Chapter Three
Zach
Patty’s sitting at the breakfast counter in my kitchen, not looking too pleased at my choice of rooms. I move over to the liquor cupboard and then pour us each a drink. I need it, and I’m sure she won’t turn one down. She doesn’t have a job, but if she did, even that wouldn’t stop her from getting a buzz going.
That’s about all the mentality I have to think of Patty; my thoughts are still consumed with Sia and the damn box that led me to her. What is it about this woman that’s inspired such an infatuation in me? Is there magic in these boxes? Why won’t my brothers talk about their own journeys? What’s at the end of all of this? I hate not having answers. I might be impulsive at times, but I don’t like mystery. Yes, I’m one of those people who read the last chapter of a book first. I can’t stand suspense. I might like the story, but waiting until the end is too hard. I want answers, and I want them now.
Why does Sia seem so familiar to me? What am I missing? Am I such an asshole I can’t remember women from my past? I feel like I know her. But, from when and where? That’s the mystery.
We received these boxes when we were at college. We rescued a woman from the lake and then found these mystery boxes on our porch. They freaked us out, and we didn’t open them. They got tossed aside. When we packed our college home up, they must’ve come back to the ranch and disappeared. Then when Gramps died, we found them on his desk. They didn’t appear to be tampered with. We were confused than. I still am, and my brothers aren’t talking about the mystery of the boxes. Both Blaze and Callan have opened their boxes and gone through their journeys... where they each found the love of their life.
What in the heck do these boxes from a mystery woman that wound up on Gramps’s desk have to do with eternal happiness? What does this mean for me? And what in the heck does it have to do with this Sia woman? It’s driving me insane.
“You’re not listening to me at all!”
I look up, startled to find Patty glaring at me. Her drink is empty, and her arms are crossed. This is a woman who needs to be the center of attention. I’m annoyed. I don’t like that she showed up at my place and is sitting in my kitchen. How in the heck do I get out of this? And why am I even questioning it. I don’t want her here, so I simply need to ask her to go. I blame all of this on the woman who’s consuming all of my thoughts and sanity.
I can’t be on a date with another woman when my thoughts are consumed with Sia, the mystery box, and this damn game I’m an unwilling participant in. The connection between Sia and me can’t be coincidental, can it? Is this something Gramps orchestrated before his passing, or is it truly a chance encounter from a mystery woman at a lake?
“I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind,” I automatically say. This instantly appeases Patty. She’s clearly a hell of a lot easier to appease than Sia was with her green eyes flashing in a mixture of determination, passion, and annoyance. I’m not used to women looking at me like that, but Sia had no problem with it.
“Where are we going tonight?” Patty asks. She’s a woman who wants to be wined and dined before she puts out. I don’t mind that... or I never have before. Women have always come easy to me, but maybe it’s not as much fun as it once was. Having multiple women was never something I questioned before. As I watch how happy my brothers are, though, I’m starting to want something more.
Before I can dwell on this any longer, my phone buzzes with an incoming call. I look and see it’s my brother Blaze. I answer, then listen for a minute while hiding a smile. It’s almost as if he knows I need rescuing. We are triplets after all, and maybe there is something about a psychic connection between twins and triplets.
I hang up and let out a sigh like I’m disappointed. I know how to play the game of dating. I’m not necessarily proud of it, but it is what it is. “I’m sorry, Patty, but I have a family matter that needs attended to. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” I make sure there’s an apology in my tone, but firmness, letting her know there’s no changing my mind on this.
Patty’s eyes narrow. “I spent a lot of time getting ready for our date,” she informs me.
“I apologize for that, but the situation can’t be helped,” I say, knowing I won’t be calling her back. Maybe I need to add a gate to my driveway to prevent unwanted visitors. It’s not something we’ve ever needed before, but it might be time now. I didn’t give my address to Patty but she still found me. It’s not like any of us have tried to hide, but we do have a lot of money, a flashing beacon to a lot of people, especially to women like Patty.
