“I don’t have a twin to send in as a substitute,” he said “Somehow, I don’t think that solution will work for me like it did for you and Will.”
“Then it’s a good thing that’s not actually the solution. Just be as much of a slut as possible and Alex will get so faroffyour ass, he’ll forbid you from marrying altogether.”
Zach blinked a few times in rapid succession, clearly taken aback, but I supposed I didn’t blame him. Unlike the rest of us—and that included Alex and every single last one of our cousins in California—Zach wasn’t making the best of his days as a bachelor by being a man-whore. He was a good kid.
“That’s your advice?” He scoffed. “I actually thought you were serious for a change.”
“I am serious. It’s worked for me so far, hasn’t it?”
“That’s not true,” he said. “Your head was on the chopping block last year.”
“Yeah, but then it got taken off the chopping block, and then having an active social life definitely delayed it being put back on there.”
Zach shook his head. “I don’t think I have a slutty bone in my body, Jesse.”
“Everyone has at least one.”
“No,” he said flatly. “They don’t.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess you might be right. You’re a romantic. You always have been and you always will be.”
He didn’t deny it, but his jaw tightened slightly, his gaze dropping ahead of us as we moved through the lobby. My little brother had made the mistake of falling in love young. Then he’d gotten his heart smashed to pieces and I wasn’t sure he had ever fully recovered.
He didn’t talk about her at all. Hell, he hadn’t even said her name in years.
“You’ll figure it out,” I said finally, not in the mood to unpack Zach’s emotional trauma just after lunch. “Give it some thought, though. You might like it if you try it.”
“Being a slut?” He scoffed again. “I doubt it.”
We stepped into the elevator. The doors slid shut and both of us fell silent for a beat before he turned to me again. “Are you going to dinner tonight?”
“I’m not sure.” I leaned a shoulder against the mirrored wall and crossed my arms. “I’m strongly considering skipping it. Dad is in the Maldives, fully enjoying his retirement and living his best life. I thought that meant we’d finally have some peace around here, but Alex is really taking this whole overbearing patriarch thing to the next level.”
Zach grimaced. “He really is leaning into it. He’s going to gray early.”
“He’s going to blow a gasket,” I said dryly.
The elevator doors opened. As we stepped out, falling into step toward our respective offices, Zach paused. “Colin Thayer’s going to be at dinner, if that helps.”
“In that case, I might make a brief appearance. For Colin. Not Alex. I haven’t seen him for a while. I wouldn’t mind catching up with him.”
Zach nodded, lifting his hand in a wave as he disappeared down the hall. I turned toward my own office, but my mind was firmly settled on the woman I’d stumbled across sitting on that bench with an iced coffee and an attitude problem.
The Westwoods are not my family.I exhaled slowly as the words echoed through my mind.
There was a story there, and I was dying to know what had happened to make her hate our family so much. Maybe a few nights with me would change her opinion.
CHAPTER 8
JACQUELINE
Finally home after a long afternoon of trying my best not to think about Jesse Westwood, I called my mother for our weekly check-in. I’d sworn before I’d left that I would stick to our pre-appointed times, so even if all I really wanted to do was not talk to anyone right now, I settled at my kitchen island and pressed dial.
The phone rang only twice before she picked up. “Jaque?”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Oh, darling, it’s so good to hear your voice. How is Chicago?”