Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
B rody hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off Reagan since they left the store. She’d chosen a formal gown in black, floor-length as per his suggestion, in addition to the red Oscar de la Renta, which she wore now.
To Dana’s delight, Reagan had picked the shiny patent leather Louboutins with the red soles. He’d refused to let her see the price of those either. It felt good to spend money the way he was accustomed to spending it. He’d been downright stifled lately. And, as he’d explained to Reagan during the drive here, she was doing him a favor by joining him at a party full of strangers. When she walked in, he wanted her to be the talk of the night.
“You’re sure this isn’t too much?” Reagan had asked from the passenger seat as she arranged the oversize flower cutouts on her skirt.
“Never.” Her dress wasn’t in the same stratosphere as “too much” in his opinion.
He’d reached over and held her hand as he pulled into the private parking garage attached to Zander’s building. After handing off the keys to the valet, he walked her through the lobby and into the elevator. Thanks to a family of four riding up most of the way with them, he did not make out with her for thirty-three floors like he wanted.
Outside Zander’s front door, Brody balanced the gift basket on one arm to knock.
“Brody! Reagan!” Chloe opened the door. She was grinning ear to ear, her yellow dress making her sunny smile appear sunnier.
“Where is your butler, m’lady?” He leaned in to kiss her cheek.
“Oh, please. I am just now getting used to this level of opulence. Speaking of…” She turned her attention to Reagan and spread her arms wide. “You look incredible. Pretty Woman come to life! I mean, minus the hooker part. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you were hired for sex.” Chloe cringed. “Ignore me.”
“You’re not wrong. The shopping excursion made me feel like Julia Roberts, minus the part where she’s kicked out of the store,” Reagan replied easily, taking Chloe’s comments in stride.
“Come in, come in.” Chloe welcomed them into the house where there were already a dozen or so guests milling around.
Brody spotted Jaylyn and Zander and Reese and his wife, Merina. His other cousins were supposed to be here as well. He wondered if J had convinced Dante to show up after all.
“Would you like a glass of champagne?” Chloe wrapped her arm around Reagan’s waist. “I can introduce you around so you don’t have to adhere to Brody’s side.”
“Hey.” He pretended offense, but he didn’t mind if Reagan went off on her own. As long as she didn’t mind.
Reagan smiled over her shoulder as she went with Chloe to the bar. “I’ll find you later,” she promised.
He liked the sound of that. He was still watching her ass sway in that dress when his brother approached.
“Brody.” Zander offered up a glass of brown liquid. “Hundred-year-old scotch.”
“Thanks.” A member of the waitstaff scooped up the gift basket from his arms and carried it to the gift table on the far side of the room. Hands free, he clinked glasses with Zander and drank. “This it? Or are there more guests?”
“There will be more. You’re early.”
“We were down the road. Dress shopping.”
“Excellent choice.” Zander’s eyes flicked to Reagan over the rim of his glass. He sipped his scotch and then asked, “Things are progressing?”
“I wanted to spoil her.”
“That wasn’t an answer,” Zander said, droll.
“Hey, big bro.” Jaylyn bounced over wearing a short black dress with a fluffy tulle skirt. The skull ring on her finger had a companion, an exact rhinestone match on the bodice of her dress.
“Understated as usual.” Brody kissed his sister’s cheek.
“Dolce and Gabbana. Reagan looks amazing. Valentino?”
“Oscar,” he corrected.
Jaylyn whistled long and low. “She’s beautiful in it.”
“Beautiful, period.” Brody had seen Reagan in jeans and T-shirts as well as wearing nothing, and now draped in luxury fabric. She was beautiful no matter what she wore, but in his biased opinion especially when she wore nothing but him . He smiled at the thought.
“I was surprised when Chloe told me she’d invited both of you,” Zander said. “You are taking the subject of your book seriously. I knew you were settling down in theory but didn’t expect you to settle down for real.”
Brody digested that statement before arguing, “I’m not settling down.”
“Oscar de la Renta might argue that point.” Jaylyn gave him a slow blink, did a twirl, and walked away.
“It wasn’t like she asked me to buy it for her,” Brody sort of protested. “She’s living out of overnight bags, so she didn’t have a lot of options. I invited her to stay with me as long as she needed, but ninety percent of her stuff is still in storage.” When he lifted his glass, he felt the weight of his brother’s stare. “What?”
“She’s living with you?” Zander didn’t sound alarmed, merely curious.
“Well, yes, but it’s an extenuating circumstance. I bought what used to be her house. Her grandfather’s house. She’s on a waiting list for an apartment.” He pressed his lips together to keep from offering more explanations.
“So.” Zander smirked and repeated, “Things have progressed.”
Before Brody could respond, his brother spoke again.
“If she’s living with you, you can’t expect her to keep her belongings in storage.”
“What am I supposed to do, move them in for her?”
“That’s what I’d do. Home is important. She probably feels like an intruder in a place she used to be comfortable. You like bouncing around. Not everyone does. Take it from a professional settler-downer.”
