TWELVE
EVERY MORNING, Gia woke up thinking about coffee. That was just the way it was. If she was at home, one of the household staff would bring her some. She’d never asked them to, but each morning she’d get out of the shower and there would be a steaming mug of java on her closet vanity.
There wouldn’t be any coffee waiting for her in Brogan’s apartment. So, she got up and grabbed the robe from the closet and left the bedroom. The kitchen was downstairs, if she could figure out the coffee machine, she could have her shower while it brewed.
The silk robe felt nice against her skin. Although short, she liked the way it tickled the top of her thighs. Jenna had taste and, if she remembered, she’d thank Brogan’s assistant for her good apparel choices.
Gia was halfway down the stairs when Julius came in from the terrace. Oops, she’d forgotten about him. She slowed.
“Good morning, Miss Sear.”
“Good morning, Mr. McAlm.”
Her heart thumped in her chest until he smiled and started for the kitchen.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t be so formal. You are engaged to my ward after all.”
“We’re dating,” she said, heading down to join him in the kitchen. “Engaged is a little far.”
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Just black.”
“Help yourself if you want anything to eat,” Julius said, gesturing to a unit at his side. “The fridge is built-in there. You should acclimatize yourself to the place and learn where everything is. Brogan is clear about what he wants and has nothing to hide.”
“I wouldn’t think he did,” she said, going to snoop in the fridge. “He said you knew his father.”
“I did. Stefan and I met in college,” he said, putting her coffee on the kitchen island. “We were like brothers. Losing him was tough. But Brogan bounced, Stefan would be proud of what he’s accomplished.”
“He works hard,” she said, taking a peach from the fruit bowl on the counter.
She closed the fridge and turned to join him at the island, picking up her coffee to enjoy the comfort of its aroma.
“He does.”
“You work for his company too,” she said, taking a sip and then a gulp. “This is good coffee.”
“Brogan likes his coffee,” he said. “And I’m CFO.”
“Is it difficult?” she asked, sliding onto a stool. “Working with family? You consider Brogan family, don’t you? Are you married?”
“Yes, I consider him family. And no, I’m not married.”
She smiled. “Do you subscribe to Brogan’s opinion on marriage?”
“What’s his opinion?”
No way he didn’t know the answer. Maybe it was a test.
“That it’s only useful as a professional tool,” she said.
“Does that bother you?”
Taking a bite of her peach, she caught a drip of juice on her chin. “Brogan told me you know about the deal. With that in mind, you should know that his opinion on marriage is irrelevant to me.”
“What’s your opinion?”
“On marriage?” He nodded and she drew in a long breath. “It would be a brave man who’d choose to be a part of my family.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why would you say that?”
“My father isn’t an easy man to get along with and my brother is easily threatened,” she said and put her elbows on the island to nibble at her peach. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not? To trust Brogan is to trust me.”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “I don’t doubt that,” she said. “But I tell Brogan off for being rude about them, I should follow my own example.”
“You can say anything you like around here,” he said. “We keep each other’s secrets.”
“Maybe if I really was involved with him, I’d believe you. To be honest…”
“To be honest…?”
Putting the peach down, she licked each of her fingers and twisted to examine him. Either this guy was genuine and wanted to be her friend or this was manipulation meant to hurt her.
Giving in to the truth was easier with the man who didn’t befuddle her hormones.
“I can’t figure this out,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Brogan wanted this for a reason, and he insists it wasn’t to hurt my family. But he had a reason.”
They assessed each other for a few seconds, neither going to break. It wasn’t a hostile tension, it was more curious than sinister.
“You’re smart,” he said. “He did do it for a reason. Brogan has a reason for everything he does.”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“If you suspect him of something sinister, you should talk to him. I’m sure he’ll allay your fears.”
“Perhaps,” she said. “I have a bad habit of forgetting my reservations when we find ourselves alone.”
“Yes,” Julius said, pondering her. “He implied as much himself last night.”
She didn’t like the idea of Brogan discussing any of their intimacies. Though “implied” suggested Brogan wasn’t outright bragging or ridiculing.
“You must know a lot about me,” she said. “You’ve known my father a long time, haven’t you? Did he know Stefan Spurn too?”
“He did.”
For more than half an hour, Gia listened to Julius’s stories of Brogan’s father, some of which included her parents.
Yep, Dad and Mom. It was difficult to imagine them socializing.
While it was clear there had always been tension between the families, in their college years, none of them worried too much about conflict or business.
Finishing off her peach and washing her hands, she was interested to hear about Brogan and Jarrod’s mother.
