Hutton

Four Weeks Later . . .

The view has changed, but I’m still kicking it high in the sky among the clouds. Manhattan seems a world away from Houston. Although I’ve been here many times before I moved, I don’t think it will ever feel like home.

I’m more anxious here, the pace faster. My patience thin.

Unsettled.

Although I’ve settled in the same building as my brother, my office is down the hall from Ethan. My paycheck went from a healthy to wealthy, from working for my dad to working alongside my brothers. Considering the crazy real estate market should eat so much of it up, it doesn’t because Ethan kept his promise. I became an owner of Everest Enterprises.

My two brothers have always been my best friends. We’re friends. Allies. So seeing them most days is not such a bad thing.

Since I’ve started my newly created position as chief contracts and negotiations officer over the media division, my hours are better than I expected. But with nothing at home but a fifty-five-inch TV and slim pickings in the fridge, I don’t rush home at five o’clock.

The money is good—nothing like what Ethan earns—but enough to keep me happy. My share may only be a quarter of the pie, but it’s enough to retire on too young . . . if I want to.

I’ve been focused on my career and aspirations since I graduated. I’m doing more than I dreamed, but now it seems my dreams have changed. My routine has become mundane: wake up, workout, work, workout, watch TV, sleep. I never needed fame or pats on the back. I know I’m good at what I do. I’ve always done well when I put my mind, or heart, into something.

I should feel like a king, but things have shifted. One part of my life is fulfilling and the other is empty. Has that been affected by Ethan’s relationship with Singer? Possibly. But I’m ready to strive for more of what money can’t buy.

I don’t give the thought a voice, ever. But I know what’s changed, and I know why.

Ally.

She changed my orderly world, throwing it upside down.

And now a life that should be satisfying has lost its shine. Because of her.

My office door opens on this warm summer night, and Ethan comes in. “Why are you still here?” He checks his watch. “I’m heading out. Singer’s going to be pissed. I promised to be home earlier.”

I chuckle, keeping it light. “You should get going then. I’m going to work on this proposal. I want to get it wrapped up by Thursday.”

“You will. In the morning. Come on. Let me give you a ride home.”

I think about the offer. Since I have the ability to work from home, I stand. “Yeah, I’ll look at it at home.”

Ethan has a magic touch—a belief that anything is possible—and he inspires others to believe the same. Although it’s after seven and getting dark outside, enough employees are still working to convince someone not in the know that it’s noon.

When we walk out of my office, Ethan says, “Go home, people. The work will be here tomorrow.”

That earns a few laughs, but not one person gets up. Their dedication is admirable. Or maybe like me, they don’t have anything or someone worth rushing home to.

Unlike Ethan.

I’m happy he’s found someone. After all the bad in his life, he deserves every ounce of good.

So do I.

I can’t seem to shake the feeling that something is out of alignment or that a piece of this new life is missing. I could fill in the blank if this were a test, but it’s not, so I try not to think about the woman making headlines as she settles into the life she hid from me.

“Want to come over?” Ethan asks, holding the phone screen toward me. There’s a text from Singer, his wife, that reads to ask me to come to dinner.

I check the time as if I have something else going on. I don’t. I don’t even remember if I have food at my place. “Sure.”

Singer sits next to me on the couch, curling her legs under her. I don’t have to look her way to know she’s staring at me. With my eyes on the football game, I ask, “What is it?”

Although my tone is steady, a little annoyance sneaks in. It’s not her I’m annoyed at. It’s me. Even a game can’t hold my attention tonight.

Singer is actually one of my favorite people to hang out with. Besides being a little quirky, she’s funny, and she’s a great match for my brother. With her, he’s the guy he used to be before he became a target of the media and the scum who wanted to either use him or steal from him.

We may be in a penthouse in the middle of New York City, but by how casual Ethan and Singer are, you’d never know it.

When she doesn’t say anything, I roll my neck to the side. “What, Singer?”

She untucks her legs, and her heels push against my thigh. “Why are you so down all the time? Is it the princess?”

Princess. “Why are you crying, princess?”

So much more makes sense these days that made none back then. “Sure. It’s woman troubles,” I reply sarcastically, sliding down and resting my head on the cushion behind me.

“I see through you just like I see through your brother.” She rests her head to the side, continuing to stare at me. “You could go see her. Maybe if she sees you—”

“You read too many romances. This story doesn’t have a happy ending.”

“That’s disappointing.”

I can’t help but chuckle. Tapping her foot twice, I say, “Sorry about that. I know you’d love to see me living the princely life, but that’s not the life for me.”

Ethan cuts through the living room from the hall to the kitchen. “Princely life?”

“Your wife is trying to get me to go after the girl.” I laugh again at the thought. There are so many things in Ally’s and my way that I wouldn’t even know where to begin to get to her. And if there were any possible ways of us being together, wouldn’t she have sought them out?

Sitting on the arm of the couch behind her, he says, “I’m sure you’ve thought about it.”

“I have, but she’s not just any woman. She’s a princess and next in line to rule an entire country.”

Ethan adds, “A bit dramatic.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Me? Maybe you don’t understand. She will literally inherit a country. To rule.”

Shaking his head, he laughs. “See? Dramatic.”

I introduce him to my middle finger and turn back to Singer. “I always liked you better than him anyway,” I tease. “How do I get her out of my head?”

“You don’t,” she says. Her eyes round like coffee cup saucers. She sits up and clasps her hands in front of her. “You don’t because she’s in your heart. Am I right? Is she in your heart, Hut?”

