Chapter One

Nathan

I pored over another real estate contract, making sure the legal team downstairs hadn’t missed anything crucial. Neatly stacked piles of documents lined my desk in my office overlooking the city. The gorgeous view was a waste for me since I was forced to focus on paperwork.

Work never seemed to end, but in the real estate business, you had to keep your wits about you and always be on top of things. Otherwise, someone else would come along and steal a client right out from under you or snap up a lucrative deal. It was a cutthroat business, but I managed to keep our company the most profitable in the city of San Diego.

My father had passed his company to me when he retreated from the world. Taking the reins was an amazing opportunity, and I enjoyed every second of it, until my brother Nick decided it was time to get his shit together and make his worth known to our father. I couldn’t fight Nick on it since technically, the business had been handed down to both of us, but I couldn’t stand the way Nick walked around all high and mighty, trying to take over everything.

I had literally dedicated my entire life after college to this company, and then Nick traipsed in and uprooted everything. But that seemed to be how it was for us our entire life, Nick wanting what I had, and using the older brother card to take it. I knew Nick had no real interest in being a real estate mogul, but we both wanted to make our father proud. So I dealt with his presence, trying to put out fires he made before they became full on blazes.

I took in a deep breath and looked down at my laptop. The email symbol was flashing and rotating around in a circle. When I clicked on it, I saw Nick’s name as the sender, and I sighed. I was really hoping it was one of our bigger clients who were trying to finalize a multimillion-dollar real estate deal. As I opened the email, a picture appeared.

My brother smiled at the camera mischievously with his arm around Ronni. They were standing in the kitchen of our father’s estate. I hadn’t realized that Ronni was back in town already. I slammed the lid of my laptop, irritated by my brother’s brash reactions to things. He always tried to rub it in my face and be the first at everything. I gathered my things and headed down to the garage to grab the car and head over to my father’s. Luckily, it was midday so traffic wouldn’t be too bad in Coronado where Dad lived.

I was glad I chose to drive the convertible Audi today, as the San Diego sun was shining bright and warm overhead. I pulled out of the building and took to the street, heading for the bridge. I crossed over and looked down at the large Naval ships sitting at port and the city disappearing behind me, and I thought about the first time I ever met Ronni. I was sixteen years old and obsessed with cars, chicks, and anything and everything that was the complete opposite of my father’s business and learning it. I was a rebellious teen that knew just how far to take it because I also knew where the money came from.

Mother had decided that we needed some live-in help to keep better care of our estate, so she hired a really nice couple from Mexico. The couple had a six-year-old daughter.

At first, I really didn’t pay any attention to Ronni. I was ten years older than her, and she was just a little kid, running around and getting in my way. The thing I remembered most when she was that age, was the fact that she had big, striking, dark eyes. With Ronni’s parents working here in Coronado and living on the premises in the servants’ quarters, it gave her a chance to get a better education than she had in Tijuana.

I always noticed her sitting at the kitchen counter while her mother cooked, studying her English diligently. Sometimes, I would try to help by speaking in my broken Spanish, but it just got confusing. Ronni was incredibly intelligent on many levels, and though I wanted to help, she started following Nick around and mooning over him. He was the older brother, and even I had to admit he was cooler than me back then. I just put it out of my mind, not really thinking about it, other than the times that I would run into her sitting in the kitchen studying.

Then that day came. The day that changed her life forever and the lives of my own family as well. I could remember the day like it was yesterday. We were gathered in the living room, speaking to the police who had brought news of the car crash. Ronni was still at school when the police first arrived, but I remembered standing in the living room and seeing her enter through the front door. It was the last few moments of her childhood. If I had realized it then, I would have run to her, pushed her out of the house, and prolonged those last cherished minutes of innocence.

She walked in and looked at the tears on my mother’s face and the police staring at her with sadness, and she knew. No one had to say it. I reached out, as if life were in slow motion, and caught Ronni by the arm as she dropped to her knees. My mother ran over, scooping her delicate little body into her arms and covering her, trying to keep the pain out. I think we all grew a little bit that day.

Ronni didn’t have any family left in the states now that her parents were gone. My mother knew sending her back to Mexico would mean a very hard life for her. So, doing as my kind-hearted mother always did, she brought Ronni into our home permanently. She made up the room right next to hers and treated exactly as if she were her own daughter.

My father kept a distance, but since he loved my mother so much, he did what he could to make Ronni feel as if she were part of the family. That was really important to my mother, for her to feel like she was part of the family. We always made sure to listen to our mother, knowing how kind she was and knowing how she was the glue that held this family together. So, there she was, our new little sister, too scared to speak up, but kind enough to treat us how she always had.