Brody hadn’t thought of her feeling displaced. He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable in the house she used to live in.
“What’s up, cuz?” Tag said from behind him. Brody would recognize that lighthearted bellow anywhere. “Or should I say cuz-es, plural?”
“You should say cousins like a normal human being,” Rachel said, her big blue eye roll one she’d perfected when it came to her husband.
Brody shook Tag’s hand and kissed Rachel’s cheek. She resembled a doll in a pink dress with her fair hair in curls. Reese ambled over next, mentioning how the party could start now that Tag had arrived.
“We’re missing Eli and Isa. And Dante,” Brody commented. “Any of them showing up?”
“All were invited,” Zander said. “Dante had some business to catch up on but promised to swing by even if it was the tail end of the evening.”
“Nice. We’ll be sure to get good and sauced before he gets here.” Tag offered a crooked grin as he stroked his beard.
“I’m going to find the ladies—oh, I see Merina. Wow, look at that red dress. Who’s she?” Rachel asked.
“Reagan Palmer. Brody’s roommate,” Zander answered.
“Date,” Brody quickly corrected. He didn’t miss Reese’s eyebrow winging upward or the loud, appreciative laugh from Tag.
He’d take the ball-busting with his head held high. When it came to Reagan, he was damn proud to have a woman of her caliber on his arm. “Wait’ll you meet her. She’s not only beautiful, but she’s also cool.”
“This, I’ll suss out for myself,” Rachel announced before swishing off in Reagan’s direction.
Reagan hadn’t meant to bring up the Chicago fires of 1871, but when Merina Crane, owner of the Van Heusen Hotel which had risen from the ashes of that travesty, was standing in front of her, Reagan hadn’t been able to help herself.
“I didn’t know sidewalks used to be made of wood,” Reagan blathered. No wonder Chicago had gone up in flames. “The Van Heusen is the most beautiful building. I love the phoenix symbols on the elevators. The snickerdoodle cookies. The whole ambiance is incredible. It’s the classiest building in Chicago.” Reagan bit her tongue and willed herself to shut up.
“I’m in agreement. I married Reese to save my hotel from ruin, you know.” Merina smiled a knowing smile, even though Reagan didn’t know that story. “The VH is my baby. Hard to believe my husband wanted to strip it of its bohemian personality, isn’t it?”
“He wanted to make it like Crane Hotels. A modern, glass, minimalist structure,” Chloe interjected. “I mean, the Crane is beautiful in its own right but can you imagine?”
“No. That would have been a big mistake. Big ,” Reagan said.
“ Huge ,” Chloe finished with a smile, picking up on the Pretty Woman reference.
Jaylyn joined their circle with a blonde on her arm. “Rachel Crane, meet Reagan Palmer.”
“I noticed your dress from across the room. It’s exquisite.” Rachel offered a hand that Reagan politely shook.
She then smoothed that same hand over her skirt. “It’s a bit much, but I think Brody wanted me to fit in.”
“He missed the mark, honey. You stand out.” Merina was wearing a steel blue form-fitting dress that showed off every curve of her amazing body.
“I’ve been on new mommy duty, so I wanted to go overboard.” Rachel’s cotton-candy pink dress was flowy and silky with a low-cut bodice.
“As well you should.” Merina drank to that.
Jaylyn’s all-black attire fit her like a second skin, save the poofy tulle skirt, and Chloe’s bright yellow dress was a good match for her personality.
“I’m more comfortable wearing jeans,” Reagan said.
“Same,” Chloe and Rachel said in unison.
“ Never .” A dark-haired woman joined their circle. She was introduced as Isabella Crane, Eli’s wife. The woman was exotic and breathtaking in a royal purple sheath dress.
“She’s being dramatic. Hey, Isa.”
Isa blew Rachel a kiss.
“It’s fun to dress up, though,” Rachel said. “Congratulations on the apartment, Chlo. Is there a tour?”
“Yes! Now that we’re all here, let me show you around.” Chloe led the troop of bedazzled females through the expansive apartment. It took a while to simply cross the living room, which featured a wall of windows facing the city.
The skyline resembled a painting, with tall rectangular buildings and lit squares for windows. Reagan had never been enamored by the city, but it was hard not to appreciate the beauty from this vantage point. She was truly awestruck by the skyline against a backdrop of navy blue sky. She’d rarely seen the city from anywhere other than ground level. The penthouse view was a totally different vibe.
Once they’d viewed the five bedrooms, six baths, study, and office, the other ladies meandered back to the bar, leaving Chloe and Reagan in one of the emptier bedrooms. Short of a white dresser and a white leather chair with an ottoman, the room was bare.
“Zander suggested turning this room into my closet, but I’m not sure.” Chloe lowered her voice. Reagan doubted anyone could hear them from the living room, where low bass thumped beneath the din of laughter and chatter.