Rolling my eyes, I sit up. “Yes, she’s in my heart. Happy?”

“No. Not until you are.”

“Don’t worry about me. You have enough to worry about right there.” I signal toward Ethan.

He kisses her head, and then says, “He’s right. I’m happy to have all your attention on me.”

“You already get all my time.” Pretending to pout, she crosses her arms over her chest, looking back at me. “I want to meet a princess. Oooh, and go to a ball. Do you think they have balls in Brudenbourg?”

“I have no idea what they do there.”

“Maybe we should look it up.” She moves to get up, but I grab her ankle before she can escape. As she hops on one foot, she says, “Please let me look it up.”

“The country or Ally?”

Standing steady on her right foot, her hands go to her hips. “Hutton, you can’t give up. Your heart is not ready to.”

I release her, hoping she doesn’t start stalking Ally online, and lie back. “What about the rest of me?”

“You’re going to be okay. I promise. Things will work out exactly how they’re supposed to.”

“Famous last words.”

Sitting in a private room of an Italian restaurant, I’m bouncing my knee under the table as I finish off the bourbon, no ice to clink around the glass when I set it down.

“When are we going to eat, Huddy?”

Huddy . . . grrrr. Hearing the d’s instead of t’s raises my blood pressure. Add the y and I need another stiff drink. I shift my gaze to my left. The wrapping is so pretty, but the present is empty when it comes to Starla. It’s the second time I’ve taken her out, but by how she’s acting, you’d think we were a thing. We’re not.

It may be rude, but I’m ready to go, and we haven’t even ordered. “When is Bennett getting here?”

Ethan shakes his head. “He said in ten like thirty minutes ago.”

Our youngest brother joined the company two months ago after moving from California. Since I started a new division off the parent company, Everest Enterprises has diversified into media. Bennett is leading the sales team to become a global provider of media entertainment.

He’s got the Everest charismatic genes to seal the deal, and after spending time in Hollywood, he’s using his knowledge and connections to our advantage. But the fucker is always late.

The door opens. I’m expecting the waiter, ready for a fresh drink, but my brother finally shows. “Thanks for gracing us with your presence, Benjamin.” It’s not his name, but Ethan and I use that name when we want to fuck with him.

A file hits the middle of the table, sending a breadbasket to topple over. “Read it and weep, fuckers.”

When Ethan takes the folder, Starla points at the bread that’s rolled onto the table. “Thank God he’s here. I almost resorted to eating the carbs.”

“You could. It would be okay.”

“One piece of bread and I wouldn’t fit in this dress. Don’t you like me in this dress?”

I hate when grown women talk in a baby voice. I reach for my drink because I hadn’t really noticed the dress if I’m honest. But then I see it’s still empty. I’m definitely not good company for her. Rhett Matthews, the CFO, set me up with her. I never asked how he knew her, but I guess she had been asking him about me, and on a drunken night in Brooklyn, I asked her out.

The problem is, I need to be drunk to tolerate her company, and I only have myself to blame for the second date. Sure, she was texting me all the time, but I could have said no, like I did to having sex with her. Ever since . . . I’m careful to dance around the princess’s name, the bar has been raised way higher than Starla can reach in her six-inch platforms.

We can’t be more opposite. “It’s a nice dress.”

“See?” she preens proudly. “That’s why I don’t eat carbs.”

Surprised by this tidbit, I ask, “What are you going to eat at an Italian restaurant?”

“Salad.”

Ethan stands. “You did good, Bennett. This exclusive could put us on the map.” His eyes dart to me, but then he hands the file back to Bennett. “You need to talk to him about this. It’s his division.”

Bennett has the same percentage of shares in the company as I do, but he gets the perks of not having to be the boss. I need to learn to negotiate better. All those times I argued with my dad like we were in court didn’t pay off. I saw dollar signs and signed on the line.

My brother sits in the empty seat across from Starla. “Hey, how are you?”

Acting coy, which is something she’s never been with me, she replies, “Great. How are you?”

I get it—nice packaging—but I want his attention on the news, not my date. I snap my fingers to get his attention. “What exclusive?”

Bennett replies, “We made the cut.”

“For?”

“Exclusive and full coverage of the crowning.”

It’s like pulling teeth. “What crowning?”

With his eyes on Starla, he replies, “The Brudenbourg ceremony.”

My vision sharpens, and I tilt my head to the side. Did I just hear that right? “What?”

Bennett finally turns to me. “When the princess becomes queen. The coronation.”

None of this makes sense; a lot like it didn’t the last time I was dealing with something involving Ally. Damn it. Her name slips off my tongue as if it’s been lying in wait to fuck with me again. I hate the way my heart beats against my ribcage, and my throat feels thick when I think of her. It’s fucked up that my palms sweat and my body heats thinking about her.

Why the fuck am I even bothering to pretend with Starla? This is not who I am. I take the file and stand to leave. “When is the coronation?”

“Not sure. There’s no date set yet. The public relations firm who represents the family—”

“The family?”

“The royal family. They’ve requested the bids be submitted in two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” I bark before I even know what I’m upset about. I know. I just refuse to acknowledge it in a room full of people.

Bennett adds, “In person.” He shifts when the waiter comes in to top off the glasses and fill his wine glass. He takes a drink while Ethan smirks.

Fuckers.

Holding the file, I push through the door and leave.