As if sensing her, Kane raised his eyes to her. Gigi’s breath caught in her throat, and she took a step back. She didn’t want to feel the heat that always swept through her beneath his gaze. She cursed herself for wanting a man who was clearly not interested in her. For reading what she wanted into the way he looked at her. Because for just a moment she’d almost convinced herself he wanted nothing more than to walk away from the woman he’d brought and come to her side. Kane had brought a date to her welcome home party. If she was still wondering if he was interested in her, he couldn’t have been clearer.
He turned away, and Gigi gasped from the physical pain she felt at his rejection.
Richard studied her expression and shook his head. “Oh, Gigi, there is nothing there for you but trouble.”
Gigi straightened and started walking. “Where?” she asked, as if she had no idea what he was referring to.
“L’amour fait les plus grandes douceurs et les plus sensibles infortunes de la vie,” Richard said as he walked beside her. Gigi understood enough to get the gist of what he was saying, but she pretended not to. Richard added, “It’s a very old quote: Love makes life’s sweetest pleasures and worst misfortunes.” Richard glanced over at Kane, who was still standing with the overly affectionate blonde. “Be careful, Gigi.”
Gigi followed his gaze, then gave herself an inner smack. She refused to spend another moment mooning over a man who couldn’t have been more obvious about how he felt about her. Gigi excused herself from Richard. “It was really nice speaking with you, Richard. But you’re right; I should go hunt down my brothers. They’re the reason I’m here.”
* * *
“How long do we have to pretend to care about who just had which baby? I’d rather be asking, my place or yours?” Lynn Thistle whispered into Kane’s ear.
“What did you say?” Kane asked absently, keeping his eyes focused on a plant on the far side of the room because he refused to turn to see if Gigi was still in the room.
“Earth to Kane. You asked me out not the other way around. The least you can do is pretend to be listening to me.”
Kane nodded without looking at Lynn. Bringing her had been a mistake. He’d had fun with her in the past. They were friends of sorts. Sometimes more than friends, but never anything serious. “Sorry, I’m horrendously hung over.”
She knew him too well to accept that. “No, that’s not it. Are you sleeping with someone’s wife?”
Kane’s attention snapped to Lynn. “Why would you ask that?”
She tapped him on the chest. “Because you couldn’t care less that I’m with you. I’d be offended if it weren’t sort of sweet. You have that guilty lover look about you. Is it someone who won’t leave her husband for you? Or someone you’d like to make jealous? If so, I bet she’s dying, watching you here with me.”
Kane shook his head in indulgent amusement at her antics. “Is that why you’re hanging all over me? You’re evil.”
Her perfectly shaped eyebrows rose. “Me? I’m not the one who wasn’t honest about what he wanted tonight. We’ve known each other a long time, Kane. You could have simply asked me for my help.”
Kane smiled at how unflappable Lynn was. She had a practical, hold-nothing-back attitude he admired. If he could choose who to have feelings for, Lynn would have made sense for him. Yes, she was a tad more flamboyant than his usual taste, but she was easy to get along with. She deserved better than how he was treating her. “Do you want to leave?”
Lynn shrugged. “Only if you do. It is not every day I am in a room with so many gorgeous, rich men. Do you know which ones are single?”
Kane cocked his head to the side. “Won’t it be hard to hook up with someone when you’re obviously with me?”
Lynn clung to his arm as if he’d just said the sexiest, most romantic thing. “Honey, how can you be a man and not understand how they think? You are a serious hunk. Half the men here are asking themselves if they could win me away from you. We just have to find the right one and then let him think he did.”
Lynn was most probably right. At five foot seven—ten if you count the sexy heels she had on—blonde, blue-eyed and gorgeous, Lynn was most men’s wet dream. Her blue, skintight dress left little of her curves to a man’s imagination. It was a shame he didn’t want to sample her again. But she was right. He wasn’t interested. How could I be, with Gigi in the room?
