24

Roman

I’m working my way through a blessedly mind-numbing pile of resort paperwork when one of my brothers clears his throat.

“Can I borrow a minute of your time?”

I raise my eyes from the one thing that’s saved me from falling into a deep depression to find that Beau didn’t come alone. He brought Charlie with him.

Beau looks…good. Surprisingly good.

I check my watch for show. It’s nearly three o’clock. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” I take a second look at Beau. “There’s no drink in your hand.”

“Sick burn,” says Charlie, and Beau shoots him a withering look.

“Early to bed and early to rise makes you a boring-ass—” Beau stops when Charlie raises his eyebrows.

“What’s going on?” The two of them rarely attend meetings together. There’s also the small fact that I haven’t called a meeting. They take my question as an invitation and step into the office, each twin taking a chair.

Beau shakes out his shoulders. “The first thing I should say is that this has nothing to do with any kind of illicit photography.”

“Get out.”

“He’s serious,” Charlie chimes in. “It has nothing to do with—” He presses his lips shut at the look on my face, but I can’t help noticing that the amusement doesn’t quite fade from his eyes.

I look back to Beau. “What’s with the getup?”

He looks down at his clothes. Dress slacks. A collared shirt. It’s ironed. “I wanted to look my best when I came to make my case. Our case,” he says with a meaningful look at Charlie.

“What case is that?”

The twins look at each other and give simultaneous nods, which I find both endearing and stupid all at once. Beau makes confident eye contact. “You need to stop with this ridiculous approvals process.”

“No.” There’s paperwork to do, and a lot of other shit besides. I don’t have time for this.

“I thought you’d say that,” Beau barrels on. “That’s why I brought Charlie. Tell him, Charles.”

I narrow my eyes at the both of them. “Tell me what?”

“Since the...incident,” Charlie says carefully, “bookings at the resort building and the rental homes in the club are up. We’re even seeing more interest from buyers.”

It has seemed louder in the lobby over the past couple of weeks, but I chalked it up to a newfound sensitivity to sound. And light. Other people’s joy is abrasive. So is their chatter. It’s not the best attitude for a man who runs a resort and counts on the tourist season to bolster the rest of the year, but I’m living my truth.

Kind of.