CHAPTER 5
Trace
“Okay, spill it,” my beautiful wife insisted as she entered my home office. “You’re smiling in that devious way that makes me think you’ve done something extremely bad.”
Like always, the sound of Eva’s voice and her gorgeous smile made me grin at her from my office chair. “I did,” I agreed readily. “Dane is so pissed off that he says he’ll never speak to me again.”
I knew he was just talking. My youngest brother would eventually talk to me. Right now, he was just releasing his anger.
It wasn’t that Sebastian and I hadn’t expected this reaction before we’d sent Kenzie to his island, but the ferocity of Dane’s fury had shocked me a little.
My little brother generally didn’t get angry, and the fact that he was seething was a good sign.
“What did you do to him?” Eva answered, sounding slightly alarmed.
“He’s not happy about Kenzie arriving in his tropical paradise,” I told her with a smirk, watching her take a seat in front of the desk with a frown.
“That’s not good,” she mused. “What if he makes her leave?”
“He won’t,” I answered smugly.
She cocked her head in the endearing way I’d come to love. “You can’t know that. Maybe this will hurt more than it helps.”
“I have to take that chance,” I said in a more serious tone. “Dane needs someone to shake up his life. He’s getting way too complacent about spending the rest of his life on his island alone.”
“What if that’s what he wants?” she argued.
“If I thought that was all he wanted, I’d never have sent Kenzie there. Do you really think he’s happy?”
Eva was silent for a moment before she answered, “He seems…content. Maybe not happy, but okay with himself and his decisions.”
“Is that enough?”
She shook her head. “I know you’re right. I think he deserves so much more. He has to be lonely, but I guess I just don’t want to see him destroyed because we interfered.”
“I don’t want that, either,” I confessed. “But Dane isn’t going to take any chances. His life has been too damn rough. If he’s comfortable, then he’ll settle for the life he has now.”
“What did he say on the phone?”
“He sounds shaken up. He was on a roll with telling me off. I’m guessing he’ll call Sebastian next, and I have no doubt that he’ll see Dane’s anger as a good sign, too. Honestly, I don’t think he’s as angry as he is afraid. He liked the way she confronted him, and he was babbling about her not really even noticing his scars.”
Eva let out a relieved breath. “Thank God. All I want is for somebody to see Dane for himself. He’s so talented, and he’s attractive. Since he started laser treatments, his scars are improving even more, but he doesn’t see it. Theo told me that it’s making a big difference. Honestly, I’d like somebody other than all of his family to care about him, no matter how much money he has or how he looks.”
“Money draws con artists,” I told her reasonably.
She gave me a dubious look, “Like me?”
I shook my head, “Never you, love.” I’d had to almost force the woman to marry me, and I’d known from the start that Eva had been sincere, something I’d never experienced before. That was probably why I loved her so damn much. Money or not, she loved me unconditionally.
She sighed. “I don’t know Kenzie, but Paige swears she’s the sweetest woman she’s ever known, so I’m sure it’s true. She has her own heartache that she’s had to live through. I was hoping she and Dane would connect.”
“I talked to her at length on the phone. I like her. If I was ever going to take a chance, I knew it would be with her. I have no idea if there will be some kind of love connection between her and Dane, but that wasn’t what I was trying to do. My goal was for him to see that not all women are soulless vipers. If they can manage to be friends, I’d be happy. Maybe it would bring Dane out of himself. Maybe he’d get off the island more often.”
“Sebastian really wants him here for his wedding,” Eva said wistfully. “And I want to see him. It’s been a long time.”
“I do have a private jet,” I suggested. “We could always go visit.”
“I’d love that,” she said in an animated voice. “I guess I’ve never even thought about going to see him. I’d feel like I was intruding. He’s never actually invited us.”
“I feel that way, too,” I admitted. “But maybe it’s time for us to just invite ourselves.”
I’d never invaded Dane’s privacy. I figured he wanted to be alone. But I was starting to wonder whether he’d just not asked us to come because he thought we’d refuse. I was beginning to regret giving him his space.