He threw his head back and laughed, both at himself and at Lynn’s joke. “You win. Pick someone, and I’ll tell you what I know about him.”
Lynn threw her arms around his neck and quickly kissed him full on the lips in gratitude. “I’ll invite you to the wedding.”
Wedding.
The mere mention of one reminded him of Gigi and the heat of their first encounter. Why did she have to be someone he wouldn’t allow himself to have?
Kane looked over Lynn’s head and scanned the room. Off in one corner, Gigi was talking to Luke and Max but paused as if feeling his attention. Her eyes met his. He wanted to pull Lynn’s arms down from around his neck, but he didn’t.
It was better for Gigi to think he was with someone.
He lowered his head and kissed Lynn back.
Lynn gave him a funny look. “I thought you weren’t . . . oh, is she watching us? Then let’s give her something worth seeing.” She pulled his head down and kissed him fully.
It wasn’t the passionate kiss he’d shared with Gigi, but it wasn’t a hardship either. He tried to lose himself in it, told himself good could be good enough.
But it wasn’t.
It left him feeling worse instead of better.
He raised his head and looked for Gigi, but she was gone. He stepped back from Lynn.
“So?” Lynn asked. “Did it work?”
Kane nodded sadly. “Yes, it did.” Because I’m an asshole.
Gigi’s better off without me.
Chapter Ten
‡
“You would think the prank would have gotten old, but Max got so angry every time we did it, we couldn’t help ourselves, we had to do it again.” Nick Andrade sipped on a clear soda as he lounged on the couch in Gio’s library.
His wife, Rena, had shed her shoes and was curled up against his side. “It stopped when I came into the picture, but probably not before Max had enough memories of torture to tell a therapist.”
Nick kissed Rena on the cheek. “Killjoy. You were bossy even in your teens.”
Rena gave his leg a pat. “I can’t imagine what the housekeeper thought of all of those frogs showing up in the house.”
* * *
Max shuddered from his standing position near the fire. “Can we talk about something more pleasant? Just the thought of frogs makes me squeamish.”
His wife, Tara, laughed up at him and swung his hand in hers. “Is it wrong that I love that about you? You’re always so independent and sure of yourself. I ask myself why you need me. Then I remember your fear of frogs . . .” She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips briefly. “I want you to know I’ll always be there to protect you from those vicious amphibians.”
Gio added, “Max, you can hide behind your wife and Rena only so much. Eventually you’ll leave your shoes unattended when they’re not around to defend them. It may be Nick, me, or perhaps one of our offspring perpetuating the tradition, but there is no escaping it.”
Julia raised her hand to cover her smile. Gigi chuckled. How could she not? Individually her brothers were nicer than she’d ever imagined, but together they were hilarious.
In mock irritation, Max wagged a finger of reprimand at each person in the room. “You’re all assholes.” He looked across at Gigi. “I expect this from them, but you, too, Gigi?”
Gigi smiled and shrugged, feeling lighthearted for the first time since she’d arrived.
Nick brought a hand jokingly to his chest. “That hurts, Max. It’s true, but it cuts deeply.”
Julia winked at Gigi. “This is them getting along.”
&nbs
p; Rena leaned forward and tapped the table in front of her. “No joke. I used to worry about these boys. I can’t tell you how nice it is to see them like this.”
Luke looked completely comfortable lounging on the arm of the leather couch with his wife, Cassie, seated on one of his thighs. “Rena, I can’t imagine what our family would have done without you. You and your parents gave us a second home when we most needed one.”
Cassie smiled at Rena. “I love Thom and Helen. They’re sitcom perfect parents. Funny, but kind of Middle America wholesome. I bet they never let Kane torment you.”
Rena pointed at Gio. “Are you kidding me? Gio and Kane made it impossible for me to date all through high school. The first boy I brought home? They hung him over the banister of the porch until he cried. Cried. You try to date after that. I thought we were in for round two of that when they found out I was dating Nick.” She hugged Nick. “It got dicey there for a while, but it worked out. Gigi, I feel for you and whatever man you bring home to this crew. Talk about over-protective.”