Shanna had told her some stories of Belinda Duchy, Jarrod too. Although he’d never been close to his mother, there was a tenuous, somewhat sporadic, relationship.
“How often does Brogan see Belinda?” Gia asked, drying her hands.
Before Julius could answer, a phone rang. He left his stool and went to pick up a handset from the wall at the top of the stairs.
“Yes?” he said into the handset. “I see… Yes, send him up… No, under no circumstances… Thank you.”
He hung up. That was stern, and, judging by his expression, he hadn’t warmed up on his way to the end of the kitchen island.
“What?” she asked. Where was Brogan? She should’ve asked already, he couldn’t be in bed, surely. “What is it?”
“You have a visitor.”
“I have a visitor?” she asked, just as the elevator pinged and the doors whooshed open.
Leaving the kitchen, she went to the rail to see who’d emerge from the elevator beneath.
Startled by the sight of her brother, she gasped his name, “Bram?”
When he looked up, his expression of horror got her gathering the edges of her robe together above her breasts.
“Gia?”
“What are you doing here?”
With purpose, he marched up the stairs to join her.
“What are you wearing? Mom would have a stroke if she saw you like this! Is this how Spurn likes you?” He took a step toward Julius. “And with another guy? How many men do you strut around for up here?”
Striding to the kitchen again, she put herself in front of Julius.
“I do not strut around for anyone. Julius is Brogan’s family,” she asserted.
“And the only man allowed to take issue with my state of undress in front of other men is my boyfriend. If he has no complaints, you have no right to raise them.”
It was great to be full of bravado and bluster, but it might not have been smart to make such a declaration without having asked Brogan his opinion.
“You were raised better than this,” Bram hissed. “Than to be flaunting yourself in strange places around strange men.”
Startled by Julian’s contact when he rested a hand on her shoulder, she did her best to hide her reaction to the unexpected support.
“Gia is at home here and that’s how Brogan likes it,” Julius said. “She’s a daughter to me, nothing more. Her comfort is Brogan’s utmost concern.”
Her brother wasn’t appeased. “But not her virtue clearly,” Bram said. “You would never find women dressed like this in the public rooms of a Sear home.”
God, his judgment was infuriating. “You’d never see a smile in a Sear home either,” she snapped.
Not like there had been a lot of hilarity at Spurn’s home so far either.
“Gia!”
“Isn’t this a jolly sight?”
The sound of Brogan ascending the stairs surprised them all.
Bram turned as Brogan reached this level in sweatpants and a half-zipped hoodie.
She could see the definition of his chest beneath, no tee-shirt.
Intrigued by that triangle of warm flesh, her brother’s scolding disappeared way, way, way to the back of the line in lieu of her drooling.
“We have an unexpected visitor,” Julius said.
Brogan came to her side and bowed to kiss the corner of her mouth. She was still in something of a daze when he wrapped an arm around her.
“So I see,” Brogan said, looking at Bram. “What can we help you with, Sear?”
“Seems he came to comment on his sister’s choice of morning wear,” Julius said. “He’s not a fan of the robe; we are sullying her virtue.”
Brogan inhaled. “Sullying Gia’s virtue is solely my responsibility. She’s encouraged to make herself at home here. Her comfort is our priority… is that why you came, Sear? To check her apparel? Because you got here a little late, she was wearing far less in my bedroom last night.”
Bram lunged forward. “Spurn!”
Gia jumped in front of Brogan. “What are you doing here, Bram?”
Her brother glared over her head. Brogan would be glaring back, she didn’t have to turn to check.
“I came to talk to you…” Bram said, “in private.”
“Well, in private is not—”
“We’ll give you the space,” Brogan said and skimmed a hand over her ass as he moved away.
“Are you sure?” she asked. Brogan and Julius were already ascending the stairs. “Thank you, Mister.”
Halfway up the stairs, he glanced back and winked. She smiled without knowing what the gesture meant; she knew what she wanted it to mean.
Once the men were out of sight, she folded her arms and set her attention on her brother. “Okay, what do you want?”
“Don’t snark at me,” Bram said. “I’m here to do you a favor.”
Gia wasn’t going to relax just yet. “Didn’t seem that way a minute ago. If this is some kind of reconnaissance mission—”
“Reconnaissance?”
His attention had been floating around the room constantly. Was he cataloging details or impressed? Maybe jealous?
“Yes,” she said. “And there’s no need. Brogan and I will be hosting an event in a few weeks. I’m sure he’d be willing to invite—”