“Let’s talk to him at Sebastian and Paige’s wedding,” Eva suggested. “I wouldn’t exactly be sad to go visit a tropical island in the winter, and I’d like to see more of Dane.”
“Same here,” I agreed. “I just hope he gets to the wedding. He’s been pretty busy for the last few years, and I have a feeling he’s using that as an excuse. The longer he stays isolated, the more unlikely it will be that he’ll continue to come visit. I can’t handle that, Eva. He’s all that Sebastian and I have left.”
“He’ll get here,” Eva said confidently. “He isn’t going to miss his brother’s wedding. Maybe he skipped the holidays, but his brothers are only going to get married once. Well, I hope they only get married once, anyway.”
“I don’t plan on ever letting you go,” I said firmly. “You’re stuck with me.”
Eva was my entire world, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
“Happy to be stuck,” she shot back at me with a charming smile.
“So, how long do we have until the wedding?” I asked my wife. “Has Paige set a date?”
“Not yet,” she said. “But we’re almost done planning, so it should be confirmed soon. Paige is considering relocating the ceremony since it’s going to be so cold here.”
My wife and Sebastian’s fiancée had been planning the wedding for weeks, and I knew my brother was getting impatient. I knew my brother didn’t give a shit where it happened. “It better be soon. Sebastian won’t make it much longer.”
Eva laughed. “He’ll live. We don’t need to hurry. They’re already living together. It’s not like she’s holding out on him.”
“Doesn’t matter. He wants to make it official.” I could understand his frustration. I’d had the same desperate need to make sure that Eva was connected to me. Maybe it was primal instinct, but it didn’t feel right not being married to her. After all, I’d waited my entire life to find her.
Eva changed the subject when she asked, “What else did Dane say?”
I shrugged. “Most of what he was bellowing made no sense.”
“Poor Dane,” Eva commiserated.
“If he gets comfortable with Kenzie, his discomfort now will be worth it.”
“I think it will be good for her, too,” Eva said. “She hasn’t had the easiest life, and maybe living on a tropical island will be a nice break.”
“She’s lived in the city all her life. I think it’s going to be rather unnerving, actually.”
“But it will be a respite. New York gets pretty old,” she argued.
I knew the streets hadn’t been kind to my wife, and there was nothing she loved more than hiking in the mountains. Even though we lived in Denver, we got away as often as possible.
“Do you need a break?” I asked, suddenly worried that I’d been neglecting her.
She stood and slowly made her way to my chair. I reached out and snagged her waist, pulling her down to my lap.
Holding Eva never failed to lighten my spirits. I had no idea how I’d gotten so damn lucky, but I’d stopped questioning my fate. I was just damn glad she’d married me.
“No. I don’t need a break,” she replied with a happy sigh, running her fingers through my unruly hair. “I like getting away, but we do it often enough. I have to be in a city to do what I love, and so do you.”
I could argue that Walker Enterprises could pretty much be headquartered anywhere, but her studies in the culinary arts were a different story. Her talent required a lot of people who wanted to eat, and she was far better off in a place where people could appreciate her skills.
My wife didn’t know it yet, but I planned on buying her the best restaurant in Denver once her studies were complete. She deserved a special place where she could create her own recipes.
“I don’t give a damn where I am as long as I’m with you,” I said hoarsely, tightening my arms around her waist.
“Ditto, Mr. Walker,” she said playfully.
My heart skipped a beat as my beautiful Eva looked down at me with love in her eyes, an expression I’d learned to count on since we’d confessed how we felt about each other. “I love you,” I said automatically, unable to keep my emotions confined inside my chest.
“I love you, too,” she said in a husky whisper as she lowered her luscious mouth to mine.
All thoughts of my little brother faded as Eva flooded my damn soul. I’d worry about Dane later. There wasn’t much I could really do, and I couldn’t concentrate when I had Eva this damn close.
Whatever happened between Dane and his assistant had to be left to fate. I wasn’t going to interfere anymore.
I just hoped that someday, my youngest sibling could be as happy as me and Sebastian. Nobody deserved it more than he did.