From beside Gio, Julia asked, “Do you have a special someone in your life?”
Irrationally, stupidly, an image of Kane danced in Gigi’s thoughts, and because of it she answered angrily, “No, no one.” The mood of the room temporarily sobered, and Gigi felt awkward for not making light of the question. “It doesn’t matter. I’m perfectly happy alone. Normally my business takes up most of my time anyway. You know how it is when you work for yourself, there is no tougher boss.”
Tara interjected happily, “I’m sure all that will change now.” All eyes turned to Tara, and the room became tensely quiet. Tara’s cheeks went bright pink. “So, we haven’t told her yet?”
Gigi’s stomach tightened nervously.
Gio straightened to his full height. “She was tired last night, and today didn’t seem appropriate.”
Gigi searched each of her brother’s faces quickly. “What is it?”
Luke shifted Cassie off his lap and went to stand beside Gigi. He raised a hand to stop Gio from speaking. “We didn’t know how to tell you. Gio will try to shoulder the blame for it, but none of us knew what to do. We tried to contact you personally. We reached out via lawyers. You refused to communicate with us at all. Leora said our attempts were upsetting you and asked us to wait for you to come to us. So, that’s what we did. And here you are. I can see why Gio would put off saying anything that could cause you to pull away from us again.”
Gigi searched the room again for a clue of what they were talking about. “Okay, now you’re scaring me.”
Nick stood and went to stand beside Luke. “It’s actually good news.”
Max joined his brothers. “Although I would have wanted to know earlier. Even if I wasn’t talking to us.”
Gio moved closer. “It doesn’t change anything, though, Gigi. Remember that.”
Standing, hands clasped nervously in front of her, Gigi faced all four of her brothers as her mind flew to the worst possible announcement. Am I’m not actually related to them? Did they bring me here to tell me that? Her stomach churned, her hands went cold. “Just fucking say it.”
Gio’s eyebrows rose at her choice of language, but he answered calmly, “Our father had a will that was hidden until a few years ago. It divided our father’s estate evenly between the five of us. Your portion has been put aside in a trust fund for you, Gigi. Although you haven’t had access to it, nor have we, it’s been accumulating interest for you and is substantial enough there is no reason for you to work another day in your life unless you choose to. It will easily support you and your mother if that’s what you choose to do with it. Or we can help you invest a portion of it in stocks, and you can live off the dividends.”
Gigi swayed as she digested the news. It was too much to take in, especially with all of them watching her reaction. “How much money are we talking about?”
“We liquefied the assets before dividing them. Your trust fund was originally just under a billion.”
“A billion? As in one billion US dollars?” Gigi asked, trying to wrap her mind around what that would mean to her and her mother. What it would have meant had it been given to her at her father’s passing. Would her life have been better or worse? Gio had said that his mother would have tried to destroy her. Had not knowing about it kept her safer? Her brothers said they would have told her about the will if she had met with them. She wanted to believe them.
Nick shrugged in almost an apology. “We did have to split it five ways. But, we can show you how to double that amount through investments.”
Julia walked over and put a steadying arm around Gigi’s waist. “I don’t think she’s worried that it’s not enough.” She led Gigi over to one of the couches and sat down beside her. “Are you okay, Gigi? I know it’s a lot to take in.”
Gigi rubbed her temples with both hands. “How long have you all known about this?”
Max went to sit across from her. “Tara and I found the will in the back of my mother’s journal before she died. A little over three years ago. Do you remember when I flew out to meet you in London? I wanted to tell you then.”
Gio stepped closer and said gruffly, “I sent a lawyer to speak with you, but you refused to meet with him, too.”
“I was still angry,” Gigi whispered. It all sounded too perfect. Too good to be true. “So, what’s the catch? What do I have to do to get it?”
