“Point taken,” she said.
“Okay then. Today you meet with tech. Tomorrow we’re meeting with the contractors responsible for wiring. We’re going to let them know we may need additional capabilities. “You ready for this?” he asked.
She was soaring with excitement as she answered, “Born ready.”
* * *
Ethan disliked being summoned, but that’s exactly what Ian Dare had done. He wanted a meeting at the stadium to discuss security, and he demanded it on his time frame on his turf. Almost two weeks had passed since Ethan had been with Sienna, and he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Traveling to Miami, knowing she was near but he couldn’t see her, was driving him to distraction.
Hell, just the memories of her were making him mad. The soft sounds she made when he kissed her, the way her body writhed beneath his when he had her nipple in his mouth, and the tight way she clamped around his dick when he was buried inside her. Then there was her general happiness at everything around her, her overall enjoyment of life, and the laughter she gave so easily. Fuck. His cock was hard at the memory of her.
“Ethan! Jesus, are you listening?” Sebastian, who sat beside him on their private plane, barked at him, snapping his attention back to where it belonged. “Where the fuck have you been for the last couple of weeks? I thought you were a pain before, but lately? I don’t even recognize you.”
Ethan ran his hand through his hair and glanced at his youngest sibling, who’d put up with a lot from him in the last year. “Sorry, man. Really. I just have a lot on my mind.”
Sebastian narrowed his gaze. “I guess I’ll have to take that.”
It was as much as he could give his brother considering Ethan couldn’t possibly tell his sibling that he’d fucked their biggest client’s little sister and couldn’t get her out of his head.
“Are we ready to deal with Ian?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes.” Ethan inclined his head. Business always came first in his mind, and everything he needed, specs included, was front and center. And if he forgot, he had his iPad filled with information.
At Sebastian’s second concerned look, Ethan narrowed his gaze. “Have you ever not been able to trust me where business is concerned?”
Sebastian shook his head.
“How’s Ashley?” Ethan asked, changing the subject. He glanced out the jet window and realized they were descending.
“Good. I think…” Sebastian paused, his expression carrying a heavy weight.
“Talk to me.” Ethan might have had his head up his ass, but he was always there for his brother. “What’s wrong?” he pushed when Sebastian didn’t answer immediately.
Sebastian gripped the armrest between them. “Ashley wants kids.”
“Better you than me,” Ethan said, then glanced at his brother and realized how serious this was.
Ethan blew out a long breath, knowing firsthand what kids or at least teenagers demanded. He’d stepped up when his father fell apart and helped with his siblings. Babies, children, were the last thing on his agenda.
But this was Sebastian they were discussing and he was married with a wife he adored, who obviously wanted kids. “And you don’t?”
This was a subject never discussed amongst the brothers, although Parker and his wife, Emily, were expecting a baby, as were Sierra and her husband.
“What if I fuck it up?” Sebastian asked. “After all, look at the example I had. Pay for it and it’ll get better,” he muttered resentfully.
Sebastian was an interesting case. When he was a kid, their father had bought him out of a lot of problems, choosing to throw money at any given situation instead of being a parent. As a result, Sebastian had thought he could charm his way through life. He’d recently learned otherwise and reunited with Ashley, who’d lived with them for a brief time during one of his father’s even briefer marriages. After screwing up big-time when they were kids, Ashley had returned after Mandy died and Sebastian had had to make it up to Ashley before she’d even give him the time of day. He’d manned up and they’d been happily married ever since.
But Ethan could understand his brother’s fears. “Just do the opposite of what Dad would do,” Ethan said. “That’s how I stepped up and helped raise all of you.”
A wry smile twisted Sebastian’s lips. “You did, didn’t you? Not even two years older than Parker and you were everything to us.”
Ethan’s chest warmed at the appreciation in his brother’s tone. He hadn’t done it for the accolades. His siblings had needed him but it was nice to be appreciated.
“You’ll be a great father. I know it. You just need to believe in yourself. I believe in you and I know Ashley does, too.”
Sebastian let out a huge breath of air. “Wow. I didn’t realize I was holding that in.”