Chapter Twenty-Two

Harry

When I had gotten the phone call yesterday afternoon demanding I meet with William, I’d had a feeling something was up. We had gone weeks without speaking, and now since it had been announced he was getting married, the man wanted to see me all the time. I realized he didn’t have any friends. He had always been so driven, he never allowed himself time to relax and hang with the guys. I almost felt bad for the guy. Almost.

William was already at our table when I arrived at the restaurant. This had been his idea. He wanted to tell me how to plan the bachelor party. I was sure the best man was supposed to do the planning and surprise the groom, but that was not how my brother operated. He needed to be in full control of every detail—except his actual wedding. That he could seem to care less about.

I took my seat at the table and noticed William was finishing off a glass of bourbon.

“Hitting it kind of early, aren’t you?” I asked.

He shrugged. “You’re late, and it is after five.”

I made a big show of checking my watch. “I’m late by five minutes, which is also the exact time after five. You never drink this early.”

“I’m a big boy, Harry. I can decide when I have a drink.”

I smirked. “Yes, you can. Is there any particular reason you’re drinking? Are we celebrating?”

He shrugged. “I wanted a fucking drink. Back off.”

I put my hand up. “Relax. That stick that’s been in Tiffany’s ass has found its way into yours.”

“Fuck you,” he grumbled.

“Wow. Two f-bombs in the span of a minute. You’re in a mood,” I teased.

“Let’s just get this done.”

“You know, I’m the best man. I’m supposed to be the one planning your bachelor party,” I reminded him.

He shrugged. “I have some specific things I do and don’t want. I don’t want cheap strippers, I don’t want to go to Vegas for the weekend, and I don’t want to rent a yacht for some stupid three-day cruise.”

“Wow. I think you give me way too much credit. I hadn’t thought about any of that. Hell, I haven’t thought about it at all. What is it you do want?”

He rolled his glass between his palms. “I want a couple guys, a couple high-dollar strippers, and a lot of alcohol. I don’t want to go to a bar. Rent a hotel and they can go there.”

“Yes, sir. Blondes, brunettes? What’s your flavor?” I asked sarcastically.

“Brunettes,” he said without even thinking about it.

I asked the waiter for a Coke. I wasn’t quite ready to hit the sauce yet. I needed to keep my wits about me. I had a feeling this sudden need for a private dinner to plan the bachelor party was more about my own wedding than his. William ordered another drink.

“Do you want to order some appetizers to soak up that alcohol?” I asked dryly.

He shook his head. “Not really.”

I nodded and picked up the menu. When our drinks were delivered, we ordered our meals. The waiter departed, and William dug into his second drink with gusto.

“Something on your mind?” I asked.

“Nope. Not a damn thing.”

I smirked. That was an obvious yes. “What’s going on?” I asked, trying to be a good brother.

He shook his head. “Things are a tens right now. I just need to blow off some steam. I don’t need twenty questions.”

“Tense how?” I asked.

“Tiffany and all this wedding stuff. It is going to drive me crazy. I’m sure everything will settle down after the wedding. I need to get through it, and then everything will be okay. She’ll relax and go back to whatever it is she does, and I can get back to work.”

I nodded. I had a feeling the tenseness was not only about Tiffany. I didn’t think he was going to tell me about Amber. He would be ashamed to admit he’d had an affair with someone outside his social class. I wasn’t ready to admit I knew about them or that I had overheard them in the library.

“Only a few more months,” I said with a smile.

He groaned and finished his drink in one long swallow before waving his hand and asking for another. Thankfully, the appetizer was delivered with his bourbon.

“Eat something,” I suggested.

He glared at me. “I’m not drunk.”

“I know you’re not. I want to make sure you don’t get drunk. Eat.”

He scowled but took a bite of the shrimp now sitting on the table. He drank, and I tried to make small talk with him, asking about details for the party. I could tell by his clipped answers that he was not interested in talking about the party at all. He was lost in his glass of bourbon. It was as if I wasn’t there at all.

When he ordered another drink, I felt I had to say something. William was not the kind of guy who got drunk. It went against everything he had been taught. He was always in control. Drugs and alcohol had never been his thing. He would have the occasional drink, but getting shit-faced was out of character for him.

“Maybe you should make that your last one,” I suggested.

He looked at me bleary-eyed. “Maybe you should remember who’s the older one.”

“William, I’m trying to look out for you.”

“I don’t need you to look out for me.”

I held up a hand. “Fine.”

He slammed his glass down and glared at me. “Don’t ever tell me what to do.”

I laughed. “Whatever you say.”

“First, you steal my woman, and now you’re trying to tell me what to do. I’m the oldest. I’m the guy who inherits it all. Fuck you, Harry.”

