"What's going on with you? You had a weird look on your face when you came in. Why'd you get here so late?" Kay asks.
Thinking of my almost kiss with Gabe up on the roof, I'm sure I did look weird when I first came in. Probably weird and sexually frustrated.
She moves to the couches set in front of the windows. I take a seat right next to her.
"Oh, I was here earlier to help Emma set up. I just went to the roof for some air. I've been distracted all day. Thinking about the club. I didn't get to tell you that I finally signed the lease for the space.” I haven't told Kay about my family backing out of the deal. I know my best friend and she'll feel obligated to offer to help. I don't want her to ever feel like I'm taking advantage of her generosity.
“Congratulations! It's going to be awesome. I'm going to help and Eli has that cousin who does event planning, remember? She told me that she'd love to help you plan the grand opening.” Kay leans back and sighs heavily.
She looks exhausted. She hasn’t said anything yet but I strongly suspect that she’s pregnant. I remember when she was carrying Hope and the main things she craved were chocolate chip cookies and afternoon naps.
"So, what were you doing up on the roof?"
I can feel myself blushing so I look around, hoping Kay doesn't notice. Finn is now behind the counter in the kitchen. There’s a man sitting on one of the barstools chatting with Finn while nursing a beer.
”Do you want a drink? I'm going to get another drink. I'll be back."
"Okay, I'll just have water though." Kay looks perplexed at my sudden announcement but then Emma sits down next to her. I take the opportunity to slip away.
Finn looks up when I approach the counter and hoist myself up on one of the barstools.
"Sasha, this is my brother Zack." He gestures at the man sitting next to me. "Emma told me you're looking for some business advice. Zack is a small business owner."
So this is one of my choices. I try to check him out without being completely obvious. Zack has an impressive array of tattoos covering his arms and dark hair fashioned into a row of short spikes. He's handsome like his brothers, although in a completely different way.
"Hi. Nice to meet you."
He raises his beer in my direction. I don't know that much about Tank and Finn's situation, just what Emma has told me, but I know that they have several half siblings they never knew about. This guy is the last person here that I would have pegged to be related to Finn but when he smiles at me, there's a welcoming twinkle in his eye. Despite his intimidating exterior, I get the sense that he's a pretty easygoing guy.
I turn back to Finn. "Sorry I was gone so long. That view from the roof is amazing."
Finn nods. "I go up there all the time. It's a great place to think. Very peaceful."
I would agree but my thoughts turn to my mysterious stranger. There's nothing peaceful about the way I feel when he's around. He seems to bring out the best and the worst in me, inciting me to give a voice to my darkest desires and my most shameful truths. But he never made me feel bad about anything I revealed. He seemed to get it: how isolating it can be when you're surrounded by successful people and you know you can never measure up.
But that sense of connection was surely a fantasy. A man who looks like that could never understand what it's like to be a failure. He was just being nice.
And just that quickly I'm a little depressed again. It was nice to share that sense of camaraderie. For a little while it felt like it was just the two of us but it's time to come back to reality.
Suddenly Finn breaks into a huge smile. "Hey, you made it!"
The barstool next to me slides out and someone sits. "I was on the roof. You know I love that view."
That voice, smooth as silk, wraps around me. Oh no.
I turn to my left and look directly into the laughing eyes of my mystery man.
Chapter four
GABE
Sasha turns and our gazes collide. At Finn's introduction, she holds out her hand in greeting and I seize it before she can change her mind. Slowly, the shock in her eyes fades to be replaced by anger. After a moment she looks back and forth between Finn and I and then narrows her eyes at me.
Finn claps me on the shoulder. "Gabe is the other entrepreneur in the family. He owns the shop with Zack."
Zack leans forward. "If you have questions about the paperwork, Gabe is more your guy."
"Yeah, I'm your guy," I echo and her eyelashes flutter at the hidden innuendo in the words.
Dimly, I register that Zack is still talking but all my attention is fixed on Sasha's hand in mine, the warm silk of her skin, the fragrance that teased me up on the roof taunting me again.
She smells like candy.
My phone rings, the sound muffled through the layers of my coat. She tugs, forcing me to release her hand, which I finally do reluctantly. The sensation of her skin sliding against mine is almost worth the loss of her warmth.
She won't even look at me so I finally pull my phone out. Luke's name and number is displayed on the screen.
"Luke? Hey, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon." My newfound little brother has made his wishes to stay detached from the rest of us pretty clear. But considering his talents with accessing information that no one is supposed to have, I took a chance by sending him the pictures I snapped in Max's hotel room. I was counting on his sense of curiosity getting the better of him. He may not want to talk to Max but I'm sure he's wondered what the hell is going on just like the rest of us.