Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
Preston
We made the trek across most of the District to find ourselves at Sequoia in Georgetown, near Duncan’s new apartment. He used to live in Navy Yard, close to where we cleaned up this morning, but sublets the apartment to Charlotte and Hayden now. Something about not wanting to live in your little brother’s sex den, which fair.
“Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m getting a mimosa,” Hayden announced, Hunter quickly following behind. I scanned the drinks menu, not interested in that much sugar or carbonation right now.
“Want to do the scotch tasting they have?” Duncan asked from my left side. “I’m buying.”
I shrugged. “Sounds good to me. And of course you are. I don’t know that any of us have paid for a meal we’ve eaten with you in the last five years.”
Duncan didn’t even have the good graces to look ashamed. Old habits died hard, and providing for his brothers was one of the longest-lasting inclinations for my older brother.
We put in our drink orders with Eduardo, our server. Duncan and I sat facing the Potomac, the sun shining on our faces, taking full advantage of the outdoor seating the restaurant boasted. There weren’t many boats out given the early spring season, but I wondered if we might see the crew team from the university row by. I shuddered, not envying their all-weather training regimen.
“So guys, what’s new?” I asked, ending the lull in conversation as Hayden put down his menu, the last of our group to do so.
“That’s rich coming from the guy who told us about his engagement in a text message,” Hunter snarked.
“Hey now, some of us found out by seeing her in the flesh and having Preston’s boss break the news,” Hayden added.
“Can I at least get a drink before we start in on this?” I groaned, very glad Jax accepted Laurel’s invitation for brunch, so she wasn’t faced with this interrogation. Like magic, Eduardo and a colleague appeared, setting our drinks down with a flourish.
“To pulling teeth,” Duncan toasted, and even I laughed good-naturedly as our glasses clinked together in the center of the table. We all took a sip before Eduardo returned to take our orders.
It seemed all my excuses had run out, so I steeled myself and looked at each of my brothers in turn. “All right, let’s have it.”
Duncan turned to me and started. “You have to understand why we’re concerned. We didn’t even know you were dating someone and then you show up at a work event and you’re engaged? It seems an awful lot like your relationship with Diana.”
I swallowed another sip of my scotch, understanding where he was coming from. “Yeah, well, I never proposed to Diana, did I?”
“Thank fuck for that,” Hunter said. Hayden smacked him upside the head, but added, “He’s not wrong, though.”
“Diana just wanted to be a politician’s wife. She thought it would be all glamour and parties and inside favors. She didn’t care about me or the issues I cared about. Jax isn’t like that.”
“You see that now,” Hayden said seriously. “But you were blinded by love, lust, beauty, and whatever it was that made you turn a blind eye to Diana’s true nature. If Duncan hadn’t uncovered her plan to announce you were running for the House...”
I grimaced. My intentions to get a job and work for a congressperson before running for office hadn’t sat well with Diana. She thought if she leaked to the press my plans to run, I’d have to go through with it, and would need her by my side as the doting partner.
“Okay, yes, my judge of character may not have been the best. But I’m older and wiser now,” I protested.
“You also haven’t dated anyone at all since then,” Duncan said, raising his eyebrow.
“That’s also true, but that’s because I’ve been so wary. Doesn’t the fact that I let Jax in count for anything?” I realized I was arguing about a fake relationship, but the truth in my words struck me. From the moment I rescued Jax on the visitors center floor, something drew me to her. I couldn’t tell her no when she asked me to dinner, and I hadn’t wanted to tell her no when she presented me with her plan. Something about her seeped through my barriers and made me want to let her into my life, even in this unconventional way.
“I suppose it does,” Duncan said, as if he were weighing my words. “Does she know you’re planning to run for office?”
“She does.” I hesitated, and decided now was a better time to deliver my news than through another group text later this year. “I’m going to announce my candidacy for the House after the Senate election this year. I’m running in the next cycle.”
Cheers and congratulations erupted from the table, and my brother signaled Eduardo for another glass of scotch for all of us. Something much more expensive and worthy of a celebration than what was included in our flight. Only after we had toasted the good news, and our food had arrived, did Duncan bring the conversation back around.
“So I have to ask, did you make the decision about the timing to run before or after you proposed?”
I thought about how to answer that question, not wanting to build in any more lies. “I decided before I proposed, but Jax knew I had been thinking about it. She actually called me out on the timing before I could tell her my final decision.”
I held up my hand as Duncan started to interrupt. “But I promise it’s different. Jax cares about people and issues like I do. She left a political reporting job to come work for the senator’s office because she saw how overworked and stressed I had become.” That was mostly true.
“I understand it seems fast and sudden, but you said it yourself, Dunc. She shows up. She’s been showing up for me and I have faith she’ll keep showing up.” I said this with conviction because I knew it to be true. Even when she was mad at me over the couch, she still came to the interview instead of blowing me off and finding another job on her own. “Can you please just trust me and move on?”
I looked at each brother, waiting for them to nod. I knew their concern came from a place of love, and I hated lying to them. I needed this conversation to be over.
