“I know I am,” Ryker confesses.
I give him a puzzled look because I wasn’t expecting that. “You are?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a thing for Stella like you did.”
My eyebrows arch. “Like I did?”
“You were flirting with her in Switzerland, remember?”
“Only because I wanted to see Ethan’s reaction, to gauge his feelings for her and make him do the same.”
And I succeeded.
“What I’m jealous of is what they have,” Ryker says.
“The baby?”
“The understanding. The bond. I hope I can find someone with whom I can have something like that, someone who can just open up my heart, read my mind and understand my soul.”
The longing in his voice takes me by surprise even more. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. If there’s a romantic among the three of us Hawthorne brothers, it’s Ryker.
I pat his shoulder. “You will, buddy. I’m sure you will.”
Just then, his phone beeps. In the past, I would have scolded him for not putting it on silent mode since we have a rule about that. But hey, Ethan already broke the most important rule.
“Go ahead,” I encourage Ryker. “It might be important.”
He takes his phone out of his pocket.
“Work?” I ask.
“Actually, no,” he answers as he starts to type. “It’s Joel.”
Unsurprisingly, the name doesn’t ring a bell. “Joel? Is that a woman? Someone you’re interested in?”
Ryker gives me an annoyed look. “What is it with you and names? Early-onset Alzheimer’s? Alcoholic dementia? Joel Parker. My best friend. We went to school together. He used to stay at the house a lot.”
“Oh, him.”
Now that Ryker has reminded me, I remember the guy perfectly. He was always hanging around Ryker until he left for college. Ethan had no friends. I had a lot of friends. And Ryker had that one friend. Joel, apparently.
I take another sip of my drink. “Doesn’t he have a sister? I remember he brought her to a party one time.”
Ryker sighs. “Why am I not surprised that that’s what you remember about him?”
“She was pretty, wasn’t she?”
Ryker answers me with a glare.
I chuckle.
“What’s funny?”
“You,” I answer. “Looking the same as you did back then when you told me to stay away from her.”
“Because she’s my best friend’s sister,” Ryker tells me. “Of course I didn’t want you near her.”
“Oh, is that why?”
I thought they were dating. I could have sworn they were.
“I didn’t want Joel to punch you. And believe me, if you had gone on with your flirting, he would have.”
“And you would have let him,” I say. “You would have let your best friend punch your own brother.”
“Because you deserved it.”
“Wow.”
“I stopped Ethan from hitting you, didn’t I?”
I touch my nose as I remember that incident.
“Maybe next time I won’t.”
“There isn’t going to be a next time,” I tell him. “He’s in love now, remember? He’s happy.”
Ryker’s phone beeps again. He takes a sip from his drink before reading the message and typing a reply.
“So how’s Joel?” I ask. “Didn’t you say he became an engineer?”
“Yes. He works for a tech company in California.”
“Maybe you should ask him to come work for us now that we’re venturing into the tech market, too,” I suggest.
He shrugs. “Nah. I think he’s perfectly happy where he is.”
“But you’ll get to see each other more often if you work for the same company.”
“Actually, I think we’ll be seeing each other more often anyway since the woman he’s marrying is from Chicago.”
“He’s getting married?”
“Next year,” Ryker says. “Another man finding his perfect match.”
I snort. “If you keep getting all sappy on me, I swear I’m going to leave you here.”
He puts away his phone. “Anyway, the wedding will be right here in Chicago, and I’ll be the best man.”
“And his sister will be there?”
“Of course. You’re not getting anywhere near her, though. In fact, you’re not invited.”
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Because you’re still busy trying to convince Violet Cleary to sleep with you?” Ryker asks.
“Sadly, I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen, but that’s fine.” I let out a breath. “But that’s fine.”
Ryker gives me a puzzled look. “It is?”
I finish my drink. “After all, she’s leaving the company soon.”
Ryker’s eyebrows furrow even more. “What? Why?”
“Because she’s having a hard time adjusting to her new job,” I answer.
Ryker says nothing, but I can feel the suspicion in his piercing gaze.
I shrug. “What?”
“What did you do to her, Asher?”
“What did I do? I didn’t do anything. I just told you she’s having a hard time ad—”
“The Violet Cleary I know, the Violet Cleary I met in Zurich, doesn’t strike me as a woman who has a hard time adjusting to anything. She’s damn good at her job. So if she’s thinking of quitting, I’m sure it has something to do with you.”
“Wow.” My eyebrows arch. “Your faith in me is astounding, little brother.”