Chapter Six – Milo
CHAPTER SIX
MILO
I draw in a deep breath, the scent of Hazel filling my senses. I know it’s been hours since she was in my family’s apartment at the hotel, but I can still sense her here. She has a small bag sitting on the chair in the living area that I’m sure is filled with all kinds of things, but I fought the need to zip it open and invade her privacy. Barely.
I finish tying my bowtie and step back from the bathroom vanity. I take in my appearance, making sure not a hair or thread is out of place. This is the night I stop being a pussy and go after the woman I love.
I try to remember the moment I realized I was in love with her. When my father got sick a few years ago and the doctor suggested he retire, I was twenty-seven years old and not ready to take over the company. I had trained for it, worked my way up in the company like the entire family is expected, but emotionally I wasn’t ready. I thought I had years left before I had to deal with our company. But then Dad had his heart attack and that was that. I had spent a huge part of my twenties fucking around, drinking, spending time with people who I should never want anything to do with.
Then the heart attack happened. I had been halfway across the world and the trip back had sobered me right up. The weight of everything I had to handle almost broke me at that point. My family depends on our resorts, and we all work in the business. That includes aunts, uncles, cousins…all of us. Anyone could have stepped in…probably. Well, not my brother Theo, who makes Gordon Ramsey look like a preschool teacher. But all of us had worked at various levels of the business. Dad wanted me to take over and I couldn’t let him down.
There was one thing that kept me from stepping down and letting my cousin Michael take over. Well two things. The first had been my father, who said he wanted me to take over. I never liked letting my father down, and I had a lot during those few years in my twenties after I graduated.
The second factor? Hazel Prescott.
Sure, Silas had been there, helping me along the way. I have an MBA, but I was a mess trying to deal with my mother, who had almost lost her soulmate, and several family members who had thought I wasn’t smart enough to run the company. And when Silas started helping me, so did Hazel.
I knew being Silas’ sister, she was smart, but I had not understood how crazy brilliant she is. All those late nights chatting about marketing, her telling me what to do to help our social media, all the brunches at Gertrude’s…I just fell for her.
She’s beautiful but she is also smart and one of the kindest people I know. And tonight, I will take my chance.
I step out of my bathroom and come to a stop. There standing in the family suite looking out over the city is my brother Theo. He’s dressed to go out, in dark dress slacks and a red button-down shirt.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Hello to you too, brother,” he says turning around. I see that he has a drink in his hand. He takes in my tux. “Well, don’t you look spiffy.”
I roll my eyes. I’m not in the mood for him, but it’s not like I can avoid him. We don’t hate each other, it’s just that we’re so different. People have always said there is a little darkness to Theo, which I don’t understand. We were raised by the same parents, but he does seem to have an edge to him.
“Thanks. Are you going to the event?”
“To the fundraiser thing? Nope. I’m just irritated I got into the city and couldn’t have the family apartment.”
Our family has a suite at each one of our resorts just for family. I made sure to get this one set up as soon as I knew I would be here for the fundraiser. Since most of the family lives in the area, it rarely gets booked, but I wanted to be sure. Seems like I made the right choice. “Plus, I do not have a lady love who is running the whole thing.”
“What?”
“Come on, Milo. Everyone knows you’re in love with Hazel.”
That makes me come to a stop. “Who is everyone?”
“Everyone. Mom has been dreaming of what your babies would look like. She even got Cousin Oliver to do one of those baby things where you load two pics into some software to see what a combo of you would look like. Beautiful, according to Mom, in case you were wondering.”
Fuck. “Mom?”
“I’m sure Dad too. Everyone in the family, I think. I’m sure Silas knows you want to bang his sister.”
My eyes narrow. “Watch it.”
He gives me a smirk. “Sorry. Apparently, everyone but Hazel knows. Or I’m assuming.”
I sigh. “That’s embarrassing.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t be embarrassed. Just do something about it so Mom will be happy.”
