied and I shopped and we ate and drank and it was awesome. Next year we’re going someplace warm, like maybe Maui or Cancun.”

“There’s only you guys?” she asked me. “Your folks are gone?”

I nodded. “Only us.”

“You didn’t want to be an architect, Jory?” Chris asked me.

I shook my head. “Nah. He’s the genius, I just ride.”

“You’re a genius too,” Dylan chimed in, cupping my face in her hands. “I promise you.”

I leaned in to kiss her nose.

“But I could kill you for letting that man walk into my house. My God, what he must think.”

“He thought it was charming, believe me.”

“He’s incredible,” she breathed out, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me. “And you two look nothing alike, apart from the fact that you’re both gorgeous.”

I patted her cheek. “He and I are in different leagues, babe.”

“Jory, come over here and dish,” one of the women called to me from the couch. “Sit here by me.”

Fun to talk about Dane and realize they were all amazed. I would have been the same way. It wasn’t often that a man like that walked into your living room.

By eleven it was clear Ray had blown the evening off, so I left to meet Evan at the club. Before I could go inside, though, my phone rang.

“Jory?”

“Hey, Nick.” I smiled into the phone. “How ya been?”

“Okay.”

I stepped out of the way of some people so I was standing in front of the club.

“What’s wrong?”