Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
M arius
Furious about Ava insisting on setting up Eden, I head down to my brother’s office to find out more about this guy from King Industries she’s picked out this time. I love my sister-in-law, but this shit needs to stop right now.
I find Matthias sitting on the black leather couch just inside the door. He looks stressed out and utterly exhausted. Too bad. This conversation can’t wait.
“Hey, what’s going on? Planning on taking a quick nap?” I ask as I walk in.
“Maybe,” he answers sheepishly. “You look like you have something on your mind.”
Unsure how to phrase this so it doesn’t seem suspicious, I try to be as casual as possible when I say, “Just wondering about this guy Ava says she’s setting Eden up with.”
Matthias screws his face into a look of pure confusion. “Why do you care?”
“I’m bored. I have nothing else to do.”
My brother seems to accept that answer, although that may be because he looks like he hasn’t had enough sleep in a year. He stands up from the couch and walks around his desk to sit down in his chair. A few seconds later, he spins his laptop around toward me.
“That’s him. Robert Jennings. Everyone calls him Rob. Nice guy. Thirty, I think. He’s got an MBA like Kellen. In fact, Kellen suggested him for Eden even before Ava asked if I knew anyone at work for her. Seems like an upstanding guy.”
I study the picture of Rob Jennings on the King Industries website and hate him instantly.
Like hate that burns hotter than a hundred suns.
The kind of hate that makes you want to kill people.
I hate his light brown hair. I hate his face, which I’m guessing more than one woman has thought was decent.
I hate his smile especially. He looks like he’s spent his entire life in a dentist’s chair.
Eden’s going to hate this guy too. I know it. He’s an IT guy, for Christ’s sake.
Still staring bullet holes through my brother’s laptop screen, I ask, “What makes you think Eden wants a guy like this? From what I’ve seen of her, she’s pretty wild. I’m not sure this guy with his buttoned up, white dress shirt and no tie look is going to be able to handle the likes of her.”
“Well, I’m not sure he’s going to like her since she can be a lot, but Ava asked me for my help setting her up, so I figured Rob would be a good choice. Anyway, it’s just a date. Nobody is saying they’re going to get married.”
His mention of that word makes me tear my attention away from Mr. Rob Jennings of the land of IT. “Married? Seems like you’re jumping the gun, aren’t you?”
Thankfully, my brother is too sleepy or distracted by fatherhood to pick up on the seething jealousy that’s currently seeping into every syllable I utter.
As he spins his laptop back in front of him, he says, “Well, Ava wants Eden to be happy, and she thinks this guy can do that. She promises if they don’t hit it off that she’ll be fine with it.
I think they’re going to go out to dinner first, and then they’ll be at the party in a few weeks. ”
Jesus Christ! Two dates? What. The. Fuck?
“Don’t you think having a party with Eleanor still feeling under the weather is in bad taste? I mean, I’m not one to stand on formality or manners, but she is still recuperating. Maybe you should push it back again.”
Even as I say those words, I know they’re bullshit.
Eleanor’s going to be fine. She’s been up and around yesterday and today, and this morning I saw her making breakfast. That doesn’t mean I’m above using her recent health scare to make sure this party doesn’t happen and Eden doesn’t have to spend any time with Rob from IT.
A knock on the office door interrupts us, and Ronan walks in beaming a smile. “Hey, was there a family meeting I didn’t know about, or are you guys talking about me?”
“What’s new, little brother?” I ask, pleased to see the youngest King so happy.
He plops down on the leather sofa and puts his feet up on the coffee table in front of it. “I came out to see how Eleanor is doing. Since I know she’s okay, I want talk to Matthias about something, but now that you’re here, I think I want to talk to you about it too. Either of you have time?”
I turn to look at Matthias and say, “This guy is busy running a dating service, but I have time. What’s up?”
Of course, that makes Ronan curious. “Really? What made you decide to buy one of those?”