Then I realize it’s a Saturday night and Milo is usually in the kitchen of our Shenandoah resort. As head chef, he rarely misses a Saturday night during the summer. It’s really our busy time of year.
“What are you doing here anyway? You usually don’t miss a Saturday night of work.”
He’s the typical chef who micromanages the entire kitchen and thrives on the challenge of running a Michelin star restaurant.
“I needed a break.”
There’s something in his voice that has me studying him. “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Theodore.”
“Ugh, don’t use that name.”
I chuckle knowing what probably happened. “What did you and Allegra fight about this time?”
Allegra Sullivan is the new food and beverage manager for our resort. From the moment she started working there, Theo and she have been fighting. Strike that. They don’t fight. She does what she thinks is best for the resort, then Theo complains to her about it. For only being twenty-five years old, she doesn’t seem to have a problem dealing with his mood swings. She listens politely and then tells him to deal with it. It might have something to do with being the only girl with four brothers or having a Marine Corps officer for a father.
“She wants me to do some stupid social media thing where I prepare a meal on video.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“And she thinks we should have cooking weekends to draw people in.”
“Uh, Theo, you usually like being the center of attention.”
He growls, setting the glass down on the dresser, and crosses his arms over his chest. Yes, he’s temperamental, but he isn’t childish, which this is. And I wasn’t lying about him. He does like being the center of attention.
“True,” he says. “But she said things that I didn’t like about it.”
He starts heading to the elevator that opens into the suite. I grab my phone and follow him because I need to know what’s going on with him and Allegra.
“What kind of things?” I ask.
He doesn’t say anything for a long moment. The door dings open, and we both get on the car.
“Theo.”
He sighs. “She wants to do a lot of pictures because she said that women like a pretty piece of man meat.”
I fight the bubble of laughter that tickles the back of my throat. “Did she say those exact words?”
He slants me a look. “Yeah. Well, that and something about sausages. I mean, what kind of woman talks like that?”
“Uh, some of the women you hook up with.”
“No. This was…well, it made me feel dirty. I just never know what the hell she’s going to do from one day to the next.”
Before I can ask him more, the elevator doors open, and a rush of people come onto the car. We move to the back, and he gives me a look that tells me to drop the subject. We reach the ground floor, and I stop him before he can run away.
“Hey, if there’s a problem between you and Allegra, we need to work it out.”
“Or?”
“I’d hate to fire my brother.”
He snorts. “Get bent, bro. Also, go get your woman. She’ll be good for you.”
He heads off down the hallway, something weighing on him as he walks. It isn’t the usual dark cloud that seems to hang around him. It’s something else and I do need to figure it out. But right now, I have more important things to worry about. Namely, Hazel.
I get to the ballroom where the event is being held and I step inside. It’s already busy, less than an hour into the event and I know that has to be because of Hazel. She is a powerhouse at things like this.
It’s then that I see her, talking to a gaggle of women. Hazel is easy to find. She’s a head taller than most women and she’s probably wearing some of her impossibly high stilettos. I love when she does because that puts our eyes level and I can just imagine bracing her against the wall as I drive into her again and again, all the while watching pleasure dance over her beautiful face.
It’s then that I realize I’m getting an erection while standing in a room full of people. It’s like I can’t control myself, but maybe after tonight, I will at least gain some relief. Hopefully.
Watching her interaction makes me smile. She might think she doesn’t fit in, but she does. They all seem to be in awe of her. She works hard at her job when she doesn’t really need to, and she believes in her causes. This one for instance. The shelters it supports is massive and needs to have several fundraisers a year to keep afloat. I know that without a doubt, Hazel is instrumental in their ability to help so many people.
She’s talking to Tracy Livingston, the sister of one of my older friends. Tracy says something to her, and she looks my way. The moment our gazes connect, it’s like a fuse to my soul. The heat that was simmering explodes and rushes over every nerve ending in my body. It’s like an itch that I can’t reach. I can’t seem to look away, and I don’t want to. She’s the most beautiful woman in the room.
Like Theo said, it’s time to get my woman.