Luke sat down on her other side. “Nothing, Gigi. It’s yours. For now, Gio is the trustee of the fund. But only because coming into that kind of money overnight can be overwhelming. And confusing. It’s not like it’s all in one bank account. That kind of money needs to be protected.”
“I don’t understand. Is it mine or not mine?”
Max interjected. “We decided to give it to you in a controlled manner. That’s why Gio has management of it for now. Although it sounds like an insane amount of money, we don’t want you to lose it because you came into it too quickly and didn’t have time to adapt. Your life won’t be the same after today.”
Gigi shook her head in confusion. “You make my inheritance sound like a bad thing.”
Luke added, “Money changes things, Gigi. It changes you and the people around you. You won’t know who your real friends are anymore. People will like you because of what you have, or what you can do for them. In some ways having money is freeing, in others it can isolate you. We can help you through all that.”
Gio said, “You’ll need security, especially if word of your inheritance gets out. So, for now, I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Nick joked, “You’ll need the names of the best rehab facilities, because suddenly you can afford all the good drugs.”
Gio glared at Nick. “She’s not doing drugs.”
Nick shrugged. “I’m trying to be practical here. People lose their minds when they come into money. That’s what all of my friends did when they finally got their trust funds.”
Max sighed. “Rena, you need to choose Nick’s friends from now on. He obviously has awful taste.”
Gio cut in. “Gigi is not going to do drugs. She’s not going to go on a crazy spending spree. She’s twenty-five years old and a businesswoman. I have faith in her.”
Julia gave her husband a proud smile.
Gigi bristled despite his kind words. She stood and felt a little dizzy. “I’m trying to take this all in, and you’re right, it’s overwhelming. I can’t process it while you’re looking at me, talking like I’m not here. I think I’m going to be sick. Excuse me.”
She rushed toward the door.
Luke stood as if to follow her, but Gio stopped him. “Let her go. She needs a minute.”
Luke nodded. “I hope we handled this right.”
Max went to stand beside him. “That was not at all how I imagined it. I pictured her much happier.”
Nick gave Gio a comforting pat on the back. “She’s upset, but she’ll come around. Most likely better than any of us would because she doesn’t have our mother i
n her.”
Rena slid beneath Nick’s arm and elbowed him in the side. “I want to tell you how wrong that was to say, but you’re probably right.”
* * *
Fresh from cautiously handing off a happy Lynn to a newly divorced Andrade cousin from Connecticut, who was smiling like he’d pulled off the coup of the century, Kane was in the foyer debating if he should stay or head home. Part of him felt he should stick around long enough to make sure Lynn’s choice wasn’t a weasel, but he knew nothing nefarious would go down while the patriarchs of the family were in attendance. Even though they appeared easygoing, Alessandro and Victor were the heart and the fist of the family.
The door of Gio’s library opened. Gigi flew out of it and rushed out the front door of the house. She looked pale and upset. If he had thought that bringing Lynn would upset her that much, he wouldn’t have.
If I had thought it out at all, I wouldn’t have.
That’s my problem. I can’t think straight when I’m around her.
Kane didn’t hesitate for a second. He was at the front entrance in a heartbeat. Somehow he had to make this right. “Gigi.”
Gigi swung around, her eyes flashing with anger. “Shouldn’t you be with your date?”
Kane grabbed one of Gigi’s arms. “Lynn and I aren’t serious. I thought if I brought her—”
Gigi pulled her arm free and hissed, “I don’t care about you. Or your blonde Barbie. I get it; you’re not attracted to me. Can we not go over this again right now? I came out here to clear my head.”
She walked a few feet away from Kane. He followed her. Maybe she’s not upset about me. The thought made him feel better and worse all at the same time. “What happened?”
She looked out over the darkened lawn while holding onto a pillar for support. “Too much to put into words easily. I don’t know what to think. How I feel. Even if my brothers are telling me the truth, nothing will ever be the same. Can my whole life change just like that? What if I don’t want it to?”