She glares at me for a moment, then with a huff of annoyance to show me she’s incredibly displeased, she slides from the stool, her dress hiking up another inch to completely inappropriate heights, turns, and begins walking away without another word. If her hope is that I’ll chase her, she’s going to be very disappointed. I stay where I am and smile when I hear the front door slam behind her. I’m surprised she doesn’t open it and slam it again, just to clearly show me how ticked she is.
I move to my front window to make sure she’s leaving and let out a sigh of relief when I see her vehicle speeding down my long driveway. I’ll make some calls about a gate tomorrow. It’s time.
Once I’m alone with my thoughts again, I’m well aware I’m at a crossroads. Should I continue to pursue this connection I have with Sia, or do I let it go? Do I simply play out the game and see where it leads? I won’t see her for at least another week unless I find a reason to meet with her sooner. The best thing I can do for now is to go out with my brother and let it all go for the weekend. Maybe I can think more clearly come Monday morning.
I change and get ready to meet Blaze at a downtown club. I’ve never been a big fan of clubs, but Blaze loves them. It’s different now as he’s head over heels in love with Courtney, so he’s not there to pick up women, but he does love the music, food, and drinks, and a club is a good place to conduct business as long as you’re in one of the VIP rooms away from the exuberantly loud noise.
More thoughts consume me on my way downtown so the drive doesn’t feel as long as it normally does. I’ve always been a thinker, but I can usually shut off my mind when I want to. That’s not happening today. I drop my vehicle off with the valet, then cut through the line and make my way to the door.
Stepping inside the dimly lit club, the pulsing beat of the music washes over me, immediately taking my stress away. This is a jazz club, so the people are dressed to the nines, and the dancing is a lot sexier in my opinion. I’ve never understood the appeal of simply grinding on your partner. Dancing should be a slow seduction, not just rubbing body parts together. I smile. I do like rubbing against a soft female body, but there’s magic in sensuality. Grinding takes that away.
I head toward the VIP area and spot a woman dancing on the floor with her hands up in her hair. Her hips sway as she flows with the jazz beat. She’s stunning from behind and a spark settles in my stomach. Relief flows through me. Sia simply surprised me today. I’m not obsessed with her. I only had to get out of the house and out of my own head. I turn from the woman and make my way past the velvet rope and up the stairs where I find Blaze with a drink in his hand, sitting at a table with a view of the dance floor below.
“About time you got here. I thought you’d weasel out of it,” he says with a laugh. Before I can sit, a waitress is at my side, taking my order. It’s nice having money. I rarely have to wait on anything or anyone.
“You’re lucky I didn’t have plans,” I tell him. Then I laugh. “Well, I did have plans, but I wanted out of them, which is why I’m here,” I admit.
“I feel gossip coming. What were you trying to get out of?”
“You love gossip more than a girl,” I tell him with a shake of my head.
“I love drama too, as long as it doesn’t involve me,” Blaze says, not at all ashamed of this.
“You’re a very strange man,” I tell him.
“And you’re stalling. What’s happening?”
I could try to avoid this longer, but I want to talk. As quickly as I was sidetracked from Sia, I’m back to thinking about her. Blaze’s eyes light up and I wonder what he’s reading on my face.
“Oh, you had that meeting with the interior designer, Sia, today, didn’t you?”
I’m shocked. I can’t remember telling him about the meeting. Of course, he was there when I opened the box so he knew it was coming, but still, for him to know the timing is odd.
“I did meet with her, then after, a date I was going on tonight showed up at the house uninvited. I wanted her gone,” I tell him, trying to sidetrack the conversation.
“I don’t care about some date you’d have forgotten by morning. I want to hear what went on with Sia. I bet she’s hot.”
I laugh. “I have no doubt you looked up her design firm.”
His grin grows even bigger. “Of course I stalked her website, but there were no pics, which was highly disappointing. Describe her to me.”
I roll my eyes. “She’s uptight and not hot at all,” I lie.
“Liar! I can see something’s already happening. You’re all flustered, and it’s not about some one-night stand showing up at the ranch.”