“As a woman currently without a closet to call her own, I say take the deal.”
Chloe laughed. “I’m originally from Maine. I lived in an itty-bitty apartment over my office at work until very recently, and before that, an even ittier - bittier apartment outside the city. The idea of sacrificing an entire bedroom to use as a closet is outlandish.”
Relief sagged Reagan’s shoulders. “Another middle-class girl. Thank God.”
“Falling in love with Zander has been intense in every sense of the word. I’ve been around the Cranes for years. They are different than I imagined but they are still billionaires. It’s a lot to process.”
“I practically met Brody under false pretenses.”
“Ohh, do tell!”
“He bought the house I grew up in, but he didn’t know that when he hired me. I might have met a billionaire before without knowing it, but I’ve never been in the company of one so often. Brody is so accessible and open and…”
“Drop-dead sexy?” Chloe filled in.
“Yeah.” No sense in denying it. His attractiveness was obvious. “I didn’t expect to have sex with him. I was hired to fix up the house.” Reagan put her fingers over her lips and mumbled a quick apology. “I don’t know why I said that. The champagne must’ve gone to my head.”
“I knew I liked you!” Chloe’s eyes sparkled with delight. “I love Zander so much it’s nuts. We met on New Year’s Eve. Online before then, but I had no idea it was him I was talking to until later that night . ”
Chloe told the tale of how she’d met Zander online on an app, and then in person. She’d had no idea that his online persona and the man she’d met at the party were one and the same.
“You had sex that night?” Reagan whispered, in awe of Chloe’s gusto. “I’m impressed.”
“It wasn’t like me, but these Crane boys seem to make us all do things we’ve never done before.”
“Preach,” Reagan said, raising her glass.
“Before I knew what was happening, we were spending the night at each other’s apartments and he was asking me to house hunt with him. The first several we looked at were so expensive, I nearly died. I kept arguing that it was too much, but he insisted that eleven million was his baseline.”
Reagan felt oddly justified in having argued about the cost of her dress. “I went through a similar argument while shopping for this.” She gestured to her dress. “Brody wasn’t taking no for an answer.”
“They do that when it comes to money. I have to say, he sounds more domesticated than the way Zander described him. He said his middle brother was an adventurer. Maybe moving to the suburbs changed him.”
Or maybe moving to the suburbs had merely changed him temporarily . Reagan kept that thought to herself.
Chloe continued chatting about her potential plan for the closet. Reagan nodded along, half listening, half contemplating her date. If she and Brody were temporary, did that mean she had more to worry about…or less?
They rejoined the party and stepped into an uproar when the front door opened, and in walked an incredibly attractive man in a sleek navy blue suit.
“Holy shit.” Chloe grabbed onto Reagan’s arm. “I can’t believe he’s here.”
“Who?”
“Dante Crane.”
Reagan saw the family resemblance. Dante was around Brody’s height but younger by a few years. And less cheery. He accepted pats on the back and hugs from his siblings and cousins, his mouth a stoic flat line.
“He flew in from LA. There was some debate about whether or not he would show up.”
Jaylyn hopped up and down before throwing herself into her brother’s arms for a hug. He caught her against him, the first hint of a smile appearing. He looked a lot like Brody in that moment—if he swapped the mustache for a clean-shaven face.
When Chloe greeted him, Dante gave a tilt of his head in acknowledgment rather than offer a hug. Brody sidled up next to Reagan, sliding his arm around her waist. She was grateful to have him there when Dante turned his attention to her and gave her a rigid nod.
“Ignore the stick up Dante’s ass. It takes him a minute to relax,” Brody told her.
“There are a lot of Cranes here,” Reagan muttered. “Each of you in a different font. That must be Eli.” Eli, bearded like Tag but dark-haired, shook Dante’s hand. Eli’s tattoos were visible beneath the rolled sleeves of a button-down shirt. Like his brothers and cousins, he was striking.
“The charity ball I invited you to in New York is raising money for Refurbs for Vets, a charity that retrofits houses with ramps and wider hallways for injured soldiers and Marines.”
“Is that event going to be as intense as this one?”
“Times ten. There’ll be city slickers there with about fifty times the money the Cranes have.”
She gulped audibly.
“It’s a facade, wealth,” he told her. “And more commonplace than you’d think.”
A hard reality to swallow given the narrow scope of her own world.
“Come on.” He walked with her to the bar where he snagged an open bottle of champagne and a pair of flutes. She set her empty aside and followed him as he wended around the party and then stepped out onto a massive balcony. No one was outside, probably because it was a cool night. She hoped the flames from the fire bowl would provide enough warmth for her bare shoulders and legs.
He set the bottle and glasses aside to shove the metal-framed couch closer to the fire. “Your seat, madam.”
“What are we going to do? Avoid everyone and drink champagne alone?”
“No.” He wiggled the cork until it emitted a satisfying pop! As he poured them each a glass, he said, “We’re going to let everyone come to us. Trust me, they will.”