Sophia gave her a pitying look. “Don’t feel too bad. Rich men are used to having whatever they want. If one of their toys gets broken, they go out and buy another one.”
* * * * *
THE ENTIRE DRIVE home, Trent turned the conversation with his brother over in his head. Dax seemed to sense his inner turmoil because he didn't ask him any questions about what had been said in the hotel room. He just drove the car, parked and let him out. Trent rode the elevator back up to the penthouse alone.
Could it be true?
He wasn't sure what would be James' motivation for lying but then again he didn't understand a lot of things his brother did. But the more he thought about it, the more it made a twisted sort of sense. All this time he'd wondered how James could leave Travis for months at a time, leaving Avery to deal with everything. And although Avery had told him what they fought about, in way more detail than he actually wanted, the things she'd told him had never seemed like enough to warrant their constant fighting.
Was it because his brother had been carrying this suspicion around ever since Travis was born?
He hadn't had the best relationship with his brother over the years. His father had always focused the brunt of his criticism on James and nothing his brother had ever done was good enough. Whereas Trent had decided at a young age that he didn't care what his parents thought. Strangely enough, his indifference and determination to forge his own path had earned a begrudging respect from their father, something that James had never managed despite his many attempts.
But to put this kind of accusation out there, it went way past sibling rivalry. Trent knew what had really happened but these types of things tended to take on a life of their own regardless of the facts. If James told anyone what he'd seen, then the truth wouldn't even matter. People were always more than happy to believe the worst. And if Mara ever got wind of it, Trent would have a problem.
A big one.
He entered the penthouse and took a seat on the couch. The purplish hues of dusk painted the sky behind the city with big blotches of color. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, staring out into the night when he turned his head and saw it.
A picture on the table next to him.
The breath he was about to take got stuck in his lungs. Pressure built as he stared at the familiar image. It had been taken his senior year of high school. He looked straight at the camera, while Avery and Tia both kissed his cheeks.
He snatched the picture so hard, the frame bent. With a shaking hand, he traced the faces in the photo. Glancing around frantically, he pried the back of the frame open and pulled the picture out. With trembling fingers he walked into his office and placed it in the bottom of one of his desk drawers.
Had Walter missed a photo when he'd done the clean sweep the prior day? It had been a tall order and he'd figured the other man might miss one or two, which was why he'd gone through all the rooms yesterday, looking for any strays. He supposed he couldn't fault him for missing that one since Trent had clearly missed it, too.
He walked into the bedroom and stopped short. There were bags all over the bed. "Mara?"
She walked out of her closet. "Hey. Where did you go?"
He glanced over at her bags. "I had errands to run. It looks like your trip was successful. I guess that means you found stuff you liked."
Mara picked up one of the bags and carried it with her into the closet. "It would be hard not to find things you like at the kind of places where your sister shops. She has amazing taste."
Surprised at the compliment, Trent followed, leaning against the door of her closet to observe her as she put the clothes away in the empty dra
wers of her new dresser.
"Amazing taste. That almost sounds like you like her."
Mara glanced up at him. "I'm not sure I'd go that far but she did pick out some great stuff for me."
He followed her with his eyes as she went back into the room to grab another bag. Something wasn't right about the way she was moving. Her back was too stiff and she looked almost mechanical as she tore tags off each item of clothing. It probably would have taken him longer to figure out what was different if he wasn't in the same place mentally.
She wasn't happy. She was miserable and trying very hard not to let on.
As she passed him to go back to the closet, he grabbed her arm. She turned into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Hey now, what's wrong?"
Mara let out a soft hiccup and shook her head. The movement sent her long curls tumbling around her shoulders.
"Well, good. I was a little worried there."
"About me?"
He smiled, willing to do anything to erase the miserable look on her face. "Not just about you but about Sophia, too. You're completely capable of taking her on if you want to."