Now that she was back home, I couldn’t wait to see her. I weaved in and out of traffic, hurrying toward my destination. The closer I got to my father’s house, the faster I pushed the car and the more my thoughts of the past overwhelmed me.

After Ronni became part of the family all those years ago, I lost track of everything. I was in my own little world, being accepted into the Ivy League, having my outrageous college experiences, and almost looking down on the “servant’s daughter.” Looking back now, she probably could have used my friendship, but at that time, I didn’t even know how to introduce her to my friends, much less find anything in common between us.

A few years after Ronni’s parents died, more dark times hit our family. We lost my mother, too, when her kind, loving heart gave out on her. When I got the news, I was stunned, broken, and completely unable to come to terms with it. Everything changed that day, and my father fell into a deep, inescapable bitterness. Ronni was no longer protected by my mother, so father sent her off to boarding school, trying to get rid of any reminder of my mother’s unrelenting kindness.

For me, it was easier to stay where I was, finishing school, building my career, and just trying to get past the fact that my dear sweet mother had died so suddenly. I knew that this meant that my parents’ real estate empire would end up falling on me and Nick, but I knew Nick was not someone I could rely on. He never had been. I’d grown out of my wild lifestyle after high school, but Nick stuck with the parties, the girls, and the freedom of being a rich boy with no responsibilities. However, knowing I had security and that my father trusted me with his business, was worth it all.

When I finally came home for the holidays, my father was even worse than before, and Ronni was sixteen. I hadn’t seen her since my mother’s funeral, and she tried not to come home for holidays. This year, though, she didn’t have any other option. When I walked in, I didn’t even recognize her. The chubby little Mexican girl with a toothy grin had slimmed, trimmed, and transformed into an absolutely beautiful woman. I could barely take my eyes off of her, and when Nick arrived, I had to pull him aside and remind him that she was like our little sister.

My father didn’t seem to notice Ronni at all, and she went around fixing the table and helping the servants prepare for the holiday dinner. Her spirits were high, and I found instant comfort in her positive outlook on life. She was, indeed, a light in the darkness of our family. Her charming smile, long dark hair, and same striking eyes glimmered in the candlelight of the house.

My father hadn’t even thought of decorating for the holidays, but he reluctantly agreed to allow Ronni to do so, knowing it was her and my mother’s favorite thing to do every year. Nick and I chipped in to help, hanging lights, putting up wreaths, and finding the perfect tree for the living room. We laughed and joked with each other as if nothing had ever happened in our lives, but on the inside, Nick and I both were struggling to remember to see Ronni as our sister and not the sexy young woman in front of us.

For the next few years after that, I found myself at my father’s house more often, usually when I knew Ronni would be coming home from school. Every time I saw her, she seemed as if she had grown more and more beautiful. He body filled out, her lips were strong but pouty, and her eyes cut right through me. She had worked really hard in school and ended up getting a full scholarship to a private college, and when she left, I did everything I could to get her out of my mind.

But still, late at night, I couldn’t help but pull up her Facebook page and stare at her amazing smile. I had to keep reminding myself that my mother wanted Ronni treated like part of the family and not like the girl I was dreaming about. My father, on the other hand, was still stuck in his depressed anger, and he didn’t treat Ronni like anything more than the servant’s child. It made me sad for her.

Now, knowing she was back and standing in my kitchen looking more amazing than ever, I couldn’t seem to get there fast enough. Sure, she was supposed to be like a little sister to me, but the look on Nick’s face made me feel sick in the pit of my stomach. I tried to tell myself I was just being protective, wanting to get a scumbag like Nick away from her. But I knew that wasn’t the only reason, and that was why I was driving wildly down the backroads to get to my father’s house.

As the road turned and carved out of Coronado and up the cliffs overlooking the city, I couldn’t help but think about all the times my mother would take me on drives through the canyons. It was absolutely amazing out there, and I could still hear Ronni’s laughter as we passed the Native refuge where the horses ran wild in the fields. It was one of my favorite memories of my mother, and until then, I hadn’t even remembered that Ronni had been with us. Come to think of it, Ronni had always been there, even before her parents were killed. My mother had taken a special interest in her, feeling that she wanted to show her all the beautiful things that we took for granted on a regular basis.

Nick hated spending time as a kid just driving around. He wanted to be back at home with his brood of rich friends. But for me, I loved every moment of it, and I was so glad that I still had those memories of my mother. I was able to look at them as memories that helped me through my mother’s death, but Nick and my father had their own vices to deal with. And apparently, from the looks of it, Ronni seemed to be one of Nick’s new vices.