I’m grateful when my drink arrives. I order another immediately as I pick up the glass and drain half of it. Blaze laughs again. He’s enjoying my misery. In his defense I enjoyed it when he was miserable. Heart misery is fun to watch. None of us want the others in true pain. We do actually love each other.
I let out a sigh as I run my hand through my hair. “She’s certainly good at her job. I was impressed with her initial ideas and visions as she walked through the house. But there’s something about her that seems... familiar.”
Blaze leans back. “Of course there is. I knew Courtney and Callan knew Sasha, so I figured you’d know Sia as well. It’s funny that you didn’t immediately know her though. That’s not a good sign. Whoever is pulling the strings of this game seems to know best in the end.”
I glare at my brother. I’m not sure why this never crossed my mind before. I watched my brothers go through their journey with the women in their lives. What makes me think my journey should be any different? Maybe because I don’t want to believe fate dictates my life. I don’t like that idea at all.
“I don’t know that I know her. But I have a feeling I’ve met her before.
“Tell me more,” Blaze demands.
“It’s hard to explain,” I admit, frustration creeping into my voice. “It’s like I knew her before, like there’s a connection between us, though she certainly doesn’t like it. I don’t know. It’s consumed my thoughts from the moment I met her at the front door. I asked her, though, if we know each other, and she said no. She hesitated though, which I’m thinking is a very bad sign.”
“Then the game’s officially begun. My only suggestion for you is to go with it. The more you fight it the more frustrated you’ll become. Take it from me, if you roll with it, it will be a hell of a lot less painful.”
“Maybe I don’t want to play this damn game,” I grumble.
“It’s a game of fate, my dear brother. You can’t fight it,” Blaze says, his voice ultra-melodramatic. “Sia’s obviously meant to be a part of your life. The more you fight it, the more it will hurt. I’m telling you to just go with it.”
I roll my eyes. None of us have ever liked being told what to do. Gramps raised us to be strong. We had no choice after losing our parents as teens. If we weren’t tough, we never would’ve made it through that tragedy. Maybe I do need to play the game. Both of my brothers have already been through this, and they’ve come out better at the end. I’m not sure any of us are capable of simply going along with anything though. We like to forge our own paths. Even if these paths take us down a rocky incline, we can say we chose the route as we stumble down the mountain.
I give Blaze a crooked smile and hold up my drink. “Here’s to fate.”
Blaze laughs. “Here’s to fate,” he agrees.
I look out at the dance floor and am pleased when I see the mystery woman down below. She left for a little while, but she’s back. She’s laughing with another woman when a man approaches her. He’s smiling... for a moment. He then frowns and walks away with his head tucked down. I smile. Hmm, the woman just became even more interesting.
Screw fate. I rise from my seat and ignore whatever Blaze says to me as I move to the stairs. It’s time to meet the mystery woman below. She intrigues me, and it’s time for a dance. No one and nothing controls who I see or want, especially not some mystery box on a desk in Gramps’s den.
The promise of a needed distraction draws me down the stairs and out onto the dance floor. It’s almost like a rope is tugging me. I ignore it as I’m choosing to approach this woman. It isn’t fate drawing me closer. Nothing’s pulling me to her. I’m fighting fate, not embracing it.
I approach the woman from behind as she begins swaying again, my gaze focused on her hips as she sexily moves them in a sweet black dress that hugs her body, yet leaves a lot to the imagination. It isn’t glued to every square inch of her, making me want to trace my hands up her hips, over her small waistline, and higher.
Sia’s face once again passes through my mind, and I scowl. No! I’m hitting on this woman, not thinking of Sia and her uptight hairdo and business clothes. I want a woman who knows how to please a man, not a woman who looks at me like I’m something she’s stepped on.
With a surge of raw determination, I push aside thoughts of Sia and focus on the beauty before me, ready to lose myself in the moment to whatever sparks are about to fly. I move forward only inches from the woman, then lean forward and whisper a greeting.