His outburst caught me off guard. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret because you’re drunk. That’s my thing; don’t try to fill my shoes as the fuck-up in the family.”

“You’ve always been jealous. Now you’re trying to take everything. Fuck you, Harry. You aren’t good enough for her.”

“Wait. What do you mean I stole your woman? What are you talking about? Tiffany?” I asked, hoping he hadn’t gotten the wrong idea about our one dance on Saturday night. I had done that because my mother had insisted it would be good optics. We were one big, happy family. And he couldn’t possibly be talking about Amber. Even with the drinks, I didn’t think he would admit to having slept with her.

“Amber,” he growled. “Amber was mine first. You swooped in and took her.”

Huh, guessed I was wrong.

“Uh, you don’t have the market cornered on all the beautiful women in Dallas,” I quipped. “You’re engaged to Tiff-a-ny,” I said, sounding out her name slowly.

He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. Amber loves me.”

I smiled. “But yet you’re marrying Tiffany and she’s marrying me. Why do you think that is, William?”

“She loves me. You’re trying to take her away to hurt me. She’s mine,” he said in a voice that sounded like he was a man drowning.

I stared at him. Did he actually love Amber? I knew he was drunk, and I knew he would never openly discuss his feelings with me, but something was off. Alcohol was the best truth serum. William was speaking the truth. He didn’t have his usual guards up that would hide his feelings from the world.

I made eye contact with the waiter. It wasn’t hard to do considering everyone was watching us. William was about to start a scandal. I had to get his drunk ass home before we both found ourselves in hot water with our parents. I would be blamed for getting him drunk although I was the one sipping on Coke all night.

I handed the waiter my credit card.

“I want another drink,” William said a little too loudly.

“We’re leaving,” I hissed.

“I’m not ready to go home yet,” he argued.

I didn’t respond. Arguing with a drunk person was futile.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, looking me directly in the eye.

“Do what, William?” I asked with exasperation, hoping the waiter would hurry up.

“Why Amber? Why would you decide to take her away from me?”

I sighed. “I didn’t know she was yours.”

He shook his head. “Now you do. Back off.”

Thankfully, the waiter arrived just in time. I quickly signed the ticket and stood to leave.

“Let’s go.”

William looked as if he would put up a fight but must have thought better of it. He glanced around the room and noticed the people watching. He pulled himself together and walked out of the restaurant.

“I’ll take my car,” he said, pulling out his phone.

“No. I’ll drive you,” I said firmly.

I didn’t trust William not to have his driver take him to Amber’s apartment or do something else he would end up regretting in the morning.

Thankfully, William was silent on the drive back to his apartment. I walked him through the lobby and rode upstairs to the penthouse with him. Tiffany was waiting the moment the elevator doors slide open into their foyer.

“Really?” she asked, shooting a glare at me and then her soon-to-be husband. “Why would you get him drunk?”

“I didn’t.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course not. William, I hope you didn’t embarrass us.”

I looked at her with revulsion. That was her first concern. “He didn’t say or do anything to embarrass you. He’s under a lot of pressure. Maybe you could back off with the wedding stuff,” I said.

I didn’t know why I suddenly felt defensive. He was my big brother, and although I wouldn’t say there was any love lost between us, I didn’t particularly like Tiffany and wouldn’t let her beat the guy down—even if said guy had been a dick not twenty minutes ago. Family was family.

When she looked up at me, I was suddenly very afraid. The woman was shooting daggers out her eyes.

“Mind your own business. Don’t you have your own wedding to plan with Miss Nobody?” she sneered.

William looked at her and curled his lips. “That’s enough.”

She seemed to realize she had crossed a line and shut her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “He needed to blow off some steam. He’s not in that bad of shape. Give him a couple ibuprofen, have him drink some water, and put him to bed. He’ll be fine.”

“I know how to take care of my fiancé,” she shot back.

“Fine.”

I turned to leave.

“Remember what I said,” William said.

I turned to look back at him. He had said a lot. I wasn’t entirely sure what part I was supposed to remember. I raised an eyebrow, questioning him.

“MINE!” He said the word with such ferociousness, Tiffany took a step back.

“What?” she asked, looking from me to him.

I shook my head. “Nothing. He’s talking about the bachelor party. He wants to remind me it’s his party and he gets what he wants.”

“Oh,” she said, buying my excuse.

“Good night,” she said and grabbed William’s hand, pulling him down the hall.

“Yeah, good night,” I muttered, stepping into the elevator.

That was not what I had been expecting. William was losing his shit. I had never seen him act like that. It left me with a lot to think about. I had thought Amber’s obsession with my brother was one sided. I wasn’t quite as sure about that now. Was I really a big enough jerk to get between two people who had strong feelings for each other but couldn’t find a way to be together?