Chapter 3
It’s already well after ten am by the time I drag myself out of bed.
I can’t believe how easy it’s been for me to fall back into these old habits; you’d think after nearly two decades of waking with the sun it’d be ingrained into me by now, but it’s only taken two weeks of this bartending gig for me to revert back to the sleeping habits I had during my college days.
If only my body felt as good as it did back then…
After a quick trip to the ensuite bathroom, I make my way down to the kitchen in the elevator—yes, that’s right…
an elevator. I’m currently staying in my brother’s six-story Greenwich Village townhouse, and considering my “suite” is on the top floor, I’m definitely glad not to have to hoof it up and down four flights of stairs multiple times a day, even if an elevator does seem a bit excessive.
When I get to the kitchen, I’m greeted with a warm smile by my brother-in-law, Owen, who’s currently attempting to feed a baby strapped into a highchair. “Hey, Damon.”
I pause in surprise at the scene, my eyes moving from the baby, who looks to be about a year old, to the kitchen table where a little girl with blonde pigtails, who looks to be about two, is sitting in a booster seat and scribbling away in a coloring book. “Uh…did I miss something?”
I know Blake and Owen have been talking about kids pretty much since they got married almost a year ago, but this seems a little sudden, even for a couple who got married on the same day they got engaged.
Owen lets out a soft chuckle. “Nah. This is my nephew Dylan.” He nods to the baby in the highchair before waving a hand toward the table. “And that’s my niece Leia. I’m on baby-sitting duty today.”
I nod. Right. Of course. Owen has ten older siblings, so it stands to reason there are a bunch of nephews and nieces amongst them.
I’ve only been in New York for a few weeks so I haven’t had a chance to meet them all yet, but the ones I have met seem very loud and boisterous—basically the polar opposite of Owen.
“Uncle Owen, can I please have some juice?” Leia asks, glancing up from her coloring book with wide, beseeching eyes..
Owen offers her a stern look. “You had some juice not long ago. How about we stick to water for now and you can have more juice later this afternoon?”
Leia’s expression forms into an adorable pout but she nods. “Okay. Can I have some ice?”
Owen grins and stands from his chair, stalking over to Leia and tugging gently at one of her pigtails. “That you can definitely have.”
I let out an amused huff of laughter. I know from experience with my own kids that if Blake were the one here babysitting he would have given into those big brown eyes and Leia would not only have a juice, but probably her choice of whatever sugary snacks she could dream of.
Despite the fact that Blake is forty-four and Owen’s only in his mid-twenties, it’s clear that Owen is more of a hard-ass while my brother is a big old softie.
It’s going to make things interesting when they eventually have kids of their own.
“So, what are you up to today?” Owen asks as I start rooting around in the fridge for some eggs and veggies to make an omelet.
I set the ingredients on the counter and glance back up at him. “I have work this afternoon, but not much else. I’ll go for a run, I guess. Do some grocery shopping.” I wave my hand at the items on the counter. “Sorry for the invasion, by the way. The fridge is pretty bare upstairs.”
Owen rolls his eyes. “You’re welcome down here anytime. You know that.”
I offer a small smile. “Thanks.”
I get to work separating the eggs, which prompts Owen to let out a loud huff. “God, there are two of you,” he mutters with an exasperated shake of his head. “What did yolks ever do to offend you so much?”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “Nothing in particular. Whites are just healthier.”
He waves a dismissive hand. “Healthy smealthy. It’s my professional opinion that there’s nothing wrong with eating the whole egg.”
“Really? You’re playing the nurse card?” I ask skeptically. “Do I need to flash my personal trainer card now?”
He just smiles and shakes his head. “I’ll wear you down eventually. Before you know it yolk wastage will be a thing of the past. And then you’ll find yourself eating sugar. And butter. And…” he gives a dramatic gasp. “Processed food.”
I offer a wry smirk. “I’m not my brother. You can’t bribe me into unhealthy habits with blow j—” I manage to stop myself just in time, remembering there are little kids in the room. I give a little cough and rack my brain for how to finish that sentence. “Jellies.”
Owen offers an amused smirk. “Nice save.”
I return to slicing up the veggies and then retrieve a pan from one of the drawers under the counter. Turning from Owen, I place the pan on the stove and let it heat before adding the egg whites and then the veggies.
Once my omelet’s done, I take my plate to the island and pull up a stool, digging in ravenously. I really should have grabbed a snack when my shift ended last night; sixteen hours is way too long to go without food. I should know better.
I’m just finishing off my meal when Blake enters the kitchen.
I’m assuming he was down in the basement working on his latest venture.
He’s officially retired—you can do that in your forties when you’re a billionaire—but earlier this year he started a project with his son, Jamie.
It’s some kind of robotics thing that I don’t understand even a little bit.
I never got Blake’s tech brain and every time he tries to explain that kind of stuff to me I have to fight to stop my eyes from glazing over.
“Morning, sweetheart,” he says with a bright smile.
“Hey, darling,” I say dryly.
He gives me a playful punch to the arm before sidling up to Owen and kissing his cheek.
I’ll admit that when Blake first told me he and Owen were together, I was a little…
concerned. For one thing, as far as I knew Blake had never shown any interest in men before.
For another, there’s a nineteen-year age gap.
And for a third, Blake’s a billionaire and Owen was only a couple years out of college and still paying off student loans.
I honestly didn’t know what to think. It didn’t take long for me to be reassured, however.
The fact is, I’ve never seen my brother as happy as he’s been since he and Owen got together, and that’s a point that’s been firmly reiterated over the past few weeks while I’ve been living with them.
But as happy as I am for Blake, I can’t help feeling a small pang of envy.
I thought I had that—the perfect partner, the soulmate, the other piece of me.
But now I’m not entirely sure I ever did.
I know I loved Valerie—my ex-wife—and I know she loved me.
But soulmates are supposed to grow and change together, aren’t they? They’re not supposed to grow apart.
I place my plate in the dishwasher and wash out the omelet pan, returning it to the drawer I found it in. “Alright, I’m heading out for a run.”
Blake glances up from where he’s been indulging Leia with admiration of her coloring. “High Line?”
I shrug. “I guess.”
There’s an entrance to the High Line not too far from Blake and Owen’s, which makes it a convenient running circuit with no traffic to hold up momentum.
“You want company?” he asks.
“Sure, if you want.” I offer a wry smirk. “I guess you need to work off all that sugar and processed food. It’s starting to show around the middle.”
Blake just stares at me in confusion, while Owen looks affronted. “Blake is just as sexy now as when we got together.”
I screw my face up. “Um, no. My brother is not sexy.”
“What’s “sexy”?” Leia asks curiously.