Laughing, I shake my head at how na?ve my youngest brother can be as Matthias explains he didn’t buy a dating app. “Marius is busting balls, as usual. Ava and I are setting her friend Eden up with a guy who works at the company. I have some time before I have to take a call from London. What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk about a charity I want to set up. It will be for people like me. I wanted to run it by you since you have attorneys on retainer.” Ronan stops and then says, “Marius, I was hoping you’d be part of it since you’re the only reason I’m still here.”
Hearing him say that and seeing him smile as he does makes me happier than I thought I could be today, especially after finding out about Rob the IT guy who’s going on a date with the woman I love. “I’m in! Anything for a good cause.”
“Cool! Matthias, can you direct me to someone we can trust to set this whole thing up?”
“Sure. I don’t think Mattson is the guy you want, but I think someone at his firm would work. I’ll look for their number.”
Ronan swings his long legs off the coffee table and stands up. “Great! I think I’m going to go say hi to my favorite sister-in-law and my nephews.”
He begins to walk toward the door but then turns around and looks at me. “Hey, explain something to me. Why haven’t you ever tried to get together with Eden? She’s been into you for years.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask, fishing for compliments when I should be keeping my damn mouth shut.
Both my brothers look at one another and then at me. “Seriously? Ava mentioned it before Theo died. I know you were there when she said it.”
I don’t recall that conversation, not that it matters. Trying hard to seem as disinterested as possible about Eden being crazy about me, I answer, “It just never felt like the thing to do.”
“Dude, you’re nuts. She’s beautiful, and she likes you. What else do you want?”
Waving away his idea, I begin walking toward the door. “She’s just not my type, okay?”
I leave Ronan and Matthias to talk about whatever this charity idea of his is because if I hung around in that office for another minute, neither one of them would ever believe I don’t give a damn about Eden.
When the time comes to reveal the truth about the two of us, they’ll know.
Until then, I’ll keep my business the way I like it.
Private.
On my way up to my room, I think about possibly telling everyone about Eden and me. It might be nice to share that kind of thing with my family. They all seem to like her, and I know they’d be happy for me.
And it’s not like I have to worry about any of my brothers hooking up with her like with Theo and Maia. Maybe coming clean with everyone could work.
I lie down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling as I try to convince myself that having everyone know Eden and I are together won’t ruin everything. It would make things easier, and I wouldn’t have to lie to my brothers and Ava anymore.
Not that I have an issue with lying. Not in this kind of case.
See, I don’t find lying as egregious as so many people do, especially when it comes to someone’s private life. Who the hell needs an entire family’s opinions on your love life? No, thanks.
Anyway, I love having Eden all to myself. It’s like a secret only the two of us share.
Even as jealousy bubbles inside me, I have to believe we’re going to be fine if she goes on that date with Rob, the IT guy. Staring up at the ceiling, I silently tell myself I’m getting upset over nothing.
“She won’t like him. He’s not her type. She’s as crazy about me as I am about her. It’ll just be one date. She probably won’t even want to have him at the party after going out to dinner with him.”
I bet right now you’re thinking I should just tell the world about us. Then Eden won’t go on a date with him, so I won’t have to worry.
But you see, that’s the thing. I never worry when she goes on these dates Ava sets up for her. I trust Eden more than I’ve ever trusted anyone before. She’s proven time and again by her willingness to keep our relationship on the down low that she can be trusted.
So why am I jealous? Well, that’s the kind of man I am. When I love a woman—really love her—she’s mine and I’m hers. I mean, you don’t see me going out with anyone else because I’m with her.
Yes, I know this could all be avoided if we just made things public. Then all these stupid blind dates Ava insists on arranging could stop. She’d probably be thrilled her best friend and I are together.
The problem is then everyone would know, and we wouldn’t just be the two of us anymore.
All my life, I’ve been one of five brothers.
Nothing in my life was allowed to be just mine.
I figured women would be since going after one of your brothers’ girlfriends or exes breaks a cardinal rule in the bro code.
Theo showed me how wrong I was with that.
So no, for now, Eden and I will remain in hiding. I’ll just have to accept the fact that her going on dates with other men is the price I have to pay to keep us a secret.
I’m not worried. This will all be fine.