Chapter 36

An hour later, we were in the air again, minus What's-Her-Name.

The blond guy looked to Zane and said, "You're a real asshole, you know that?"

Zane had set aside his cell phone and was now leaning back in his seat, looking at nothing in particular.

The blond guy said, "Well?"

Zane spared him half a glance. "Well what?"

"Aren't you gonna respond to that?"

"No."

The guy frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I don't care."

"About what?"

"That you think I'm an asshole."

"I don't think you're an asshole," the guy clarified. "I know you're an asshole."

Zane looked utterly indifferent. "Good to know."

"What does that mean?" the guy said. "Do you mean it's good that I know? Or it's good that you know?"

Zane replied, "Does it matter?"

The guy looked to me and said, "What do you think?"

Oh, so now he wanted to include me in the conversation? After he'd been treating me like trash from the get-go? I tried for a smirk. "I dunno...Does it matter?"

Yes, I realized that I was only repeating what Zane had said, but that was the whole point. It was annoying, and I wanted to annoy the guy.

Besides, I saw no reason to take his side, not after he'd been so eager to assume the worst of me.

With a sound of annoyance – score one for me – he looked toward a nearby cabinet and asked, "What happened to the drinks?"

Zane said, "I got rid of them."

"When?"

"This afternoon."

The guy frowned. "Why'd you do that?"

"Because I don't want to deal with a drunk."

"Hey!" the guy said. "I can hold my liquor just fine."

Zane leaned further back in his seat and closed his eyes. "Uh-huh."

The guy looked to me and said, "What about you? Wouldn't you like a drink?"

Boy, would I ever.

But stubbornly, I still didn't want to take his side. And besides, what was the point of complaining? It's not like we could hit a liquor store in mid-air.

I gave a dismissive shrug. "I'm not much of a drinker." In spite of my drink-cart fantasies, this was actually true.

The guy said, "Well, aren't you special?"

With his eyes still shut, Zane said, "Hey, Teddy."

"What?"

"Fuck off."

Teddy's jaw tightened. "What?"

"You heard me," Zane said.

As the guy replied with some profanity of his own, I felt my eyebrows furrow. Teddy?

I'd heard that name before. But where? And then it hit me. "Oh, my God," I said. "You're Teddy the—" Oh, crap. With a small gasp, I slammed my lips shut and looked away.

Like an idiot, I'd been about to say, "Teddy the Drunk."

My gaze landed on Zane, and I was surprised to see that his eyes were now open. Our gazes locked across the short distance, and I swear I saw a flash of amusement flicker in those green depths.

And then, it was gone, replaced by the bored indifference he seemed to favor when not being an outright prick.

In spite of this, I couldn’t seem to make myself look away. Odder still, he wasn't looking away either. Weird.

Next to me, the blond guy demanded, "Teddy the what?"

With a start, I turned to look at him. Earlier, he'd given his name as Theodore. No wonder I hadn't made the connection. But it did make sense. Theodore, Teddy – yup, they had to be the same guy.

I should've known. After all, he'd been giving Zane all kinds of attitude for most of the flight. And yet, he hadn't been tossed out like What's-Her-Name.

Did Teddy get a pass because he was family?

Next to me, Teddy was still waiting for an answer. "Well?" he said.

Desperately, I tried to think. I recalled snippets of what I'd overheard from inside the catering van, not just from Teddy, but from that Bob guy, too. Finally, I settled on, "Teddy the Cousin."

Teddy's mouth tightened. "Second cousin."

This also made sense. On the Bennington side, Zane had those two uncles. Both had died childless, which meant that Zane had no first cousins, at least not on his father's side. As far as his mother's side, I had no idea.

So where did Teddy fit into all of this? I studied his face. He and Zane looked nothing alike. Where Zane had bold, angular features, Teddy had a fine, delicate mouth, light blue eyes, and pale eyelashes. It's not that Teddy was unattractive. It's just that, compared to Zane, someone like Teddy would totally fade into the background.

Was that the source of his animosity?

No, I decided. It had to be about the inheritance. Zane had gotten everything. And Teddy? What had he gotten?

Kicked out of his house, that's what.

No wonder he was hostile.

Suddenly, I was seeing him in a much more sympathetic light.

On the night of the party, he'd been drunk and belligerent. Today, he was sober, but nearly as hostile. But could I really blame him?

I heard myself ask, "So, why are you going to New York?"

As an answer, he looked to Zane. I looked, too. Once again, Zane's eyes were shut as he leaned back in his seat.

But if he was truly asleep, I was Little Red Riding Hood. Probably, he just didn't want to be bothered. That was fine by me. It's not like I wanted to talk to him, anyway.

In a quiet voice, Teddy finally said, "I'm going to be working in the New York office."

This surprised me. After all, the two guys obviously hated each other. So, why would Zane offer Teddy a job? And why on Earth would Teddy accept?

Then again, who was I to wonder such a thing? After all, I was working for Zane, too, and it's not like I was his biggest fan.

I said, "Really? Doing what?"

Teddy frowned. "Whatever he wants."

He hadn't said who "he" was, but it wasn't hard to guess. I gave Zane another quick glance. His eyes were still shut, and yet, I'd be a fool to forget that he could probably hear every word, assuming that he cared enough to listen.

At the thought, I did a mental eye-roll. Yeah, like we were so fascinating.

Turning my attention back to Teddy, I asked, "So, was the move a sudden thing?"

"No. We worked it out last week." He paused. "This trip was sudden though."

"Really? How sudden?"

"Very sudden." Teddy was frowning again. "Today, I show up at his office for a meeting, and he tells me to pack my stuff, because we're flying out in just a few hours."

I could so relate. I almost laughed. "Yeah, me too."

Teddy's face softened into something that might be considered a smile. "I guess I should say it, huh?"

"Say what?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked.

"For the attitude earlier." He gave a slow shake of his head. "You want the truth? It's been one of those weeks."

My shoulders relaxed, and I returned his smile. "That's all right." And I meant it, too. After all, I knew – probably more than he realized – just how much he was going through.

With a sigh, Teddy added, "After all, it's none of my business who you're sleeping with."

And just like that, my smile was gone. "What?"

"I'm just saying, we all have our issues."

Oh, I had issues all right. Through gritted teeth, I told him for what felt like the millionth time, "I'm not sleeping with my roommate's boyfriend."

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, like I said, it's none of my business."

And yet, he kept making it his business.

I stared at the guy, wondering what his deal was.

At something in my expression, he gave a long sigh. "Sorry. It's just that, shit, I know what it's like to be cheated on." He looked toward Zane, and his eyes narrowed. "Especially when they cheat with your own cousin."