“All right, deal. But I would like to have more family dinners when our schedules line up. Whoever happens to be in town. If she’s going to be around, I want to get to know her better.”
I swallowed another mouthful of scotch, the burning of it down my throat matching the burning of my conscience. What would happen when Jax and I eventually went our separate ways? We may well extend our arrangement past the initial three months, but eventually one of us would want out. At the very least, in our current circumstances, it meant a sexless existence. That had been my reality for the last several years, but I doubted the same rang true for her.
“You got it,” I responded, hoping the smile on my face looked natural and not forced.
“So Hunter,” Duncan turned on the youngest Brandt brother present. “What’s new with you?”
“And here I thought you’d never ask,” he drawled, a knowing smirk on his face. His expression turned serious as he looked at his twin, who nodded encouragingly. “Actually, I do have some news. I’m about six weeks away from finishing my culinary certification at the community college in Winterberry Glen.”
I put my hand on Duncan’s arm before he could signal for another round of scotch. We needed to be able to walk out of this place. “That’s so great, Hunter. I had no idea you liked to cook.”
He laughed. “Honestly, neither did I. But after I moved out of Dad’s and Margaret’s a few years ago, way later than I should have,” he added wryly. “I got sick of eating take out. I started out small and worked my way up to recipes I found online.
“I’ve made a few things for dinners at Dad’s place, but it’s sort of sad to not have anyone to cook for. So, I found this program and Hayden helped me with the tuition, so I didn’t have to tell anyone. I know I have a habit of starting things and not finishing them. Part of me wanted to wait until I finished to tell anyone, but then I realized I had to sit through all of your graduations, so maybe it was time you returned the favor.”
“Absolutely,” I said, and Duncan echoed me. “Tell us the date and we’ll be there.”
Hunter looked bashful. “The program is finished in April, but I walk in May. I’ll get you all the info so you can mark it in your calendars.”
Duncan and I made eye contact, and I nodded. “I think it’s time for that extra round of scotch after all.”
We sat at the table, much longer than we deserved, Duncan slipping Eduardo a few hundreds from his billfold to make up for the lost turnover. It had been months since we all were able to spend time together, and even longer since it was a casual afternoon without any agenda or time constraints. We even FaceTimed Spencer for a few minutes, before dirty looks from our neighbors made us promise to call him back individually over the next few days.
Eventually, Duncan pushed back from the table, announcing he had some work that needed attending to at the office.
“Is work code for something else?” Hunter asked. Duncan gave him a sly smile, and hugged us each in turn, turning toward the exit with a salute.
“I wonder if Charlotte is up for a mid-afternoon work session,” Hayden mused, checking his phone. I shuddered. I knew all my brothers weren’t hard up for sex, but I didn’t need the fact shoved right in my face.
“What about Hunter? He’s staying with you guys, right?”
“He has that friend from his job at the auto body shop who lives here now he’s going to meet for a drink, right, Hunt?”
“Right,” Hunter answered, checking his phone and not meeting either of our eyes. Only the fact that mixing champagne and scotch did not make a good combination for Hayden did his twin sense not pick up that Hunter was obviously lying.
“She says if I come home right now, she’ll let us play secretary/boss,” Hayden said, pushing his chair back so fast it scraped on the floor, “so I’m out.” He saluted us and left the room as fast as polite company would allow.
“I’m positive she did not want him to tell us that,” Hunter said, watching his twin’s departing figure.
“He’ll be okay to get home, right?” I wondered if I should follow him.
“Oh yeah. Charlotte’s like a homing signal for him. He won’t let her down,” he answered. Looking at his phone again, a small smile appeared.
“So, who are you really meeting?” I asked, nodding at the phone he tried to put casually face down on the table. Hunter considered me for a moment. “I’m your big brother. I’m allowed to worry,” I said, quoting Duncan. “I know you can take care of yourself, but if you’re meeting someone different from who you’re leading Hayden to believe...”
“It’s just this girl I met on Tinder. She likes that I’m only in town for the weekend, and I believe her when she says she doesn’t normally do the random thing. And she just told me... well, she seems really excited to meet up. I don’t have her name, but her username is WeatherGirl85.”
“Well, you know, just use protection, keep your location on, all that.” Hunter rolled his eyes at me. “God, do I sound like Duncan right now?” He laughed, while nodding. “Let’s get out of here before I tell you to open a Roth IRA or something.” We both stood and hugged before walking toward the exit.
“I’m going to hit the head before I leave. It was really good to see you, Hunter. And I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Prez,” he said. “That means a lot.”
“Now, get out of here, go get some,” I said, cringing as I heard myself and turning around before I could become even more of a cliché.
“You too, bro.” I heard Hunter call as I entered the men’s room. I stopped at the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. The only place I wanted to get some from right now was closed for business. Because in my slightly tipsy state, as I was alone in this fancy-as-fuck restroom, I could admit it. I wanted my fake fiancée. And I had no idea what to do about it.