As for Carter and Sebastian, they were off somewhere in the background “doing things.” I had no clue what those things were, but I wasn’t upset they didn’t join the call. I wasn’t prepared to think about the fact that Constantine would more than likely need to work with my brother and Carter to help save our son’s girlfriend.

“You good?” Alessandro stood and gave me a small smile. He clearly recognized I’d let my mind wander.

“I’m good now, yes.” I touched my cheeks, feeling the heat move into my face. “If you want to tell me about your private conversation with Constantine, I’m all ears.” I lowered my hands to my sides. “Unless you have a bro code you have to stick to.”

An easy smile crossed his lips. “I don’t mind. I’m sure Hudson and Enzo will ask for the story at some point. Jealous I knew and they didn’t. Not that they’ll admit that,” he said with a light laugh. “Constantine didn’t even mean to tell me about you.”

Now that was a start of a story I could believe.

“We were out drinking one night. This was before our sister . . . you know.” He cleared his throat. “Constantine was staring at a bottle of Legacy Ridge on the top shelf. Burning a hole through the damn thing, actually. So, out of curiosity, I asked him what that bottle ever did to piss him off.”

And back to rubbing my arms again because these chills were relentless.

“He ordered it after that, like he was trying to prove a point that he was unaffected by it. Typical him, ya know? But after a few drinks, he blurted out the truth.” He set a hand over his chest. “I know, I know, I was shocked, too. The man opened up. For all of four seconds.”

I wanted to both cry and laugh. Alessandro had an infectious smile and was an amusing storyteller, but I felt terrible for Constantine and everything he’d gone through. So, I chose to remain as neutral as possible and waited for him to continue.

“He told me about a mystery girl he’d met when his buddies dragged him to Aruba for a trip. That the bourbon reminded him of you. And that even a year and a half later, anytime an unknown number showed up on his phone, he hoped it was you.”

His last words were gutting, and I had to clench my hands at my sides to channel the pain. Pain I felt on behalf of Constantine.

“I told him not to be such an idiota and track you down. To take a chance. If you were dating someone, then fuck that guy, you’d leave him if he showed up even if you never called.”

His mouth drew tight, and his jaw strained as something clearly ate at him.